If the people of the land all hide their eyes from that person when he gives of his offspring to Molech, and don’t put him to death,
Parallel Translations
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If the people of the land all hide their eyes from that person when he gives of his offspring to Molech, and don’t put him to death,
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And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not:
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And if the people of the land do at all hide their eyes from that man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and put him not to death;
Cross-references (7)
Passages linked to Leviticus 20:4 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Deuteronomy 17:2-5 If there is found among you, within any of your gates which Yahweh your God gives you, a man or woman who does that which is evil in Yahweh your God’s sight in transgressing his covenant, and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun, or the moon, or any of the stars of the sky, which I have not commanded, and you are told, and you have heard of it, then you shall inquire diligently. Behold, if it is true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is done in Israel, then you shall bring out that man or that woman who has done this evil thing to your gates, even that same man or woman; and you shall stone them to death with stones.
- Acts 17:30 The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked. But now he commands that all people everywhere should repent,
- Deuteronomy 13:8 you shall not consent to him nor listen to him; neither shall your eye pity him, neither shall you spare, neither shall you conceal him;
- Joshua 7:12 Therefore the children of Israel can’t stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction. I will not be with you any more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you.
- 1 Samuel 3:13-14 For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves, and he didn’t restrain them. Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be removed with sacrifice or offering forever.”
- 1 Kings 20:42 He said to him, “Yahweh says, ‘Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life will take the place of his life, and your people take the place of his people.’ ”
- Revelation 2:14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to throw a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Though the people be negligent to do their duty,…
Though the people be negligent to do their duty, and defend God’s right, yet he will not suffer wickedness to go unpunished.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Lev 20:4 And if the people of the land…
Lev 20:4 And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not:
Ver. 4:. Hide their eyes,] i.e., Be negligent or ignorant.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain i.e. Wink at his fault, and forbear to accuse…
i.e. Wink at his fault, and forbear to accuse and punish him. Compare Act 17:30.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And if the people of the land do any…
And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man,.... That is, the people of the house of Israel, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan; if the friends, relations, and neighbours of such a man, though they know what he is about to do, or has done, yet they shut their eyes wilfully, or look another way; or, however, wink and connive at his wickedness, and will not discover him, and bear witness against him; or if a court of judicature, before whom he comes, does not take the evidence of his crime, nor condemn for it, or are negligent in punishing him as the law directs, a gift having blinded their eyes, or they careless and remiss in their duty:
when he giveth his seed unto Molech; a crime so heinous and abominable:
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and kill him not; do not bring witness against him, so as that he may be put to death, or do not upon the evidence given condemn him to death, or do not take care to have sentence executed, by stoning him to death.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Hide their eyes - Wink at his fault, and…
Hide their eyes - Wink at his fault, and forbear to accuse and punish him.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Lev 20:4. Hide their eyes — Wink at his…
Lev 20:4. Hide their eyes — Wink at his fault, and forbear to accuse and punish him.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain My commandment: Hebrew, "If the people hide their face…
My commandment: Hebrew, "If the people hide their face not to see:" (Calmet) or Septuagint, "look over on purpose, and neglect the man who has given of his seed to the ruler."
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain If the people of the land do any ways…
If the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, &c.--that is, connive at their countrymen practising the horrid rites of Molech. Awful was it that any Hebrew parents could so violate their national covenant, and no wonder that God denounced the severest penalties against them and their families.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 4, 5. Hide their eyes — The Lawgiver foresees…
4, 5. Hide their eyes — The Lawgiver foresees and provides for an amazing moral degeneracy and hardness of heart, when the people’s conscience will be so stupified that they will let this great crime go unpunished.
Against his family — This does not necessarily imply the guilt of the family, for ancient law viewed the family as a part of the man’s personality, and inflicted suffering upon them all as if guilty. See Exo_20:5; and Jos_7:24, notes.
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Whoredom — This term is here used figuratively for idolatry. See chap. Lev_17:7, note.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 4. hide their eyes] i.e. disregard. For the expression…
4. hide their eyes] i.e. disregard. For the expression in this sense cp. Pro_28:27; Isa_1:15.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (4) And if the people of the land .…
(4) And if the people of the land . . . —In the former verse the Legislator treated of cases where there was insufficient evidence. Here he declares what God would do if the community itself, whose duty it is to execute the sentence, either from culpable indifference or criminal sympathy with the sin, connive at it.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 4, 5. There is to be no connivance…
Vers. 4, 5. There is to be no connivance with Molech-worship. The penalty is death, and is to be carried out by the proper tribunals, whose business it was to see that the stoning took place. So in Deuteronomy the duty of killing those who entice to idolatry is laid down. "Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shall thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: but thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people". (Deu_13:8, Deu_13:9) In the case of Molech-worship God declares that, if the tribunals of the nation fail to adjudge the penalty of death to the offender, he will himself lake the matter into his hands, and cut him off with his family and all that follow him in his sin of unfaithfulness.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.