2 Kings 21:6

6 He sacrificed his son as a burnt offering. He practiced divination and magic and consulted fortunetellers and mediums. He sinned greatly against the Lord and stirred up his anger.

2 Kings 21:6 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 21:6

And he made his son pass through the fire
To Molech, after the manner of the old Canaanites and Phoenicians; his son Amon, that succeeded him, and other children, as appears from ( 2 Chronicles 33:6 ) , where mention is made of the place where it was done, the valley of the son of Hinnom:

and observed times;
lucky or unlucky, which was judged of by omens, and by the position of the stars:

and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards;
to get knowledge of things to come; all which are forbid and condemned by the law of Moses; see ( Deuteronomy 18:10-12 ) ,

he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to
anger;
in all those evils before mentioned, which were very abominable in the sight of God.

2 Kings 21:6 In-Context

4 He built pagan altars in the Temple, the place that the Lord had said was where he should be worshiped.
5 In the two courtyards of the Temple he built altars for the worship of the stars.
6 He sacrificed his son as a burnt offering. He practiced divination and magic and consulted fortunetellers and mediums. He sinned greatly against the Lord and stirred up his anger.
7 He placed the symbol of the goddess Asherah in the Temple, the place about which the Lord had said to David and his son Solomon: "Here in Jerusalem, in this Temple, is the place that I have chosen out of all the territory of the twelve tribes of Israel as the place where I am to be worshiped.
8 And if the people of Israel will obey all my commands and keep the whole Law that my servant Moses gave them, then I will not allow them to be driven out of the land that I gave to their ancestors."

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. consulted; [or] brought back.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.