Deuteronomy 18:10

18:10 There must never be found among you anyone who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, ¹  anyone who practices divination, ²  an omen reader, ³  a soothsayer, ⁴  a sorcerer, ⁵ 

Genesis 20:6

20:6 Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. ⁶  That is why I have kept you ⁷  from sinning against me and why ⁸  I did not allow you to touch her.

Psalms 147:19-20

147:19 He proclaims his word to Jacob,

his statutes and regulations to Israel.

147:20 He has not done so with any other nation;

they are not aware of his regulations.

Praise the Lord!

Acts 14:16

14:16 In ⁹  past ¹⁰  generations he allowed all the nations ¹¹  to go their own ways,

[18:10]  ¹ tn Heb “who passes his son or his daughter through the fire.” The expression “pass…through the fire” is probably a euphemism for human sacrifice (cf. NAB, NIV, TEV, NLT). See also Deut 12:31.

[18:10]  ² tn Heb “a diviner of divination” (קֹסֵם קְסָמִים, qosem qÿsamim). This was a means employed to determine the future or the outcome of events by observation of various omens and signs (cf. Num 22:7; 23:23; Josh 13:22; 1 Sam 6:2; 15:23; 28:8; etc.). See M. Horsnell, NIDOTTE 3:945-51.

[18:10]  ³ tn Heb “one who causes to appear” (מְעוֹנֵן, mÿ’onen). Such a practitioner was thought to be able to conjure up spirits or apparitions (cf. Lev 19:26; Judg 9:37; 2 Kgs 21:6; Isa 2:6; 57:3; Jer 27:9; Mic 5:11).

[18:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “a seeker of omens” (מְנַחֵשׁ, mÿnakhesh). This is a subset of divination, one illustrated by the use of a “divining cup” in the story of Joseph (Gen 44:5).

[18:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “a doer of sorcery” (מְכַשֵּׁף, mikhashef). This has to do with magic or the casting of spells in order to manipulate the gods or the powers of nature (cf. Lev 19:26-31; 2 Kgs 17:15b-17; 21:1-7; Isa 57:3, 5; etc.). See M. Horsnell, NIDOTTE 2:735-38.

[20:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “with the integrity of your heart.”

[20:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “and I, even I, kept you.”

[20:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “therefore.”

[14:16]  ⁹ tn Grk “them, who in.” The relative pronoun (“who”) was replaced by the pronoun “he” (“In past generations he”) and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek and the awkwardness of two relative clauses (“who made the heaven” and “who in past generations”) following one another.

[14:16]  ¹⁰ tn On this term see BDAG 780 s.v. παροίχομαι. The word is a NT hapax legomenon.

[14:16]  ¹¹ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (in Greek the word for “nation” and “Gentile” is the same). The plural here alludes to the variety of false religions in the pagan world.