Bible Strands
Jeremiah 32:35
They have built the high places of Baal in the Valley of Ben-hinnom to make their sons and daughters pass through the fire to Molech—something I never commanded them, nor had it ever entered My mind, that they should commit such an abomination and cause Judah to sin.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Yahweh speaks through Jeremiah to the prophet and the remnant of Judah during the Babylonian siege, immediately after noting the defilement of the temple.
The words — The Hebrew וַיִּבְנוּ (va-yivnu, "they built") and בָּמוֹת (ba-mot, "high places") record the physical erection of pagan altars in the Valley of Ben-hinnom.
The thread — This practice echoes the abomination condemned in Leviticus 18:21, is repeated in 2 Chronicles 33:6, and matches Jeremiah’s earlier warning in Jeremiah 7:31.
Why it lands — The text states that God neither commanded nor entertained the thought of child sacrifice, yet the people committed it to cause Judah to sin. It demands recognition that idolatry originates in human rebellion rather than divine instruction.
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
And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 7:31 They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom so they could burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I never commanded, nor did it even enter My mind.
- 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.
- 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 20:2 “Tell the Israelites, ‘Any Israelite or foreigner living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the land are to stone him.
- Jeremiah 19:5 They have built high places to Baal on which to burn their children in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I never commanded or mentioned, nor did it even enter My mind.
- 1 Kings 16:19 because of the sins he had committed, doing evil in the sight of the LORD and following the example of Jeroboam and the sin he had committed and had caused Israel to commit.
- 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.
- 2 Chronicles 28:2 Instead, he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even made cast images of the Baals.
- Isaiah 57:5 who burn with lust among the oaks, under every luxuriant tree, who slaughter your children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?
- 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?