1 Kings 11:7

11:7 Furthermore, ¹  on the hill east of Jerusalem ²  Solomon built a high place ³  for the detestable Moabite god Chemosh ⁴  and for the detestable Ammonite god Milcom. ⁵ 

1 Kings 11:33

11:33 I am taking the kingdom from him ⁶  because they have ⁷  abandoned me and worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom. They have not followed my instructions ⁸  by doing what I approve and obeying my rules and regulations, like Solomon’s father David did. ⁹ 

Amos 5:26

5:26 You will pick up your images ¹⁰  of Sikkuth, ¹¹  your king, ¹² 

and Kiyyun, ¹³  your star god, which you made for yourselves,

Acts 7:43

7:43 But you took along the tabernacle ¹⁴  of Moloch ¹⁵  and the star of the ¹⁶  god Rephan, ¹⁷  the images you made to worship, but I will deport ¹⁸  you beyond Babylon.’ ¹⁹ 

¹ tn Heb “then.”

² sn The hill east of Jerusalem refers to the Mount of Olives.

³ sn A high place. The “high places” were places of worship that were naturally or artificially elevated (see 1 Kgs 3:2).

⁴ tn Heb “Chemosh, the detestable thing of Moab.”

⁵ tc The MT reads “Molech,” but Milcom must be intended (see vv. 5, 33).

⁶ tn The words “I am taking the kingdom from him” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

⁷ tc This is the reading of the MT; the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate read “he has.”

⁸ tn Heb “walked in my ways.”

⁹ tn Heb “by doing what is right in my eyes, my rules and my regulations, like David his father.”

¹⁰ tn This word appears in an awkward position in the Hebrew, following “Kiyyun.” It is placed here for better sense.

¹¹ tn The Hebrew term סִכּוּת (sikkut) apparently refers to Sakkuth, a Mesopotamian star god identified with Ninurta in an Ugaritic god list. The name is vocalized in the Hebrew text after the pattern of שִׁקוּץ (shiqquts, “detestable thing”). See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 195-96. Some English versions, following the LXX, translate as “tent” or “shrine” (NEB, NIV), pointing the term as סֻכַּת (sukkat; cf. 9:11).

¹² tc LXX, Vulgate, and Acts 7:43 read “Moloch” (cf. KJV). The Hebrew consonants are the same for both “king” and “Moloch” (מֹלֶךְ; molekh).

¹³ tn The Hebrew term כִּיּוּן (kiyyun) apparently refers to the Mesopotamian god Kayamanu, or Saturn. The name, like “Sikkuth” in the previous line, is vocalized in the Hebrew text after the pattern of שִׁקוּץ (shiqquts, “detestable thing”). See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 195-96. Some versions translate as “pedestal” (NEB, NIV), relating the term to the root כּוּן (kun).

¹⁴ tn Or “tent.”

¹⁵ sn Moloch was a Canaanite deity who was believed to be the god of the sky and the sun.

¹⁶ tc ‡ Most mss, including several important ones (Ì⁷⁴ א A C E Ψ 33 1739 Ï h p vg sy^h mae bo Cyr), have ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “your”) here, in conformity with the LXX of Amos 5:26. But other significant and diverse witnesses lack the pronoun: The lack of ὑμῶν in B D 36 453 gig sy^p sa Ir^lat Or is difficult to explain if it is not the original wording here. NA²⁷ has the word in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.

¹⁷ sn Rephan (῾Ραιφάν, RJaifan) was a pagan deity. The term was a name for Saturn. It was variously spelled in the mss (BDAG 903 s.v. has Rompha as an alternate spelling). The references cover a range of deities and a history of unfaithfulness.

¹⁸ tn Or “I will make you move.”

¹⁹ sn A quotation from Amos 5:25-27. This constituted a prediction of the exile.