And if the people of the land ever hide their eyes and fail to put to death the man who gives one of his children to Molech,
Parallel translations
- WEB If the people of the land all hide their eyes from that person, when he gives of his offspring to Molech, and don’t put him to death;
- KJV And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not:
- NKJV And if the people of the land should in any way hide their eyes from the man, when he gives some of his descendants to Molech, and they do not kill him,
- NASB If the people of the land, however, should ever disregard that man when he gives any of his children to Molech, so as not to put him to death,
- NLT And if the people of the community ignore those who offer their children to Molech and refuse to execute them,
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
If the community shuts its eyes to a man's child sacrifice and fails to act, they share in the guilt. Tolerating grave evil implicates the whole people.
Overview
God anticipates communal complicity, where people refuse to enforce justice against Molech worship. Looking away is not neutrality but participation in the sin. The verse teaches corporate responsibility: a holy people cannot ignore wickedness in their midst without inviting judgment upon themselves.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Deut 17:2–5If a man or woman among you in one of the towns that the LORD your God gives you is found doing evil in the sight of the LORD your God by transgressing His covenant
- Acts 17:30Although God overlooked the ignorance of earlier times, He now commands all people everywhere to repent.
- Deut 13:8you must not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity, and do not spare him or shield him.
- Josh 7:12This is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They will turn their backs and run from their enemies, because they themselves have been set apart for destruction. I will no longer be with you unless you remove from among you whatever is devoted to destruction.
- 1 Sam 3:13–14I told him that I would judge his house forever for the iniquity of which he knows, because his sons blasphemed God and he did not restrain them.
- 1 Kgs 20:42And the prophet said to the king, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because you have let slip from your hand the man I had devoted to destruction, your life will be exchanged for his life, and your people for his people.’”
- Rev 2:14But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.
How Leviticus 20:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.