Yeremia 7:31

7:31 They have also built places of worship ¹  in a place called Topheth ²  in the Valley of Ben Hinnom so that they can sacrifice their sons and daughters by fire. That is something I never commanded them to do! Indeed, it never even entered my mind to command such a thing! ³ 

Ulangan 12:31

12:31 You must not worship the Lord your God the way they do! ⁴  For everything that is abhorrent ⁵  to him, ⁶  everything he hates, they have done when worshiping their gods. They even burn up their sons and daughters before their gods!

Ulangan 12:2

12:2 You must by all means destroy ⁷  all the places where the nations you are about to dispossess worship their gods – on the high mountains and hills and under every leafy tree. ⁸ 

Kisah Para Rasul 17:17

17:17 So he was addressing ⁹  the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles ¹⁰  in the synagogue, ¹¹  and in the marketplace every day ¹²  those who happened to be there.

Kisah Para Rasul 17:2

17:2 Paul went to the Jews in the synagogue, ¹³  as he customarily did, and on three Sabbath days he addressed ¹⁴  them from the scriptures,

Kisah Para Rasul 28:3

28:3 When Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood ¹⁵  and was putting it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand.

Mazmur 106:37-38

106:37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons. ¹⁶ 

106:38 They shed innocent blood –

the blood of their sons and daughters,

whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan.

The land was polluted by bloodshed. ¹⁷ 

Yehezkiel 16:20-21

16:20 “‘You took your sons and your daughters whom you bore to me and you sacrificed them ¹⁸  as food for the idols to eat. As if your prostitution not enough, 16:21 you slaughtered my children and sacrificed them to the idols. ¹⁹ 

Yehezkiel 20:26

20:26 I declared them to be defiled because of their sacrifices ²⁰  – they caused all their first born to pass through the fire ²¹  – so that I would devastate them, so that they will know that I am the Lord.’ ²² 

[7:31]  ¹ tn Heb “high places.”

[7:31]  sn These places of worship were essentially open air shrines often located on hills or wooded heights. They were generally connected with pagan worship and equipped with altars of sacrifice and of incense and cult objects such as wooden poles and stone pillars which were symbols of the god and/or goddess worshiped at the sight. The Israelites were commanded to tear down these Canaanite places of worship (Num 33:52) but they did not do so, often taking over the site for the worship of Yahweh but even then incorporating some of the pagan cult objects and ritual into their worship of Yahweh (1 Kgs 12:31, 32; 14:23). The prophets were especially opposed to these places and to this kind of syncretism (Hos 10:8; Amos 7:9) and to the pagan worship that was often practiced at them (Jer 7:31; 19:5; 32:35).

[7:31]  ² tn Heb “the high places of [or in] Topheth.”

[7:31]  sn The noun Topheth is generally explained as an artificial formation of a word related to the Aramaic word for “cooking stove” combined with the vowels for the word for “shame.” Hence, Jewish piety viewed it as a very shameful act, one that was contrary to the law (see Lev 18:21; 20:2-6). Child sacrifice was practiced during the reigns of the wicked kings Ahaz and Manasseh and apparently during Jeremiah’s day (cf. 2 Kgs 16:3; 21:6; Jer 32:35).

[7:31]  ³ tn Heb “It never entered my heart.” The words “to command such a thing” do not appear in the Hebrew but are added for the sake of clarity.

[12:31]  ⁴ tn Heb “you must not do thus to/for the Lord your God.”

[12:31]  ⁵ tn See note on this term at Deut 7:25.

[12:31]  ⁶ tn Heb “every abomination of the Lord.” See note on the word “his” in v. 27.

[12:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “destroying you must destroy”; KJV “Ye shall utterly (surely ASV) destroy”; NRSV “must demolish completely.” The Hebrew infinitive absolute precedes the verb for emphasis, which is reflected in the translation by the words “by all means.”

[12:2]  ⁸ sn Every leafy tree. This expression refers to evergreens which, because they keep their foliage throughout the year, provided apt symbolism for nature cults such as those practiced in Canaan. The deity particularly in view is Asherah, wife of the great god El, who was considered the goddess of fertility and whose worship frequently took place at shrines near or among clusters (groves) of such trees (see also Deut 7:5). See J. Hadley, NIDOTTE 1:569-70; J. DeMoor, TDOT 1:438-44.

[17:17]  ⁹ tn Although the word διελέξατο (dielexato; from διαλέγομαι, dialegomai) is frequently translated “reasoned,” “disputed,” or “argued,” this sense comes from its classical meaning where it was used of philosophical disputation, including the Socratic method of questions and answers. However, there does not seem to be contextual evidence for this kind of debate in Acts 17:17. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21.

[17:17]  ¹⁰ tn Or “and the devout,” but this is practically a technical term for the category called God-fearers, Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel and in many cases kept the Mosaic law, but did not take the final step of circumcision necessary to become a proselyte to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 743-44, and the note on the phrase “God-fearing Greeks” in 17:4.

[17:17]  ¹¹ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[17:17]  ¹² tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase in this verse.

[17:2]  ¹³ tn Grk “he went in to them”; the referent (the Jews in the synagogue) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:2]  ¹⁴ tn Although the word διελέξατο (dielexato; from διαλέγομαι, dialegomai) is frequently translated “reasoned,” “disputed,” or “argued,” this sense comes from its classical meaning where it was used of philosophical disputation, including the Socratic method of questions and answers. However, there does not seem to be contextual evidence for this kind of debate in Acts 17:2. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21.

[28:3]  ¹⁵ tn Or “sticks.”

[106:37]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew term שֵׁדִים (shedim, “demons”) occurs only here and in Deut 32:17. Some type of lesser deity is probably in view.

[106:38]  ¹⁷ sn Num 35:33-34 explains that bloodshed defiles a land.

[16:20]  ¹⁸ sn The sacrifice of children was prohibited in Lev 18:21; 20:2; Deut 12:31; 18:10.

[16:21]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and you gave them, by passing them through to them.” Some believe this alludes to the pagan practice of making children pass through the fire.

[20:26]  ²⁰ tn Or “gifts.”

[20:26]  ²¹ sn This act is prohibited in Deut 12:29-31 and Jer 7:31; 19:5; 32:35. See also 2 Kgs 21:6; 23:10. This custom indicates that the laws the Israelites were following were the disastrous laws of pagan nations (see Ezek 16:20-21).

[20:26]  ²² sn God sometimes punishes sin by inciting the sinner to sin even more, as the biblical examples of divine hardening and deceit make clear. See Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., “Divine Hardening in the Old Testament,” BSac 153 (1996): 410-34; idem, “Does God Deceive?” BSac 155 (1998): 11-28. For other instances where the Lord causes individuals to act unwisely or even sinfully as punishment for sin, see 1 Sam 2:25; 2 Sam 17:14; 1 Kgs 12:15; 2 Chr 25:20.