They yoked themselves to Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods.
Parallel translations
- WEB They joined themselves also to Baal Peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead.
- KJV They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead.
- NKJV They joined themselves also to Baal of Peor, And ate sacrifices made to the dead.
- NASB ¶They also followed Baal-peor, And ate sacrifices offered to the dead.
- NLT Then our ancestors joined in the worship of Baal at Peor; they even ate sacrifices offered to the dead!
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
They yoked themselves to Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to the dead. It matters because they joined pagan idolatry and immorality.
Overview
At Peor, Israel worshiped Baal and joined in its corrupt rites (Numbers 25:1-3). 'Sacrifices of the dead' refers to offerings to lifeless idols or in pagan worship. This apostasy combined idolatry and immorality, provoking God's anger and showing how easily His people were drawn into false religion.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Hos 9:10I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your fathers as the firstfruits of the fig tree in its first season. But they went to Baal-peor, and consecrated themselves to Shame; so they became as detestable as the thing they loved.
- Num 25:1–3While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with the daughters of Moab,
- Num 25:5So Moses told the judges of Israel, “Each of you must kill all of his men who have joined in worshiping Baal of Peor.”
- Jer 10:8–10But they are altogether senseless and foolish, instructed by worthless idols made of wood!
- Deut 4:3Your eyes have seen what the LORD did at Baal-peor, for the LORD your God destroyed from among you all who followed Baal of Peor.
- 1 Cor 10:19–20Am I suggesting, then, that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything?
- Deut 32:17They sacrificed to demons, not to God, to gods they had not known, to newly arrived gods, which your fathers did not fear.
- 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.
- Num 31:16“Look, these women caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to turn unfaithfully against the LORD at Peor, so that the plague struck the congregation of the LORD.
- Josh 22:17Was not the sin of Peor enough for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day? It even brought a plague upon the congregation of the LORD.
- Ps 115:4–8Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 106:28 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.