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Prohibitions against Illegitimate Family Worship

20 The Lord spoke to Moses: “You are to say to the Israelites, ‘Any man from the Israelites (or any of the resident foreigners[a] who live in Israel) who gives any of his children[b] to Molech[c] must be put to death; the people of the land must pelt him with stones.[d] I myself will set my face[e] against that man and cut him off from the midst of his people,[f] because he has given some of his children to Molech and thereby defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name.[g]

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 20:2 tn The noun “foreigner” (גֵּר; ger) is based on the same verbal root as “lives” (גּוּר; gur), which means “to sojourn, to dwell as an alien.” On the Hebrew ger (גֵּר) “resident foreigner” see notes at Exod 12:19 and Deut 29:11.
  2. Leviticus 20:2 tn Heb “his seed” (so KJV, ASV); likewise in vv. 3-4.
  3. Leviticus 20:2 tn Regarding Molech and Molech worship see the note on Lev 18:21.
  4. Leviticus 20:2 tn This is not the most frequently-used Hebrew verb for stoning (see instead סָקַל, saqal), but a word that refers to the action of throwing, slinging, or pelting someone with stones (רָגָם, ragam; see HALOT 1187 s.v. רגם qal.a, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 136).
  5. Leviticus 20:3 tn Heb “And I, I shall give my faces.”
  6. Leviticus 20:3 sn On the “cut off” penalty see the notes on Lev 7:20 and 17:4.
  7. Leviticus 20:3 tn Heb “for the sake of defiling my sanctuary and to profane my holy name.”

Punishments for Sin

20 The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing in Israel who sacrifices any of his children to Molek is to be put to death.(A) The members of the community are to stone him.(B) I myself will set my face against him and will cut him off from his people;(C) for by sacrificing his children to Molek, he has defiled(D) my sanctuary(E) and profaned my holy name.(F)

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