And I pronounced them unclean through their gifts—the sacrifice of every firstborn in the fire—so that I might devastate them, in order that they would know that I am the LORD.
Parallel translations
- WEB and I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused all that opens the womb to pass through the fire, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am Yahweh.”’
- KJV And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the LORD.
- NKJV and I pronounced them unclean because of their ritual gifts, in that they caused all their firstborn to pass through the fire, that I might make them desolate and that they might know that I am the Lord.” ’
- NASB and I pronounced them unclean because of their gifts, in that they made all their firstborn pass through the fire so that I might make them desolate, in order that they might know that I am the Lord.” ’
- NLT I let them pollute themselves with the very gifts I had given them, and I allowed them to give their firstborn children as offerings to their gods—so I might devastate them and remind them that I alone am the Lord.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God let them be defiled through their own offerings, even child sacrifice, so they would be horrified and know He is the Lord. He gave rebels over to the dreadful consequences of their idolatry.
Overview
The 'passing through the fire' refers to the abominable practice of sacrificing children to false gods, which God's law strictly forbade (Leviticus 18:21). In judgment God allowed them to follow their idolatrous desires to a horrifying end, that they might at last recognize His holiness. The verse exposes the depths to which idolatry leads and the seriousness of God's righteous judgment against it.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Isa 63:17Why, O LORD, do You make us stray from Your ways and harden our hearts from fearing You? Return, for the sake of Your servants, the tribes of Your heritage.
- Lev 18:21You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
- Ezek 6:7The slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am the LORD.
- Ezek 16:20–21You even took the sons and daughters you bore to Me and sacrificed them as food to idols. Was your prostitution not enough?
- Ezek 20:31When you offer your gifts, sacrificing your sons in the fire, you continue to defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. So should I be consulted by you, O house of Israel? As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I will not be consulted by you!
- 2 Kgs 17:17They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire and practiced divination and soothsaying. They devoted themselves to doing evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.
- Jer 32:35They have built the high places of Baal in the Valley of Hinnom to make their sons and daughters pass through the fire to Molech—something I never commanded them, nor had it ever entered My mind, that they should commit such an abomination and cause Judah to sin.
- Exod 13:12you are to present to the LORD the firstborn male of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the LORD.
- Rom 11:7–10What then? What Israel was seeking, it failed to obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened,
- 2 Chr 28:3Moreover, Ahaz burned incense in the Valley of Hinnom and sacrificed his sons in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
- 2 Kgs 21:6He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.
- Luke 2:23(as it is written in the Law of the Lord: “Every firstborn male shall be consecrated to the Lord”),
- Jer 19:9I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh in the siege and distress inflicted on them by their enemies who seek their lives.’
- 2 Chr 33:6He sacrificed his sons in the fire in the Valley of Hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.
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Original language
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