Deuteronomy 12:31
Thou shalt not do so unto the Lord thy God: for every abomination to the Lord, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.
Study Note
Study Note
'Thou shalt not do so unto the Lord thy God: for every abomination to the Lord, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters have they burnt in the fire to their gods' — the prohibition against imitating Canaanite worship reaches its extreme case with child sacrifice, making clear that the command to destroy the Canaanite altars is grounded not in ethnic hostility but in the moral horror of practices that the Lord himself names as hateful. Archaeological and textual evidence for child sacrifice in the ancient Levant (the Tophet at Carthage, the Molech references in Jeremiah and 2 Kings) confirms the historical reality behind the biblical polemic. The verse grounds cross-cultural ethical judgment in divine character rather than in relative cultural preference.
Other Translations
Thou shalt not do so unto Jehovah thy God: for every abomination to Jehovah, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters do they burn in the fire to their gods.
`Thou dost not do so to Jehovah thy God; for every abomination of Jehovah which He is hating they have done to their gods, for even their sons and their daughters they burn with fire to their gods.
Do not so to the Lord your God: for everything which is disgusting to the Lord and hated by him they have done in honour of their gods: even burning their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.
Cross References
Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many …
After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of …
And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the …
Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of …
Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before …
Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the …
Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for …
Ye shall not do so unto the Lord your God.
When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do …
There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the …