New English Translation
Deuteronomy 12:31
31You must not worship the Lord your God the way they do! For everything that is abhorrent to him, everything he hates, they have done when worshiping their gods. They even burn up their sons and daughters before their gods!
Deuteronomy 12:31 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.
- English Standard Version (ESV)You 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.
- New King James Version (NKJV)You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.
Context of Deuteronomy 12:31
29When the Lord your God eliminates the nations from the place where you are headed and you dispossess them, you will settle down in their land. 30After they have been destroyed from your presence, be careful not to be ensnared like they are; do not pursue their gods and say, “How do these nations serve their gods? I will do the same.” You must not worship the Lord your God the way they do! For everything that is abhorrent to him, everything he hates, they have done when worshiping their gods. They even burn up their sons and daughters before their gods! 32(13:1) You must be careful to do everything I am commanding you. Do not add to it or subtract from it!
Read all of Deuteronomy 12Deuteronomy 12:31 word by word
לֹא־תַעֲשֶׂ֣ה כֵ֔ן לַיהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ כִּי֩ כָּל־תּוֹעֲבַ֨ת יְהוָ֜ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר שָׂנֵ֗א עָשׂוּ֙ לֵאלֹ֣הֵיהֶ֔ם כִּ֣י גַ֤ם אֶת־בְּנֵיהֶם֙ וְאֶת־בְּנֹ֣תֵיהֶ֔ם יִשְׂרְפ֥וּ בָאֵ֖שׁ לֵֽאלֹהֵיהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Thou shalt not doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: offerH6213
- so unto the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- thy Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- for every abominationתּוֹעֵבַהtô‛êbah tô‛êbah · abominationH8441
- which he hatethשָׂנֵאώânê' · to hateH8130
- have they doneעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- for even their sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- and their daughtersבַּתbath · daughterH1323
- they have burntשָׂרַףώâraph · to burnH8313
- in the fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
Cross-references for Deuteronomy 12:31
- Deuteronomy 12:4You must not worship the Lord your God the way they worship.
- Deuteronomy 18:9When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, you must not learn the abhorrent practices of those nations.
- Exodus 23:2“You must not follow a crowd in doing evil things; in a lawsuit you must not offer testimony that agrees with a crowd so as to pervert justice,
- Leviticus 18:3You must not do as they do in the land of Egypt where you have been living, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan into which I am about to bring you; you must not walk in their statutes.
- 2 Kings 17:15They rejected his rules, the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and the laws he had commanded them to obey. They paid allegiance to worthless idols, and so became worthless to the Lord. They copied the practices of the surrounding nations in blatant disregard of the Lord’s command.
- 2 Kings 21:2He did evil in the sight of the Lord and committed the same horrible sins practiced by the nations whom the Lord drove out from before the Israelites.
- 2 Chronicles 33:2He did evil in the sight of the Lord and committed the same horrible sins practiced by the nations whom the Lord drove out ahead of the Israelites.
- 2 Chronicles 36:14All the leaders of the priests and people became more unfaithful and committed the same horrible sins practiced by the nations. They defiled the Lord’s temple which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.
- Deuteronomy 20:2As you move forward for battle, the priest will approach and say to the soldiers,
- Deuteronomy 18:10There must never be found among you anyone who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, anyone who practices divination, an omen reader, a soothsayer, a sorcerer,
- Leviticus 18:21You must not give any of your children as an offering to Molech, so that you do not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord!
- Leviticus 20:2“You are to say to the Israelites, ‘Any man from the Israelites or from the foreigners who reside in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death; the people of the land must pelt him with stones.
- Jeremiah 7:31They have also built places of worship in a place called Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom so that they can sacrifice their sons and daughters by fire. That is something I never commanded them to do! Indeed, it never even entered my mind to command such a thing!
- Jeremiah 32:35They built places of worship for the god Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom so that they could sacrifice their sons and daughters to the god Molech. Such a disgusting practice was not something I commanded them to do! It never even entered my mind to command them to do such a thing! So Judah is certainly liable for punishment.’
- Ezekiel 20:31When you present your sacrifices – when you make your sons pass through the fire – you defile yourselves with all your idols to this very day. Will I allow you to seek me, O house of Israel? As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I will not allow you to seek me!
- Ezekiel 23:27So I will put an end to your obscene conduct and your prostitution which you have practiced in the land of Egypt. You will not seek their help or remember Egypt anymore.
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 12:31
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 31Their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire - Almost all the nations in the world agreed in offering human victims to their gods on extraordinary occasions, by which it is evident that none of those nations had any right notion of the Divine nature. How necessary, then, was the volume of revelation, to teach men what that religion is with which God can be well pleased! The Hindoos to this day offer human victims to their goddess Cali, and…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-32Verses 5-32 The command to bring ALL the sacrifices to the door of the tabernacle, was now explained with reference to the promised land. As to moral service, then, as now, men might pray and worship every where, as they did in their synagogues. The place which God would choose, is said to be the place where he would put his name. It was to be his habitation, where, as King of Israel, he would be found by all who reverently sought him. Now, under the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 31burn their sons and daughters: Human sacrifice was a terrible practice in ancient pagan religions. The Ammonites believed that their god Molech demanded this sacrifice from his followers (Leviticus 18:21; 20:2; 2 Kings 23:10; Jeremiah 32:35).Read the comment
Topics related to Deuteronomy 12:31
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 12
- 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
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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