2 Kings 3 · Verse 27

2 Kings 3:27

Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall. And there was great indignation against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.
2 Kings 3:27, King James Version

2 Kings 3:27 in other translations

BSBSo he took his firstborn son, who was to succeed him, and offered him as a burnt offering on the city wall. And there was great fury against the Israelites, so they withdrew and returned to their own land.
WEBThen he took his oldest son who would have reigned in his place, and offered him for a burnt offering on the wall. There was great wrath against Israel; and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.
ASVThen he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt-offering upon the wall. And there was great wrath against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.
YLTand he taketh his son, the first-born who reigneth in his stead, and causeth him to ascend--a burnt-offering on the wall, and there is great wrath against Israel, and they journey from off him, and turn back to the land.
DARBYAnd he took his eldest son, that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him up for a burnt-offering upon the wall. And there was great wrath against Israel; and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.
BBEThen he took his oldest son, who would have been king after him, offering him as a burned offering on the wall. So there was great wrath against Israel; and they went away from him, back to their country.
WebsterThen he took his eldest son that was to reign in his stead, and offered him for a burnt-offering upon the wall. And there was great indignation against Israel: And they departed from him, and returned to their own land.

What does 2 Kings 3:27 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
27. took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering, &c.--By this deed of horror, to which the allied army drove the king of Moab, a divine judgment came upon Israel; that is, the besiegers feared the anger of God, which they had incurred by giving occasion to the human sacrifice forbidden in the law (Le 18:21; 20:3), and hastily raised the siege.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 27 Took his eldest son - The rabbins account for this horrible sacrifice in the following way: - When the king of Moab found himself so harassed, and the royal city on the point of being taken, he called a council of his servants, and asked them how it was these Israelites could perform such prodigies, and that such miracles were wrought for them? His servants answered, that it was owing to their progenitor Abraham, who, having an only son, was commanded by Jehovah to offer him in sacrifice. Abraham instantly obeyed, and offered his only son for a burnt-offering; and the Israelites being his descendants, through his merits the holy blessed God wrought such miracles in their behalf. The king of Moab answered, I also have an only son, and I will go and offer him to my God. Then he offered him for a burnt-offering upon the wall. Upon the wall - על החמה al hachamah. Rab. Sol. Jarchi says that the letter ו vau is wanting in this word, as it should be written חומה chomah, to signify a wall; but חמה chammah signifies the sun, and this was the god of the king of Moab: "And he offered his first-born son for a burnt-offering unto the sun." This is not very solid. There was great indignation - The Lord was displeased with them for driving things to such an extremity: or the surrounding nations held them in abomination on the account; and they were so terrified themselves at this most horrid sacrifice, that they immediately raised the siege and departed. In cases of great extremity it was customary in various heathen nations to offer human sacrifices, or to devote to the infernal gods the most precious or excellent thing or person they possessed. This was frequent among the Phoenicians, Romans, and Greeks; and it was the natural fruit of a religious system which had for the objects of its worship cruel and merciless divinities. How different the Christian system! "Wilt thou that we shall bring down fire from heaven and destroy them? Ye know not what manner of spirits ye are of; the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them."

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Kings 3:20-27

It is a blessing to be favoured with the company of those who have power with God, and can prevail by their prayers. A kingdom may be upheld and prosper, in consequence of the fervent prayers of those who are dear to God. May we place our highest regard upon such as are most precious in his account. When sinners are saying Peace, peace, destruction comes upon them: despair will follow their mad presumption. In…

Read the full comment on 2 Kings 3:20-27 →

2 Kings 3:27 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיִּקַּח֩vai.yi.Kachand he tookH3947
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
בְּנ֨וֹbe.Noson hisH1121
הַבְּכ֜וֹרha.be.Khorthe firstbornH1060
אֲשֶׁר\־'a.Sher-whoH834
יִמְלֹ֣ךְyim.Lokhhe will reignH4427
תַּחְתָּ֗יוtach.Tavin place of himH8478
וַיַּעֲלֵ֤הוּvai.ya.'a.Le.huand he offered up himH5927
עֹלָה֙'o.Laha burnt offeringH5930
עַל\־'al-onH5921
הַ֣חֹמָ֔הha.cho.Mahthe wallH2346
וַיְהִ֥יvay.Hiand it wasH1961
קֶצֶף\־ke.tzef-wrathH7110
גָּד֖וֹלga.DolgreatH1419
עַל\־'al-towardsH5921
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לYis.ra.'ElIsraelH3478
וַיִּסְעוּ֙vai.yis.'Uand they departedH5265
מֵֽעָלָ֔יוme.'a.Lavfrom on <the> himH5921
וַיָּשֻׁ֖בוּvai.ya.Shu.vuand they returnedH7725
לָאָֽרֶץ\׃\ \פla.'A.retzto the landH776

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 2 Kings 3:27

  • Micah 6:7

    Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

  • 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.

  • Judges 11:31

    Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

  • Ezekiel 16:20

    Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter,

  • Amos 2:1

    Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:

  • Psalms 106:37-38

    Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.

  • 1 Samuel 14:36-46

    And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and spoil them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatsoever seemeth good unto thee. Then said the priest, Let us draw near hither unto God. And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into the hand of Israel? But he answered him not that day. And Saul said, Draw ye near hither, all the chief of the people: and know and see wherein this sin hath been this day. For, as the Lord liveth, which saveth Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die. But there was not a man among all the people that answered him. …

  • Judges 11:39

    And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,

  • Genesis 22:13

    And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

  • Genesis 22:2

    And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

  • 1 Kings 20:28

    And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the Lord, Because the Syrians have said, The Lord is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

  • 1 Kings 20:13

    And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
offered him.In cases of great extremity, it was customary in various heathen nations, to offer human sacrifices, and even their own children. This was frequent among the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Scythians, Gauls, Africans, and others; and was the natural fruit of a religious system, which had for the objects of its worship cruel and merciless divinities. The king of Moab, in this case, sacrificed his son to obtain the favour of Chemosh his god, who, being a devil, delighted in blood and murder, and the destruction of mankind. The dearer any thing was to them, the more acceptable those idolaters thought the sacrifice, and therefore burnt their children in the fire to their honour.
Ge 22:2,13; De 12:31; Jud 11:31,39; Ps 106:37,38; Eze 16:20
Mic 6:7
they departed.
1Sa 14:36-46; 1Ki 20:13,28,43

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 2 Kings 3:26

    And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew swords, to break through even unto the king of Edom: but they could not.

  • 2 Kings 3:27

    Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall. And there was great indignation against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.

Read all of 2 Kings 3

2 Kings 3:27 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Entonces arrebató á su primogénito que había de reinar en su lugar, y sacrificóle en holocausto sobre el muro. Y hubo grande enojo en Israel; y retiráronse de él, y volviéronse á su tierra.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et il prit son fils, le premier-né, qui devait régner à sa place, et il l’offrit en holocauste sur la muraille. Et il y eut une grande indignation contre Israël; et ils se retirèrent de lui, et s’en retournèrent dans leur pays.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Da nahm er seinen erstgeborenen Sohn, der an seiner Statt König werden sollte, und opferte ihn als Brandopfer auf der Mauer. Und es kam ein großer Zorn über Israel; und sie zogen von ihm ab und kehrten in ihr Land zurück.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Arripiensque filium suum primogenitum, qui regnaturus erat pro eo, obtulit holocaustum super murum: et facta est indignatio magna in Israël, statimque recesserunt ab eo, et reversi sunt in terram suam.