Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 28:3
Moreover, Ahaz burned incense in the Valley of Ben-hinnom and sacrificed his sons in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — King Ahaz of Judah performs pagan rites in the Valley of Ben-hinnom, continuing his documented pattern of adopting the religious practices of the nations the LORD previously displaced from the land.
The words — הִקְטִיר (hik.Tir) literally means he made smoke or burned incense, while בְּגֵיא בֶן־הִנּוֹם (be./Gei ben-hinnom) identifies the specific geographic site. The verb וַיַּבְעֵר (va/i.yav.'Er) explicitly records the act of burning his sons in the fire.
The thread — The text directly parallels the prohibition in Leviticus 18:21 against giving children to Molech and anticipates the identical ritual later performed by Manasseh in 2 Chronicles 33:6.
Why it lands — The passage records a concrete historical violation where a monarch replaces covenant law with foreign custom, requiring the reader to trace how repeated adoption of displaced nations' practices escalates into explicit covenant breaking.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel.
Cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 33:2 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD by following the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
- 2 Chronicles 33:6 He sacrificed his sons in the fire in the Valley of Ben-hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.
- Leviticus 18:21 You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
- Joshua 15:8 From there the border went up the Valley of Ben-hinnom along the southern slope of the Jebusites (that is, Jerusalem) and ascended to the top of the hill that faces the Valley of Hinnom on the west, at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim.
- 2 Kings 23:10 He also desecrated Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom so that no one could sacrifice his son or daughter in the fire to Molech.
- Deuteronomy 12:31 You must not worship the LORD your God in this way, because they practice for their gods every abomination which the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.
- Deuteronomy 18:9 When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not imitate the detestable ways of the nations there.
- 2 Kings 16:3 Instead, he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
- Psalms 106:37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.
- Jeremiah 2:34 Moreover, your skirts are stained with the blood of the innocent poor, though you did not find them breaking in. But in spite of all these things