2 Kings 17:17

17 They made their sons and daughters pass through fire and tried to find out the future by magic and witchcraft. They always chose to do what the Lord said was wrong, which made him angry.

2 Kings 17:17 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 17:17

And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through
the fire
To Baal or Moloch, which were the same, and represented the sun, which, as the above writer observes, presides in the element of fire; this was done either by way of lustration, or so as to be burnt, see ( 2 Kings 16:3 )

and used divination and enchantments:
to get knowledge of what was to be done at present, or of things to come, neglecting the word of God and his prophets, and acting against the express law of God, ( Deuteronomy 18:10-12 )

and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke
him to anger;
as Ahab their king did, see ( 1 Kings 21:20 1 Kings 21:25 ) , they were as much the servants of sin as if they had sold themselves to be slaves to it.

2 Kings 17:17 In-Context

15 They rejected the Lord's laws and the agreement he had made with their ancestors. And they refused to listen to his warnings. They worshiped useless idols and became useless themselves. They did what the nations around them did, which the Lord had warned them not to do.

16 The people rejected all the commands of the Lord their God. They molded statues of two calves, and they made an Asherah idol. They worshiped all the stars of the sky and served Baal.

17 They made their sons and daughters pass through fire and tried to find out the future by magic and witchcraft. They always chose to do what the Lord said was wrong, which made him angry.

18 Because he was very angry with the people of Israel, he removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left.

19 But even Judah did not obey the commands of the Lord their God. They did what the Israelites had done,