Bible Strands
Numbers 25:2
who also invited them to the sacrifices for their gods. And the people ate and bowed down to these gods.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Moabite women summon the Israelite men to join their religious feasts while the camp remains at Shittim. This invitation follows the initial phase of sexual immorality described in the preceding verse.
The words — The Hebrew verb תִּקְרֶאןָ (tik.re.na) literally means "and they invited," denoting the active call to the feast. The verb יִשְׁתַּחֲוּוּ (yish.ta.cha.vu) translates as "and they bowed down," describing physical prostration before the foreign deities.
The thread — The command against bowing to other gods is recorded in Exodus 20:5, and the warning against covenants with idolatrous inhabitants appears in Exodus 34:15. The New Testament later identifies pagan sacrifices as offerings to demons in 1 Corinthians 10:20.
Why it lands — The text establishes that eating at foreign religious tables constitutes direct participation in idolatry. It requires the reader to recognize that physical proximity to pagan worship inevitably produces spiritual compromise.
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 called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.
Cross-references
- 1 Corinthians 10:20 No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be participants with demons.
- Exodus 20:5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
- Exodus 34:15 Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices.
- Psalms 106:28 They yoked themselves to Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods.
- Hosea 9:10 I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your fathers as the firstfruits of the fig tree in its first season. But they went to Baal-peor, and consecrated themselves to Shame; so they became as detestable as the thing they loved.
- Joshua 22:17 Was not the sin of Peor enough for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day? It even brought a plague upon the congregation of the LORD.
- 1 Kings 11:1 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh—women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon, as well as Hittite women.
- Revelation 2:14 But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality.
- Exodus 23:24 You must not bow down to their gods or serve them or follow their practices. Instead, you are to demolish them and smash their sacred stones to pieces.
- Deuteronomy 32:38 which ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offerings? Let them rise up and help you; let them give you shelter!