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!

Leviticus 18:21-30

18:21 You must not give any of your children as an offering to Molech, ⁴  so that you do not profane ⁵  the name of your God. I am the Lord! 18:22 You must not have sexual intercourse with a male as one has sexual intercourse with a woman; ⁶  it is a detestable act. ⁷  18:23 You must not have sexual intercourse ⁸  with any animal to become defiled with it, and a woman must not stand before an animal to have sexual intercourse with it; ⁹  it is a perversion. ¹⁰ 

Warning against the Abominations of the Nations

18:24 “‘Do not defile yourselves with any of these things, for the nations which I am about to drive out before you ¹¹  have been defiled with all these things. 18:25 Therefore ¹²  the land has become unclean and I have brought the punishment for its iniquity upon it, ¹³  so that the land has vomited out its inhabitants. 18:26 You yourselves must obey ¹⁴  my statutes and my regulations and must not do any of these abominations, both the native citizen and the resident foreigner in your midst, ¹⁵  18:27 for the people who were in the land before you have done all these abominations, ¹⁶  and the land has become unclean. 18:28 So do not make the land vomit you out because you defile it ¹⁷  just as it has vomited out the nations ¹⁸  that were before you. 18:29 For if anyone does any of these abominations, the persons who do them will be cut off from the midst of their people. ¹⁹  18:30 You must obey my charge to not practice any of the abominable statutes ²⁰  that have been done before you, so that you do not ²¹  defile yourselves by them. I am the Lord your God.’”

Leviticus 20:2-5

20:2 “You are to say to the Israelites, ‘Any man from the Israelites or from the foreigners who reside in Israel ²²  who gives any of his children ²³  to Molech ²⁴  must be put to death; the people of the land must pelt him with stones. ²⁵  20:3 I myself will set my face ²⁶  against that man and cut him off from the midst of his people, ²⁷  because he has given some of his children to Molech and thereby defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name. ²⁸  20:4 If, however, the people of the land shut their eyes ²⁹  to that man ³⁰  when he gives some of his children to Molech so that they do not put him to death, 20:5 I myself will set my face against that man and his clan. I will cut off from the midst of their people both him and all who follow after him in spiritual prostitution, ³¹  to commit prostitution by worshiping Molech. ³² 

Leviticus 20:2

20:2 “You are to say to the Israelites, ‘Any man from the Israelites or from the foreigners who reside in Israel ³³  who gives any of his children ³⁴  to Molech ³⁵  must be put to death; the people of the land must pelt him with stones. ³⁶ 

Leviticus 16:3

Day of Atonement Offerings

16:3 “In this way Aaron is to enter into the sanctuary – with a young bull ³⁷  for a sin offering ³⁸  and a ram for a burnt offering. ³⁹ 

Leviticus 17:1

The Slaughter of Animals

17:1 The Lord spoke to Moses:

Leviticus 21:6

21:6 “‘They must be holy to their God, and they must not profane ⁴⁰  the name of their God, because they are the ones who present the Lord’s gifts, ⁴¹  the food of their God. Therefore they must be holy. ⁴² 

Leviticus 21:2

21:2 except for his close relative who is near to him: ⁴³  his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother,

Leviticus 1:3

Burnt Offering Regulations: Animal from the Herd

1:3 “‘If his offering is a burnt offering ⁴⁴  from the herd he must present it as a flawless male; he must present it at the entrance ⁴⁵  of the Meeting Tent for its ⁴⁶  acceptance before the Lord.

Psalms 106:37-38

106:37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons. ⁴⁷ 

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. ⁴⁸ 

Jeremiah 19:4-6

19:4 I will do so because these people ⁴⁹  have rejected me and have defiled ⁵⁰  this place. They have offered sacrifices in it to other gods which neither they nor their ancestors ⁵¹  nor the kings of Judah knew anything about. They have filled it with the blood of innocent children. ⁵²  19:5 They have built places here ⁵³  for worship of the god Baal so that they could sacrifice their children as burnt offerings to him in the fire. Such sacrifices ⁵⁴  are something I never commanded them to make! They are something I never told them to do! Indeed, such a thing never even entered my mind! 19:6 So I, the Lord, say: ⁵⁵  “The time will soon come that people will no longer call this place Topheth or the Hinnom Valley. But they will call this valley ⁵⁶  the Valley of Slaughter!

