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New King James Version
Leviticus 17:7
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They shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat idols, after which they play the prostitute. This shall be a statute forever to them throughout their generations.'
And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.
And they may no longer sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat-idols after which they were prostituting. This is a lasting statute for them throughout their generations."'
They must not offer any more sacrifices to their goat idols, which they have chased like prostitutes. These rules will continue for people from now on.'
So they must no longer offer their sacrifices to the goat demons, acting like prostitutes by going after them. This is to be a perpetual statute for them throughout their generations.
"So they shall no longer offer their sacrifices to goat-idols or demons or field spirits with which they have played the prostitute. This shall be a permanent statute for them throughout their generations."'
"And they shall no longer offer their sacrifices to the goat demons with which they play the prostitute. This shall be a permanent statute to them throughout their generations."'
And they shall no more offer their offerings vnto deuils, after whom they haue gone a whoring: this shalbe an ordinance for euer vnto them in their generations.
And they shall no longer sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat demons with which they play the harlot. This shall be a perpetual statute to them throughout their generations."'
Don't ever turn from me again and offer sacrifices to goat-demons. This law will never change.
No longer will they offer sacrifices to the goat-demons, before whom they prostitute themselves! This is a permanent regulation for them through all their generations.'
And they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices unto demons, after whom they go a whoring. This shall be an everlasting statute unto them for their generations.
In this way you will stop being unfaithful to me by offering sacrifices to your ‘goat gods.' This law will continue forever.
So they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to goat demons, after whom they whore. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.
And they shall no more offer their sacrifices to the demons after whom they have gone astray. This shall be a statute for ever to them throughout their generations.
The people of Israel must no longer be unfaithful to the Lord by killing their animals in the fields as sacrifices to the goat demons. The people of Israel must keep this regulation for all time to come.
They must no longer offer their sacrifices to the goat-demons that they have prostituted themselves with. This will be a permanent statute for them throughout their generations.
And they shall not sacrifice their sacrifices any more to goats, after which they have gone whoring. This is a perpetual statute to them throughout their generations.
and they shall offre their offerynges nomore vnto deuels, with whom they go a whorynge. This shal be a perpetuall lawe vnto them amonge their posterities.
And they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices unto the he-goats, after which they play the harlot. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.
And let them make no more offerings to evil spirits, after which they have gone, turning away from the Lord. Let this be a law to them for ever, through all their generations.
And let them no more offer their offeringes vnto deuyls, after whom they haue gone a whoryng: This shalbe an ordinaunce for euer vnto them in their generations.
And they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices unto the satyrs, after whom they go astray. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.
And they shall no more offer their sacrifices vnto deuils, after whom they haue gone a whoring: This shall be a statute for euer vnto them throughout their generations.
And they shall no longer offer their sacrifices to vain gods after which they go a whoring; it shall be a perpetual statute to you for your generations.
And they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices unto the he-goats, after whom they go a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.
They must no longer offer their sacrifices to the goat demons to which they have prostituted themselves. This will be a permanent statute for them for the generations to come.'
And thei schulen no more offre her sacrifices to fendis, with whiche thei diden fornycacioun; it schal be a lawful thing euerlastynge to hem, and to the aftircomeris `of hem.
and they sacrifice not any more their sacrifices to goats after which they are going a-whoring; a statute age-during is this to them, to their generations.
And they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to the he-goats, which they prostitute after. This shall be a statute forever to them throughout their generations.
And they shall no more offer their sacrifices to idols, with which they have committed idolatry: This shall be a statute for ever to them throughout their generations.
They shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to the male goats, after which they play the prostitute. This shall be a statute forever to them throughout their generations.
The people must no longer be unfaithful to the Lord by offering sacrifices to the goat idols. This is a permanent law for them, to be observed from generation to generation.
So they will no longer give their gifts to the goat-like gods to whom they sell themselves. This will be a Law to them for all their people forever.'
so that they may no longer offer their sacrifices for goat-demons, to whom they prostitute themselves. This shall be a statute forever to them throughout their generations.
so shall they no more offer their sacrifices unto demons after whom they are unchastely going away, - a statute age-abiding, shall this be to them unto their generations.
And they shall no more sacrifice their victims to devils, with whom they have committed fornication. It shall be an ordinance for ever to them and to their posterity.
So they shall no more slay their sacrifices for satyrs, after whom they play the harlot. This shall be a statute for ever to them throughout their generations.
"They shall no longer sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat demons with which they play the harlot. This shall be a permanent statute to them throughout their generations."'
