Deuteronomy 12:31

Thou shalt not do so unto the Lord thy God: for every abomination to the Lord, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 12:4 reinforces the same command not to worship the LORD in pagan ways, echoing the prohibition against detestable practices in 12:31.

Deuteronomy 18:9 explicitly forbids learning the abominable practices of the nations, a direct restatement of the warning in 12:31 against imitating them.

Deuteronomy 18:10 lists child sacrifice ('passing through fire') among abominations, reinforcing the same prohibition.

Deuteronomy 7:16 warns not to pity the nations or serve their gods, because that would be a snare—directly related to avoiding their practices.

Deuteronomy 9:4 explains that the nations are driven out because of their wickedness, which includes the child sacrifice mentioned here.

Deuteronomy 20:18 warns that sparing the nations will teach Israel their abominable practices, directly echoing the concern here.

Deuteronomy 16:22 forbids setting up pillars God hates, a specific practice among the nations' abominations warned against here.

Leviticus 18:21 explicitly forbids giving children to Molech, the exact practice warned against here.

Micah 6:7 Allusion

Micah 6:7 questions whether God desires giving a firstborn for transgression, directly referencing child sacrifice as an extreme act.

Ezekiel 20:31 Prophetic fulfillment

Ezekiel 20:31 rebukes Israel for offering children in fire to idols, the same sin condemned in Deuteronomy.

Jeremiah 32:35 Prophetic fulfillment

Jeremiah 32:35 mentions child sacrifice to Molech at high places of Baal, directly echoing the abomination described here.

Jeremiah 7:31 Prophetic fulfillment

Jeremiah 7:31 condemns burning sons and daughters in Topheth, a later example of the same detestable practice.

2 Chronicles 36:14 Historical context

2 Chronicles 36:14 records that all leaders followed the abominations of the nations, showing the widespread failure to heed the warning in 12:31.

2 Chronicles 33:2 Historical context

2 Chronicles 33:2 describes Manasseh doing evil like the abominations of the nations, providing another historical instance of the disobedience forbidden in 12:31.

2 Kings 21:2 Historical context

2 Kings 21:2 says Manasseh did evil according to the abominations of the nations, including child sacrifice, directly exemplifying the sin warned against in 12:31.

2 Kings 17:15–17 Prophetic fulfillment

2 Kings 17:15-17 recounts Israel following the nations and burning sons and daughters, a historical fulfillment of the very practices condemned in 12:31.

Leviticus 18:3 commands Israel not to walk in the statutes of Egypt or Canaan, directly paralleling the warning in 12:31 against imitating pagan worship.

Leviticus 18:26-30 lists the same detestable practices (including child sacrifice) and warns that the land vomits out its inhabitants, reinforcing 12:31's prohibition.

Leviticus 20:2 commands death for anyone giving children to Molech, directly matching the child sacrifice condemned here.

Leviticus 20:23 explicitly says God detests the nations' customs, grounding the command here to avoid their abominable deeds.

Ezekiel 23:37 explicitly mentions offering children as food to idols, directly matching the child sacrifice condemned in Deuteronomy 12:31.

In Leviticus 18:24, the same warning against defiling oneself by Canaanite practices reinforces why Israel must not imitate their abominations.

Jeremiah 19:5 Prophetic fulfillment

Jeremiah 19:5 directly describes the child sacrifice to Baal that Deuteronomy 12:31 condemns, showing Israel later committing this very detestable act.

Psalm 106:37 directly states that Israel sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons, a clear poetic echo of the detestable practice forbidden.

2 Kings 3:27 describes a Moabite king offering his son as a burnt offering, a vivid example of the child sacrifice forbidden here.

2 Chronicles 33:6 describes King Manasseh sacrificing his children in the fire, another historical fulfillment of the warning against child sacrifice.

Numbers 33:52 commands destroying Canaanite idols and high places, which is the practical outworking of rejecting their abominations.

2 Chronicles 28:3 shows King Ahaz again sacrificing his children in the fire, repeating the very abomination condemned in Deuteronomy.

Judges 11:39 records Jephthah’s sacrifice of his daughter, an instance of the child sacrifice Israel was commanded not to imitate.

2 Kings 17:31 records the Sepharvites burning their children as sacrifices to their gods, a direct instance of the detestable act prohibited here.

1 Kings 21:26 condemns Ahab for abominable idolatry like the Amorites, showing later Israel falling into the very practices forbidden here.

In 2 Kings 16:3, King Ahaz of Judah exemplifies this forbidden practice by sacrificing his own son in the fire.

Ezra 9:1 Parallel

Ezra 9:1 reports that Israel failed to separate from the detestable practices of neighboring peoples, echoing the same concern with pagan abominations.

Ezra 9:11 Parallel

Ezra 9:11 quotes the prophets about the land being polluted by detestable practices, reinforcing the warning against imitating pagan customs.

2 Kings 17:8 summarizes Israel's sin as following the detestable practices of the nations, the same general disobedience warned against here.