Jeremiah 32:35

32:35 They built places of worship for the god Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom so that they could sacrifice their sons and daughters to the god Molech. ⁵⁷  Such a disgusting practice was not something I commanded them to do! It never even entered my mind to command them to do such a thing! So Judah is certainly liable for punishment.’ ⁵⁸ 

[12:31]  ¹ tn Heb “you must not do thus to/for the Lord your God.”

[12:31]  ² tn See note on this term at Deut 7:25.

[12:31]  ³ tn Heb “every abomination of the Lord.” See note on the word “his” in v. 27.

[18:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “And from your seed you shall not give to cause to pass over to Molech.” Smr (cf. also the LXX) has “to cause to serve” rather than “to cause to pass over.” For detailed remarks on Molech and Molech worship see N. H. Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers (NCBC), 87-88; P. J. Budd, Leviticus (NCBC), 259-60; and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 333-37, and the literature cited there. It could refer to either human sacrifice or a devotion of children to some sort of service of Molech, perhaps of a sexual sort (cf. Lev 20:2-5; 2 Kgs 23:10, etc.). The inclusion of this prohibition against Molech worship here may be due to some sexual connection of this kind, or perhaps simply to the lexical link between זֶרַע (zera’) meaning “seed, semen” in v. 20 but “offspring” in v. 21.

[18:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “and you shall not profane.” Regarding “profane,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above.

[18:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “And with a male you shall not lay [as the] lyings of a woman” (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 123). The specific reference here is to homosexual intercourse between males.

[18:22]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew term תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, rendered “detestable act”) refers to the repugnant practices of foreigners, whether from the viewpoint of other peoples toward the Hebrews (e.g., Gen 43:32; 46:34; Exod 8:26) or of the Lord toward other peoples (see esp. Lev 18:26-27, 29-30). It can also designate, as here, detestable acts that might be perpetrated by the native peoples (it is used again in reference to homosexuality in Lev 20:13; cf. also its use for unclean food, Deut 14:3; idol worship, Isa 41:24; remarriage to a former wife who has been married to someone else in between, Deut 24:4).

[18:23]  ⁸ tn See the note on v. 20 above.

[18:23]  ⁹ tn Heb “to copulate with it” (cf. Lev 20:16).

[18:23]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew term תֶּבֶל (tevel, “perversion”) derives from the verb “to mix; to confuse” and therefore refers to illegitimate mixtures of species or violation of the natural order of things.

[18:24]  ¹¹ tn Heb “which I am sending away (Piel participle of שָׁלַח [shalakh, “to send”]) from your faces.” The rendering here takes the participle as anticipatory of the coming conquest events.

[18:25]  ¹² tn Heb “And.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative or even inferential force here.

[18:25]  ¹³ tn Heb “and I have visited its [punishment for] iniquity on it.” See the note on Lev 17:16 above.

[18:26]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “And you shall keep, you.” The latter emphatic personal pronoun “you” is left out of a few medieval Hebrew mss, Smr, the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate.

[18:26]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the native and the sojourner”; NIV “The native-born and the aliens”; NAB “whether natives or resident aliens.”

[18:27]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “for all these abominations the men of the land who were before you have done.”

[18:28]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “And the land will not vomit you out in your defiling it.”

[18:28]  ¹⁸ tc The MT reads the singular “nation” and is followed by ASV, NASB, NRSV; the LXX, Syriac, and Targum have the plural “nations” (cf. v. 24).

[18:29]  ¹⁹ sn Regarding the “cut off” penalty see the note on Lev 7:20.

[18:30]  ²⁰ tn Heb “to not do from the statutes of the detestable acts.”

[18:30]  ²¹ tn Heb “and you will not.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.

