2 Chronicles 28:5

28:5 The Lord his God handed him over to the king of Syria. The Syrians 1  defeated him and deported many captives to Damascus. 2  He was also handed over to the king of Israel, who thoroughly defeated him. 3 

2 Chronicles 33:6

33:6 He passed his sons through the fire 4  in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom and practiced divination, omen reading, and sorcery. He set up a ritual pit to conjure up underworld spirits and appointed magicians to supervise it. 5  He did a great amount of evil in the sight of the Lord and angered him. 6 

1 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Syrians) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

2 tn Heb “and took captive from him a great captivity and brought [them] to Damascus.”

3 tn Heb “who struck him down with a great striking.”

4 tn Or “he sacrificed his sons in the fire.” This may refer to child sacrifice, though some interpret it as a less drastic cultic practice (NEB, NASV “made his sons pass through the fire”; NIV “sacrificed his sons in the fire”; NRSV “made his sons pass through fire”). For discussion see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 266-67.

5 tn Heb “and he set up a ritual pit, along with a conjurer.” Hebrew אוֹב (’ov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. In 1 Sam 28:7 the witch of Endor is called a בַּעֲלַת אוֹב (ba’alat ’ov, “owner of a ritual pit”). See H. Hoffner, “Second Millennium Antecedents to the Hebrew ’OñBù,” JBL 86 (1967): 385-401.

6 tn Heb “and he multiplied doing what is evil in the eyes of the Lord, angering him.”