They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The verse highlights the absurdity of their choice by emphasizing the ox eats grass, contrasting the God who sustains all with a creature dependent on basic sustenance. This detail makes their exchange of the glorious, life-giving Creator for a mere animal image even more profoundly foolish and contemptible.
They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The psalm recounts Israel's history of rebellion against God, contrasting His faithfulness with their repeated sinfulness. This verse specifically follows the account of the Israelites' envy towards Moses and Aaron, and their subsequent making and worshipping of a golden calf in the wilderness at Mount Horeb, which is detailed in Exodus 32. By exchanging God, who was their glory and the source of their blessings, for a lifeless idol, they demonstrated profound forgetfulness and contempt for His mighty acts.
What does it mean to exchange your 'glory' for something else? This verse points to a profound loss, but first, we need to understand what that 'glory' truly is.
The psalmists are clear: the 'glory' being exchanged here isn't something material or fleeting. It's God Himself.
Why the specific image of an ox eating grass? It's not random. The psalmists use this detail to expose the utter ridiculousness of turning away from God.
The choice of an ox, and specifically one 'that eats grass,' is a deliberate and sharp critique of idolatry.
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Understand the original words
kabod · Hebrew Noun
The weight, splendor, brilliance, or majesty of God’s manifested presence. It encompasses all that makes God who He is, which humans are prone to replace with inferior substitutes.
tabniyth · Hebrew Noun
A physical representation, often carved or molded, used as an object of devotion; biblically, an idol represents a failure to worship the invisible, sovereign Creator, preferring a tangible, limited substitute.
This verse paints a vivid picture of Israel's betrayal of God, specifically referencing their creation of the golden calf at Mount Sinai. It highlights their profound ingratitude and spiritual blindness in exchanging the glorious, life-giving God who had just rescued them for a lifeless, grass-eating animal.
c. 1446 BC
The Exodus from Egypt
God miraculously delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, guiding them through the Red Sea and providing for them in the wilderness.
c. 1446 BC— this verse
The Golden Calf at Horeb
While Moses was receiving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, the Israelites, impatient and fearful, persuaded Aaron to make a golden calf for them to worship.
c. 1446 BC
Divine Judgment on Idolaters
God's anger burned against the Israelites for their idolatry. Judgment fell upon many, including the Levites who took a stand for the Lord.
During the Wilderness Wanderings
Repeated Forgetfulness and Rebellion
Throughout their 40 years in the desert, the Israelites repeatedly forgot God's mighty deeds and rebelled against His commands and His appointed leaders.
c. 730 BC - 700 BC
Prophetic Warnings Against Idolatry
Prophets like Jeremiah strongly condemned the people's tendency to turn to idols, comparing their foolishness to exchanging the living God for lifeless images.
Paul directly echoes this sentiment, stating that people 'exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator' when they claimed to be wise but became fools, a powerful parallel to exchanging God's glory for an image.
Jeremiah 2:11This verse highlights a similar pattern of spiritual failure, where 'my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit,' pointing to the futility and shame of idols, just as Psalms 106 describes the ox image.
Deuteronomy 4:16-18This passage shows God's explicit prohibition against making carved images, warning the Israelites not to corrupt themselves by making idols in the form of any animal, a direct precursor to the sin described in Psalms 106.
Exodus 32:4This verse describes the making of the golden calf itself, showing the specific instance in Israel's history where they 'made it into a molten image' and 'made it an ox,' directly illustrating the exchange of God's glory for an animal idol.
pulpitPsalms 106:20: "Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass."
Verse 20. - Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass; i.e. they exchanged the spiritual revelation of Jehovah, in all his glorious attributes, for a material emblem, which would naturally suggest low and unworthy thoughts of the supreme Being. So Schultz and Cheyne. The expression, "an ox that eateth grass," emphasizes the contempt of the writer for a people who cou…
clarkePsalms 106:20: "Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass."
Thus they changed their glory - That is, their God, who was their glory; and they worshipped an ox in his stead. See the use St Paul makes of this, Romans 1:23 (note); see also the note there. The incorruptible God was thus served by all the heathen world.
The verse highlights the absurdity of their choice by emphasizing the ox eats grass, contrasting the God who sustains all with a creature dependent on basic sustenance. This detail makes their exchange of the glorious, life-giving Creator for a mere animal image even more profoundly foolish and contemptible.
The psalm recounts Israel's history of rebellion against God, contrasting His faithfulness with their repeated sinfulness. This verse specifically follows the account of the Israelites' envy towards Moses and Aaron, and their subsequent making and worshipping of a golden calf in the wilderness at Mount Horeb, which is detailed in Exodus 32. By exchanging God, who was their glory and the source of their blessings, for a lifeless idol, they demonstrated profound forgetfulness and contempt for His mighty acts.
The psalm recounts Israel's history of rebellion against God, contrasting His faithfulness with their repeated sinfulness. This verse specifically follows the account of the Israelites' envy towards Moses and Aaron, and their subsequent making and worshipping of a golden calf in the wilderness at Mount Horeb, which is detailed in Exodus 32. By exchanging God, who was their glory and the source of their blessings, for a lifeless idol, they demonstrated profound forgetfulness and contempt for His mighty acts.
"They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass." — The verse highlights the absurdity of their choice by emphasizing the ox eats grass, contrasting the God who sustains all with a creature dependent on basic sustenance. This detail makes their exch…
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Last reviewed October 2026