2 Kings 3:27

So he took his firstborn son, who was to succeed him, and offered him as a burnt offering on the city wall. And there was great fury against the Israelites, so they withdrew and returned to their own land.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The king of Moab, after failing to break through to the king of Edom with seven hundred swordsmen, acts on the city wall during a losing siege against the allied forces of Israel, Judah, and Edom.

The words — The text records וַ/יַּעֲלֵ֤/הוּ (va/i.ya.'a.Le./hu) = and/ he offered up, paired with הַ/בְּכ֜וֹר (ha./be.Khor) = the/ firstborn, to describe the king's act of sacrificing his designated heir as a burnt offering on the ramparts.

The thread — This act of child sacrifice intersects with the explicit prohibition in Deuteronomy 12:31 against such abominations, the prophetic challenge in Micah 6:7 regarding whether God desires firstborn offerings, and the vow narrative in Judges 11:31.

Why it lands — The narrative reports the historical event and its immediate consequence—great fury against the Israelites that forced their withdrawal—without endorsing the act or explaining its theological mechanics.

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

Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall. And there was great indignation against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.

Cross-references

Micah 6:7 Would the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
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.
Judges 11:31 then whatever comes out the door of my house to greet me on my triumphant return from the Ammonites will belong to the LORD, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”
Ezekiel 16:20 You even took the sons and daughters you bore to Me and sacrificed them as food to idols. Was your prostitution not enough?
Amos 2:1 This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Moab, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because he burned to lime the bones of Edom’s king.
Psalms 106:37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.
Genesis 22:2 “Take your son,” God said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”
Genesis 22:13 Then Abraham looked up and saw behind him a ram in a thicket, caught by its horns. So he went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.
Judges 11:39 After two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she had never had relations with a man. So it has become a custom in Israel
1 Samuel 14:36 And Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and plunder them until dawn, leaving no man alive!” “Do what seems good to you,” the troops replied. But the priest said, “We must consult God here.”