Leviticus 20:4

Leviticus 20:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not:
• New International Version (NIV)If the members of the community close their eyes when that man sacrifices one of his children to Molek and if they fail to put him to death,
• English Standard Version (ESV)And if the people of the land do at all close their eyes to that man when he gives one of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death,
• New King James Version (NKJV)And if the people of the land should in any way hide their eyes from the man, when he gives some of his descendants to Molech, and they do not kill him,

Context of Leviticus 20:4

2“Tell the Israelites: If Israelites or foreigners living among you give one of their children as a sacrifice to ⌞the god⌟ Molech, they must be put to death. The common people must stone them to death. 3I will condemn them and exclude them from the people. They gave one of their children to Molech, made my holy tent unclean, and dishonored my holy name. If the common people ignore those who give their children to Molech and do not put them to death, 5I will condemn them and their families. I will exclude them from the people. I will exclude from the people everyone who chases after Molech as if he were a prostitute. 6“I will condemn people who turn to mediums and psychics and chase after them as though they were prostitutes. I will exclude them from the people.

Leviticus 20:4 word by word

וְאִ֡ם הַעְלֵ֣ם יַעְלִימֽוּ֩ עַ֨ם הָאָ֜רֶץ אֶת־עֵֽינֵיהֶם֙ מִן־הָאִ֣ישׁ הַה֔וּא בְּתִתּ֥וֹ מִזַּרְע֖וֹ לַמֹּ֑לֶךְ לְבִלְתִּ֖י הָמִ֥ית אֹתֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And if the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• of the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• do any waysעָלַם‛âlam · to concealH5956
• their eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• from the manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• when he givethנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• of his seedזֶ֫רַעzera‛ · seed: childrenH2233
• unto Molechמֹ֫לֶךְmôlek · MolechH4432
• and killמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
• him notבִּלְתִּיbiltîy · lestH1115

Cross-references for Leviticus 20:4

• Acts 17:30“God overlooked the times when people didn’t know any better. But now he commands everyone everywhere to turn to him and change the way they think and act.
• Deuteronomy 13:8Don’t be influenced by any of these people or listen to them. Have no pity on them. Don’t feel sorry for them or protect them.
• Deuteronomy 17:2In one of the cities the Lord your God is giving you, there may be a man or woman among you who is doing what the Lord considers evil. This person may be disregarding the conditions of the Lord’s promise
• Joshua 7:12“The people of Israel will not be able to defend themselves against their enemies. They will run away from their enemies because the people of Israel are now claimed for destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy what I have claimed for myself.
• 1 Samuel 3:13I told him that I would hand down a permanent judgment against his household because he knew about his sons’ sin—that they were cursing God —but he didn’t try to stop them.
• 1 Kings 20:42The prophet told him, “This is what the Lord says: You let the man go. He was claimed by God and should have been killed. For that reason your life will be taken in place of his life and your people in place of his people.”
• Revelation 2:14But I have a few things against you: You have among you those who follow what Balaam taught Balak. Balak trapped the people of Israel by ⌞encouraging⌟ them to eat food sacrificed to idols and to sin sexually.

Commentaries on Leviticus 20:4

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2-5Verses 2-5 Molech, literally, “the King”, called also Moloch, Milcom, and Malcham, was known in later times as “the abomination of the Ammonites” 1 Kings 11:5. He appears to have been the fire-god of the eastern nations; related to, and sometimes made identical with, Baal, the sun-god. The nature of the rite and of the impious custom called passing children through the fire to Molech is very doubtful. The practices appear to have been essentially…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. If the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, &c.--that is, connive at their countrymen practising the horrid rites of Molech. Awful was it that any Hebrew parents could so violate their national covenant, and no wonder that God denounced the severest penalties against them and their families.Read the comment

Topics related to Leviticus 20:4

• Collusion
• Idolatry
• Molech
• Offerings
• Punishment
• Sanitation

In the dictionaries

• Molech; Moloch
• Molech
• Accomplish
• Crucifixion
• Moloch
• Wizard
• Ammon; Ammonites
• Burial
• Clean
• Criticism

Commentaries on Leviticus 20

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings