2 Kings 3:27
in 2 Kings 3So 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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 wrath against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.
KJV
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.
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This verse in 2 Kings 3
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Compare the marginal reference. Mesha, when his sally failed, took, as a last resource, his first born son, and offered him as a burnt-offering to appease the manifest anger of his god Chemosh, and obtain his aid against his enemies. This act was thoroughly in accordance with Moabitish notions. And there was great indignation against Israel - Either the Israelites were indignant with themselves, or the men of Judah and the Edomites were indignant at the Israelites for having caused the pollution of this sacrifice, and the siege was relinquished.
This site's exposition
seven hundred men that drew swords
on 2 Kings 3:26-27
Mesha's sortie toward the king of Edom fails, and with the city about to fall he offers his own heir, the son who should have reigned in his stead, as a burnt offering on the wall where the besiegers can see it. What follows, there was great indignation against Israel, is a genuine crux and the readings differ on whose indignation it names. Wesley reads it as Israel's own horror and grief at having driven a father to this, ending the war in revulsion at what their siege had provoked; Barnes names the same possibility alongside another, that Judah and Edom were indignant at Israel specifically for causing the pollution of such a sacrifice; and the Hebrew word for wrath elsewhere names the LORD's own anger, at Num 1:53 and Josh 22:20, which Keil weighs as a live if unproven third reading. The text does not say which, and the campaign ends there, the kings withdrawing to their own land.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Therefore Mesha, who had lost all his hope in his armies, made an about-face to ask the gods for help, because he had seen that no human being could help him. Certain wise men of his country said to him that it was necessary to …
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
On the wall - That the besiegers might see it, and be moved by it. There was, &c. - Or, great trouble or repentance upon Israel, the Israelitish king and people (who was the first cause of the war, and had brought the rest into confederacy with him) were greatly grieved for this barbarous action, and resolved to prosecute the war no farther.
He designed by this, (1.) To obtain the favour of Chemosh his god, which, 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 it must needs be if offered in sacrifice to their gods, and therefore burnt their children in the fire to their honour.
This failing, he did that which was brutish and barbarous; he took his own son, his eldest son, that was to succeed him, than whom nothing could be more dear to himself and his people, and offered him for a burnt-offering upon the wall,
3 Nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom. 4 And Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster, and rendered unto the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs, and a hundred thousand rams, with the wool. 5 But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:97%@v3-5
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Then he took his eldest son, that should have reigned in his stead,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
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;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
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! […]
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקַּח֩ | vaiyikach | and he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּנ֨וֹ | beno | son his | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| הַבְּכ֜וֹר | habekhor | the firstborn | H1060 → | |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יִמְלֹ֣ךְ | yimlokh | he will reign | H4427 → | 348 times |
| תַּחְתָּ֗יו | tachtav | in place of him | H8478 → | 505 times |
| וַיַּעֲלֵ֤הוּ | vaiyaalehu | and he offered up him | H5927 → | 890 times |
| עֹלָה֙ | ʾolah | a burnt offering | H5930 → | 287 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַ֣חֹמָ֔ה | hachomah | the wall | H2346 → | 133 times |
| וַיְהִ֥י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| קֶצֶף־ | ketzef- | wrath | H7110 → | |
| גָּד֖וֹל | gadol | great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | towards | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וַיִּסְעוּ֙ | vaiyisu | and they departed | H5265 → | 146 times |
| מֵֽעָלָ֔יו | mealav | from on <the> him | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| וַיָּשֻׁ֖בוּ | vaiyashuvu | and they returned | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| לָאָֽרֶץ׃ פ | laaretz | to the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
וַיִּקַּח֩and he took
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּנ֨וֹson his
benoH1121 →4930 times
הַבְּכ֜וֹרthe firstborn
habekhorH1060 →
אֲשֶׁר־who
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
יִמְלֹ֣ךְhe will reign
yimlokhH4427 →348 times
תַּחְתָּ֗יוin place of him
tachtavH8478 →505 times
וַיַּעֲלֵ֤הוּand he offered up him
vaiyaalehuH5927 →890 times
עֹלָה֙a burnt offering
ʾolahH5930 →287 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַ֣חֹמָ֔הthe wall
hachomahH2346 →133 times
וַיְהִ֥יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
קֶצֶף־wrath
ketzef-H7110 →
גָּד֖וֹלgreat
gadolH1419 →526 times
עַל־towards
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וַיִּסְעוּ֙and they departed
vaiyisuH5265 →146 times
מֵֽעָלָ֔יוfrom on <the> him
mealavH5921 →5755 times
וַיָּשֻׁ֖בוּand they returned
vaiyashuvuH7725 →1056 times
לָאָֽרֶץ׃ פto the land
laaretzH776 →2504 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Micah 6:7Would 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?
it leads to
- 2 Kings 16:3
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…
- 1 Samuel 15:22
But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of…
- Psalms 51:16
For You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You take no pleasure in burnt offerings.
- 2 Kings 16:3
Through
Deuteronomy 12:31You must not worship the LORD your God in this way, because they practice for their gods every abomination which the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 32:35
They have built the high places of Baal in the Valley of Hinnom to make their sons and daughters pass through the fire to Molech—something I never commanded them, nor had it ever entered…
- Jeremiah 7:31
They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Hinnom so they could burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I never commanded, nor did it even enter My mind.
- Jeremiah 32:35
Through
Amos 2:1This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Moab, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because he burned to lime the bones of Edom’s king.
it leads to
- Zephaniah 2:8–9
“I have heard the reproach of Moab and the insults of the Ammonites, who have taunted My people and threatened their borders.
- Amos 1:3
This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Damascus, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they threshed Gilead with sledges of iron.
- Zephaniah 2:8–9
Through
Ezekiel 16:20You even took the sons and daughters you bore to Me and sacrificed them as food to idols. Was your prostitution not enough?
it leads to
- Ezekiel 23:37
For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols. They have even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to Me, in the fire as food…
- Ezekiel 23:37
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Kings
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 3:25-27; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.