Leviticus 17:7

Leviticus 17:7 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.
• New International Version (NIV)They must no longer offer any of their sacrifices to the goat idols to whom they prostitute themselves. This is to be a lasting ordinance for them and for the generations to come.’
• English Standard Version (ESV)So they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to goat demons, after whom they whore. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.
• New King James Version (NKJV)They shall no more offer their sacrifices to demons, after whom they have played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.” ’

Context of Leviticus 17:7

5The purpose of this rule is to stop the Israelites from sacrificing animals in the open fields. It will ensure that they bring their sacrifices to the priest at the entrance of the Tabernacle, so he can present them to the Lord as peace offerings. 6Then the priest will be able to splatter the blood against the Lord’s altar at the entrance of the Tabernacle, and he will burn the fat as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. The people must no longer be unfaithful to the Lord by offering sacrifices to the goat idols. This is a permanent law for them, to be observed from generation to generation. 8“Give them this command as well. If any native Israelite or foreigner living among you offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice 9but does not bring it to the entrance of the Tabernacle to offer it to the Lord, that person will be cut off from the community.

Leviticus 17:7 word by word

וְלֹא־יִזְבְּח֥וּ עוֹד֙ אֶת־זִבְחֵיהֶ֔ם לַשְּׂעִירִ֕ם אֲשֶׁ֛ר הֵ֥ם זֹנִ֖ים אַחֲרֵיהֶ֑ם חֻקַּ֥ת עוֹלָ֛ם תִּֽהְיֶה־זֹּ֥את לָהֶ֖ם לְדֹרֹתָֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And they shall no more offerזָבַחzâbach · to sacrificeH2076
• their sacrificesזֶ֫בַחzebach · sacrificeH2077
• unto devilsשָׂעִירώâ‛îyr ώâ‛ir · satyrH8163
• afterאַחַר'achar · afterH310
• whom they have gone a whoringזָנָהzânâh · to fornicateH2181
• This shall be a statuteחֻקָּהchûqqâh · statuteH2708
• for everעוֹלָם‛ôlâm ‛ôlâm · forever: enduringH5769
• unto them throughout their generationsדּוֹרdôr dôr · generationH1755

Cross-references for Leviticus 17:7

• Deuteronomy 32:17They offered sacrifices to demons, which are not God, to gods they had not known before, to new gods only recently arrived, to gods their ancestors had never feared.
• 2 Chronicles 11:15Jeroboam appointed his own priests to serve at the pagan shrines, where they worshiped the goat and calf idols he had made.
• Psalms 106:37They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons.
• John 12:31The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out.
• John 14:30“I don’t have much more time to talk to you, because the ruler of this world approaches. He has no power over me,
• 1 Corinthians 10:20No, not at all. I am saying that these sacrifices are offered to demons, not to God. And I don’t want you to participate with demons.
• 2 Corinthians 4:4Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
• Ephesians 2:2You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.
• Revelation 9:20But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God. They continued to worship demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood—idols that can neither see nor hear nor walk!
• Leviticus 20:5I myself will turn against them and their families and will cut them off from the community. This will happen to all who commit spiritual prostitution by worshiping Molech.
• Exodus 34:15“You must not make a treaty of any kind with the people living in the land. They lust after their gods, offering sacrifices to them. They will invite you to join them in their sacrificial meals, and you will go with them.
• Deuteronomy 31:16The Lord said to Moses, “You are about to die and join your ancestors. After you are gone, these people will begin to worship foreign gods, the gods of the land where they are going. They will abandon me and break my covenant that I have made with them.
• Jeremiah 3:1“If a man divorces a woman and she goes and marries someone else, he will not take her back again, for that would surely corrupt the land. But you have prostituted yourself with many lovers, so why are you trying to come back to me?” says the Lord.
• Ezekiel 23:8For when she left Egypt, she did not leave her spirit of prostitution behind. She was still as lewd as in her youth, when the Egyptians slept with her, fondled her breasts, and used her as a prostitute.
• Revelation 17:1One of the seven angels who had poured out the seven bowls came over and spoke to me. “Come with me,” he said, “and I will show you the judgment that is going to come on the great prostitute, who rules over many waters.

Commentaries on Leviticus 17:7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7They shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils - They shall not sacrifice לשעירים lasseirim, to the hairy ones, to goats. The famous heathen god, Pan, was represented as having the posteriors, horns, and ears of a goat; and the Mendesians, a people of Egypt, had a deity which they worshipped under this form. Herodotus says that all goats were worshipped in Egypt, but the he-goat particularly. It appears also that the different ape and monkey…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3-7Verses 3-7 Every domesticated animal that was slain for food was a sort of peace-offering Leviticus 17:5. This law could only be kept as long as the children of Israel dwelt in their camp in the wilderness. The restriction was removed before they settled in the holy land, where their numbers and diffusion over the country would have rendered its strict observance impossible. See Deuteronomy 12:15-16, Deuteronomy 12:20-24. Leviticus 17:4 Blood shall be…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7have prostituted themselves (Hebrew zanah, which means "commit fornication"): Israel must worship only the Lord (Exodus 20:3). Israel's covenant with the LORD was like a marriage (see Hosea 1:2). Worshiping other gods was like spiritual adultery. Many Canaanite religions were fertility cults. This verb refers to prostitution at Canaanite pagan worship shrines. They believed these acts would make the land fertile through magic rites involving sexual…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils--literally, "goats." The prohibition evidently alludes to the worship of the hirei-footed kind, such as Pan, Faunus, and Saturn, whose recognized symbol was a goat. This was a form of idolatry enthusiastically practised by the Egyptians, particularly in the nome or province of Mendes. Pan was supposed especially to preside over mountainous and desert regions, and it was while they were in the…Read the comment

Topics related to Leviticus 17:7

• Demons
• Satyr

In the dictionaries

• Devil
• Goat
• Atonement, Day of
• Azazel
• Clean
• Cleanse
• Communion With Demons; Devils
• Cornelius
• Criticism
• Demon; Demoniac; Demonology

Commentaries on Leviticus 17

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings