Leviticus 18:21

Leviticus 18:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord.
• New International Version (NIV)“ ‘Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molek, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And you shall not let any of your descendants pass through the fire to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.
• New Living Translation (NLT)“Do not permit any of your children to be offered as a sacrifice to Molech, for you must not bring shame on the name of your God. I am the Lord.

Context of Leviticus 18:21

19"You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness while she is in her menstrual uncleanness. 20And you shall not lie sexually with your neighbor's wife and so make yourself unclean with her. You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. 22You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. 23And you shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it, neither shall any woman give herself to an animal to lie with it: it is perversion.

Leviticus 18:21 word by word

וּמִֽזַּרְעֲךָ֥ לֹא־תִתֵּ֖ן לְהַעֲבִ֣יר לַמֹּ֑לֶךְ וְלֹ֧א תְחַלֵּ֛ל אֶת־שֵׁ֥ם אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ אֲנִ֥י יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And thou shalt notנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• let any of thy seedזֶ֫רַעzera‛ · seed: childrenH2233
• passעָבַר‛âbar · to passH5674
• to Molechמֹ֫לֶךְmôlek · MolechH4432
• neither shalt thou profaneחָלַלchâlal · to profane/begin: profaneH2490
• the nameשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034
• of thy Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068

Cross-references for Leviticus 18:21

• Leviticus 20:2"Say to the people of Israel, Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones.
• Deuteronomy 12:31You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.
• Deuteronomy 18:10There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer
• 2 Kings 16:3but he walked in the way of the kings of Israel. He even burned his son as an offering, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.
• 2 Kings 21:6And he burned his son as an offering and used fortune-telling and omens and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger.
• 2 Kings 23:10And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech.
• Psalms 106:37They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons;
• Jeremiah 7:31And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind.
• Jeremiah 19:5and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or decree, nor did it come into my mind—
• Ezekiel 20:31When you present your gifts and offer up your children in fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. And shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, declares the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you.
• Ezekiel 23:37For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. With their idols they have committed adultery, and they have even offered up to them for food the children whom they had borne to me.
• 1 Kings 11:7Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem.
• Amos 5:26You shall take up Sikkuth your king, and Kiyyun your star-god—your images that you made for yourselves,
• Acts 7:43You took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan, the images that you made to worship; and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.'
• Leviticus 19:12You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.
• Leviticus 21:6They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. For they offer the Lord's food offerings, the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy.

Commentaries on Leviticus 18:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21Pass through the fire to Molech - The name of this idol is mentioned for the first time in this place. As the word מלח molech or melech signifies king or governor, it is very likely that this idol represented the sun; and more particularly as the fire appears to have been so much employed in his worship. There are several opinions concerning the meaning of passing through the fire to Molech. Some think that the semen humanum was offered on the fire to…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21Molech - See the note at Leviticus 20:2-5.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21Molech was the national god of the Ammonites (1 Kings 11:7). Later, Israel worshiped this god during times of turning away from their faith (2 Kings 23:10; Jeremiah 32:35). Molech worship probably appears here because it related to sexual sins and possibly included child sacrifice. profane (or blaspheme) the name of your God: This meant using the name of the Lord as if it were unholy, such as in a false oath or in the worship of a false god (Leviticus…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, &c.--Molech, or Moloch, which signifies "king," was the idol of the Ammonites. His statue was of brass, and rested on a pedestal or throne of the same metal. His head, resembling that of a calf, was adorned with a crown, and his arms were extended in the attitude of embracing those who approached him. His devotees dedicated their children to him; and when this was to be done, they…Read the comment

Topics related to Leviticus 18:21

• Abomination
• God
• Idolatry
• Molech
• Offerings

In the dictionaries

• God
• Molech; Moloch
• Molech
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Approach
• Live
• Mankind
• Moloch
• Near
• Atonement, Day of

Commentaries on Leviticus 18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings