And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust: and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount.
I took your sinful idol—that calf you had made—and burned it in the fire. Then I crushed it and ground it into tiny pieces until it was as fine as dust, and I threw that dust into the stream that flowed down from the mountain.
Moses is describing how he completely destroyed the golden calf idol that the Israelites had made, grinding it to dust and casting it into water to show that their false god was worthless.
📚 Historical Context
This refers to the incident at Mount Sinai when the Israelites grew impatient waiting for Moses and convinced Aaron to make a golden calf to worship (Exodus 32). When Moses came down from the mountain with the stone tablets, he was furious at their idolatry and destroyed the idol. This speech in Deuteronomy is Moses recounting this event to the new generation before they enter the Promised Land.
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