II Kings 21:6
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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.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
In this chapter we have a short but sad account of the reigns of two of the kings of Judah, Manasseh and Amon. I. Concerning Manasseh, all the account we have of him here is, 1. That he devoted himself to sin, to all manner of wickedness, idolatry, and murder (Kg2 21:1-9 and Kg2 21:16). 2. That therefore God devoted him, and Jerusalem for his sake, to ruin (Kg2 21:10-18). In the book of Chronicles we have an account of his troubles, and his repentance. II. Concerning Amon we are only told that he lived in sin (Kg2 21:19-22), died quickly by the sword, and left good Josiah his successor (Kg2 21:23-26). By these two reigns Jerusalem was much debauched and much weakened, and so hastened apace towards its destruction, which slumbered not.
Open source ↗21:6 Manasseh’s wickedness included participation in the abominable Molech rites and all manner of forbidden cult and occult practices (16:3; see Lev 18:21). • the Lord’s . . . anger: God responded to Manasseh’s detestable religious practices with his righteous judgment, just as he had with the northern kingdom (2 Kgs 17:18-20).
Open source ↗Cross-references
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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.
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.
You must not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out, or you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.
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.
You must not eat anything with blood still in it. You must not practice divination or sorcery.
He sacrificed his sons in the fire in the Valley of 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.
But the men of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against the LORD.
One day as we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl with a spirit of divination, who earned a large income for her masters by fortune-telling.
Moreover, Ahaz burned incense in the Valley of Hinnom and sacrificed his sons in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
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?