[20:2]  ²² tn Heb “or from the sojourner who sojourns”; NAB “an alien residing in Israel.”

[20:2]  ²³ tn Heb “his seed” (so KJV, ASV); likewise in vv. 3-4.

[20:2]  ²⁴ tn Regarding Molech and Molech worship see the note on Lev 18:21.

[20:2]  ²⁵ tn This is not the most frequently-used Hebrew verb for stoning (see instead סָקַל, saqal), but a word that refers to the action of throwing, slinging, or pelting someone with stones (רָגָם, ragam; see HALOT 1187 s.v. רגם qal.a, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 136).

[20:3]  ²⁶ tn Heb “And I, I shall give my faces.”

[20:3]  ²⁷ sn On the “cut off” penalty see the notes on Lev 7:20 and 17:4.

[20:3]  ²⁸ tn Heb “for the sake of defiling my sanctuary and to profane my holy name.”

[20:4]  ²⁹ tn Heb “And if shutting [infinitive absolute] they shut [finite verb].” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 343 §113.p.

[20:4]  ³⁰ tn Heb “from that man” (so ASV); NASB “disregard that man.”

[20:5]  ³¹ tn The adjective “spiritual” has been supplied in the translation to clarify that this is not a reference to literal prostitution, but figuratively compares idolatry to prostitution.

[20:5]  ³² tn Heb “to commit harlotry after Molech.” The translation employs “worshiping” here for clarity (cf. NAB, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT). On the “cut off” penalty see the note on Lev 7:20.

[20:2]  ³³ tn Heb “or from the sojourner who sojourns”; NAB “an alien residing in Israel.”

[20:2]  ³⁴ tn Heb “his seed” (so KJV, ASV); likewise in vv. 3-4.

[20:2]  ³⁵ tn Regarding Molech and Molech worship see the note on Lev 18:21.

[20:2]  ³⁶ tn This is not the most frequently-used Hebrew verb for stoning (see instead סָקַל, saqal), but a word that refers to the action of throwing, slinging, or pelting someone with stones (רָגָם, ragam; see HALOT 1187 s.v. רגם qal.a, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 136).

[16:3]  ³⁷ tn Heb “with a bull, a son of the herd.”

[16:3]  ³⁸ sn See the note on Lev 4:3 regarding the term “sin offering.”

[16:3]  ³⁹ sn For the “burnt offering” see the note on Lev 1:3.

[21:6]  ⁴⁰ sn Regarding “profane,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above.

[21:6]  ⁴¹ sn Regarding the Hebrew term for “gifts,” see the note on Lev 1:9 above (cf. also 3:11 and 16 in combination with the word for “food” that follows in the next phrase here).

[21:6]  ⁴² tc Smr and all early versions have the plural adjective “holy” rather than the MT singular noun “holiness.”

[21:2]  ⁴³ tn Heb “except for his flesh, the one near to him.”

[1:3]  ⁴⁴ sn The burnt offering (עֹלָה, ’olah) was basically a “a gift of a soothing aroma to the Lord” (vv. 9, 13, 17). It could serve as a votive or freewill offering (e.g., Lev 22:18-20), an accompaniment of prayer and supplication (e.g., 1 Sam 7:9-10), part of the regular daily, weekly, monthly, and festival cultic pattern (e.g., Num 28-29), or to make atonement either alone (e.g., Lev 1:4; 16:24) or in combination with the grain offering (e.g., Lev 14:20) or sin offering (e.g., Lev 5:7; 9:7). See R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 4:996-1022.

[1:3]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “door” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “doorway” (likewise throughout the book of Leviticus). The translation “door” or “doorway” may suggest a framed door in a casing to the modern reader, but here the term refers to the entrance to a tent.

[1:3]  ⁴⁶ tn The NIV correctly has “it” in the text, referring to the acceptance of the animal (cf., e.g., RSV, NEB, NLT), but “he” in the margin, referring to the acceptance of the offerer (cf. ASV, NASB, JB). The reference to a “flawless male” in the first half of this verse suggests that the issue here is the acceptability of the animal to make atonement on behalf of the offerer (Lev 1:4; cf. NRSV “for acceptance in your behalf”).

[106:37]  ⁴⁷ tn The Hebrew term שֵׁדִים (shedim, “demons”) occurs only here and in Deut 32:17. Some type of lesser deity is probably in view.

[106:38]  ⁴⁸ sn Num 35:33-34 explains that bloodshed defiles a land.

[19:4]  ⁴⁹ tn The text merely has “they.” But since a reference is made later to “they” and “their ancestors,” the referent must be to the people that the leaders of the people and leaders of the priests represent.

[19:4]  ⁵⁰ sn Heb “have made this city foreign.” The verb here is one that is built off of the noun and adjective which relate to foreign nations. Comparison may be made to Jer 2:21 where the adjective refers to the strange, wild vine as opposed to the choice vine the Lord planted and to 5:19 and 8:19 where the noun is used of worshiping foreign gods. Israel through its false worship has “denationalized” itself in its relation to God.

[19:4]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “fathers.”

[19:4]  ⁵² tn Heb “the blood of innocent ones.” This must be a reference to child sacrifice as explained in the next verse. Some have seen a reference to the sins of social injustice alluded to in 2 Kgs 21:16 and 24:4 but those are connected with the city itself. Hence the word children is supplied in the translation to make the referent explicit.

[19:5]  ⁵³ tn The word “here” is not in the text. However, it is implicit from the rest of the context. It is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[19:5]  ⁵⁴ tn The words “such sacrifices” are not in the text. The text merely says “to burn their children in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal which I did not command.” The command obviously refers not to the qualification “to Baal” but to burning the children in the fire as burnt offerings. The words are supplied in the translation to avoid a possible confusion that the reference is to sacrifices to Baal. Likewise the words should not be translated so literally that they leave the impression that God never said anything about sacrificing their children to other gods. The fact is he did. See Lev 18:21; Deut 12:30; 18:10.

[19:6]  ⁵⁵ tn This phrase (Heb “Oracle of the Lord”) has been handled this way on several occasions when it occurs within first person addresses where the Lord is the speaker. See, e.g., 16:16; 17:24; 18:6.

[19:6]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “it will no longer be called to this place Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom but the Valley of Slaughter.”

[32:35]  ⁵⁷ sn Compare Jer 7:30-31; 19:5 and the study notes on 7:30. The god Molech is especially associated with the practice of child sacrifice (Lev 18:21; 20:2-5; 2 Kgs 23:10). In 1 Kgs 11:7 this god is identified as the god of the Ammonites who is also called Milcom in 1 Kgs 11:5; 2 Kgs 23:13. Child sacrifice, however, was not confined to this god; it was also made to the god Baal (Jer 19:5) and to other idols that the Israelites had set up (Ezek 16:20-21). This practice was, however, strictly prohibited in Israel (Lev 18:21; 20:2-5; Deut 12:31; 18:10). It was this practice as well as other pagan rites that Manasseh had instituted in Judah that ultimately led to Judah’s demise (2 Kgs 24:3-4). Though Josiah tried to root these pagan practices (2 Kgs 23:4-14) out of Judah he could not do so. The people had only made a pretense of following his reforms; their hearts were still far from God (Jer 3:10; 12:2).

[32:35]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “They built high places to Baal which are in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to cause their sons and daughters to pass through [the fire] to Molech [a thing] which I did not command them and [which] did not go up into my heart [= “mind” in modern psychology] to do this abomination so as to make Judah liable for punishment.” For the use of the Hiphil of חָטָא (khata’) to refer to the liability for punishment see BDB s.v. חָטָא Hiph.3 and compare the usage in Deut 24:8. Coming at the end as this does, this nuance is much more likely than “cause Judah to sin” which is the normal translation assigned to the verb here. The particle לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) that precedes it is here once again introducing a result and not a purpose (compare other clear examples in 27:10, 15). The sentence has been broken down in conformity to contemporary English style and an attempt has been made to make clear that what is detestable and not commanded is not merely child sacrifice to Molech but child sacrifice in general.