Deuteronomy 12:31

12:31 You must not worship the Lord your God the way they do! ¹  For everything that is abhorrent ²  to him, ³  everything he hates, they have done when worshiping their gods. They even burn up their sons and daughters before their gods!

Deuteronomy 12:2

12:2 You must by all means destroy ⁴  all the places where the nations you are about to dispossess worship their gods – on the high mountains and hills and under every leafy tree. ⁵ 

Deuteronomy 17:17

17:17 Furthermore, he must not marry many ⁶  wives lest his affections turn aside, and he must not accumulate much silver and gold.

Psalms 106:37-38

106:37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons. ⁷ 

106:38 They shed innocent blood –

the blood of their sons and daughters,

whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan.

The land was polluted by bloodshed. ⁸ 

Ezekiel 16:20

16:20 “‘You took your sons and your daughters whom you bore to me and you sacrificed them ⁹  as food for the idols to eat. As if your prostitution not enough,

¹ tn Heb “you must not do thus to/for the Lord your God.”

² tn See note on this term at Deut 7:25.

³ tn Heb “every abomination of the Lord.” See note on the word “his” in v. 27.

⁴ tn Heb “destroying you must destroy”; KJV “Ye shall utterly (surely ASV) destroy”; NRSV “must demolish completely.” The Hebrew infinitive absolute precedes the verb for emphasis, which is reflected in the translation by the words “by all means.”

⁵ sn Every leafy tree. This expression refers to evergreens which, because they keep their foliage throughout the year, provided apt symbolism for nature cults such as those practiced in Canaan. The deity particularly in view is Asherah, wife of the great god El, who was considered the goddess of fertility and whose worship frequently took place at shrines near or among clusters (groves) of such trees (see also Deut 7:5). See J. Hadley, NIDOTTE 1:569-70; J. DeMoor, TDOT 1:438-44.

⁶ tn Heb “must not multiply” (cf. KJV, NASB); NLT “must not take many.”

⁷ tn The Hebrew term שֵׁדִים (shedim, “demons”) occurs only here and in Deut 32:17. Some type of lesser deity is probably in view.

⁸ sn Num 35:33-34 explains that bloodshed defiles a land.

⁹ sn The sacrifice of children was prohibited in Lev 18:21; 20:2; Deut 12:31; 18:10.