2 Kings 17:17

They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire and practiced divination and soothsaying. They devoted themselves to doing evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The narrator describes the covenant violations of the northern kingdom of Israel in the period immediately preceding their removal from God’s presence.

The words — The verb וַֽ֠/יַּעֲבִירוּ (Va/i.ya.'a.vi.ru) literally means “and they made pass,” denoting the movement of children through fire, and וַ/יִּקְסְמ֥וּ (va/i.yik.se.Mu) means “and they divined,” indicating the practice of seeking hidden knowledge through omens.

The thread — This specific pairing of child sacrifice and divination recurs in 2 Kings 21:6 and is explicitly forbidden in Deuteronomy 18:10, while the broader pattern of fire sacrifice appears in 2 Kings 16:3.

Why it lands — The text records Israel’s deliberate shift toward prohibited occult practices and demands recognition of how covenant rejection directly provokes divine judgment.

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

וַֽ֠יַּעֲבִירוּVa/i.ya.'a.vi.ruand/ they made pass אֶת־'et-<obj.>בְּנֵיהֶ֤םbe.nei./Hemsons/ their וְאֶת־ve./'Etand/ <obj.>בְּנֽוֹתֵיהֶם֙be.no.tei./Hemdaughters/ their בָּאֵ֔שׁba./'Eshin the/ fire וַיִּקְסְמ֥וּva/i.yik.se.Muand/ they divined קְסָמִ֖יםke.sa.Mimdivinations וַיְנַחֵ֑שׁוּva/y.na.Che.shuand/ they practiced divination וַיִּֽתְמַכְּר֗וּva/i.yit.ma.ke.Ruand/ they sold themselves לַעֲשׂ֥וֹתla./'a.Sotto/ do הָרַ֛עha./Ra'the/ evil בְּעֵינֵ֥יbe./'ei.Neiin/ [the] eyes of יְהוָ֖הYah.wehYahweh לְהַכְעִיסֽוֹ׃le./hakh.'i.S/oto/ provoke to anger/ him

King James Version

And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger.

Cross-references

2 Kings 21:6 He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.
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.
Deuteronomy 18:10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or conjury, interprets omens, practices sorcery,
Ezekiel 23:37 For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols. They have even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to Me, in the fire as food for their idols.
1 Kings 21:20 When Elijah arrived, Ahab said to him, “So you have found me out, my enemy.” He replied, “I have found you out because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the LORD.
Psalms 106:37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.
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.
Ezekiel 20:26 And I pronounced them unclean through their gifts—the sacrifice of every firstborn in the fire—so that I might devastate them, in order that they would know that I am the LORD.
Micah 5:12 I will cut the sorceries from your hand, and you will have no fortune-tellers.
Leviticus 19:26 You must not eat anything with blood still in it. You must not practice divination or sorcery.