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
unto devils: Deuteronomy 32:17, 2 Chronicles 11:15, Psalms 106:37, John 12:31, John 14:30, 1 Corinthians 10:20, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians 2:2, Revelation 9:20
devils: Seirim, properly signifies hairy or hairy ones; and hence is used not only for he-goats, but also for some fabulous beings or sylvan gods, to whom was ascribed the form of goats. Maimonides says that the Zabian idolaters worshipped demons under the form of goats; and that this custom being spread among other nations, gave occasion to this precept. He-goats, however, are probably intended here, which were objects of divine honour among the Egyptians under the name of honour among the Egyptians under the name of Mendes. Herodotus says that all goats were worshipped in Egypt; but particularly he-goats. From these seem to have sprung Pan, Silenus, and the innumerable herd of those imaginary beings, fauns, satyrs, dryads, etc., all woodland gods, and held in veneration by the Greeks and Romans.
gone a whoring: Though this phrase is equivalent, in Scripture, to that of committing idolatry, yet it is to be taken sometimes in a literal sense. Baalpeor and Ashtaroth were worshipped with obscene rite; and public prostitution formed a great part of the worship among the Egyptians, Moabites, Canaanites, Greeks, and Romans. Leviticus 20:5, Exodus 34:15, Deuteronomy 31:16, Jeremiah 3:1, Ezekiel 23:8, Revelation 17:1-5
Reciprocal: Exodus 28:43 - a statute Leviticus 3:17 - a perpetual Joshua 24:14 - put Judges 2:17 - whoring 2 Chronicles 21:11 - fornication Psalms 106:39 - went Ezekiel 20:7 - defile Ezekiel 23:3 - in Egypt Hosea 4:12 - gone Amos 5:25 - General
Cross-References
On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates--
No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.
I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.
And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.
Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."
And God said to Abraham: "As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.
and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.
And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her."
Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?"
And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: "I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils,.... As it seems they had done, which was monstrously shocking, and especially by a people that had the knowledge of the true God. Such shocking idolatry has been committed, and still is among the Indians, both East and West: when Columbus discovered Hispaniola, and entered it, he found the inhabitants worshippers of images they called Zemes, which were in the likeness of painted devils, which they took to be the mediators and messengers of the great God, the only one, eternal, omnipotent, and invisible a; and so at Calecut and Pego in the East Indies, and in other parts thereof, they sacrifice to the devil b: one can hardly think the Israelites would give into such gross idolatry as this; wherefore by "devils" may be meant idols in general; for if men do not worship God and Christ, let them worship what they will, it is only worshipping devils, 1 Corinthians 10:20; and so the calves of Jeroboam are called devils, 2 Chronicles 11:15; hence the golden calf also, the Israelites worshipped but lately in the wilderness, might go by the same name; to which sense is the Targum of Jonathan,
"and they shall not offer again their sacrifices to idols, which are like to devils.''
The word here used signifies "goats", and these creatures were worshipped by the Egyptians, and so might be by the Israelites, while among them; this is asserted by several writers. Diodorus Siculus says c, they deified the goat, as the Grecians did Priapus, and for the same reason; and that the Pans and the Satyrs were had in honour by men on the same account; and Herodotus d observes, that the Egyptians paint and engrave Pan as the Greeks do, with the face and thighs of a goat, and therefore do not kill a goat, because the Mendesians reckon Pan among the gods; and of the Mendesians he says, that they worship goats, and the he goats rather than the she goats; wherefore in the Egyptian language both Pan and a goat are called Mendes; and Strabo e reports of Mendes, that there Pan and the goat are worshipped: if these sort of creatures were worshipped by the Egyptians in the times of Moses, which is to be questioned, the Israelites might be supposed to have followed them in it; but if that be true, which Maimonides f says of the Zabii, a set of idolaters among the Chaldeans, and other people, long before the times of Moses, that some of them worshipped devils, whom they supposed to be in the form of goats, the Israelites might have given in to this idolatry from them, and be the occasion of this prohibition:
after whom they have gone a whoring; idolatry being a spiritual adultery, a forsaking God, who had taken them into a conjugal relation, and been as an husband to them, and cleaving to idols, which were as paramours; see Jeremiah 31:32;
this shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations: not only this of not sacrificing to devils, but all before commanded, particularly that they should bring their sacrifices to the priest, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
a P. Martyr. de Angleria, Decad. 1. l. 9. b Vartoman. Navigat. l. 5. c. 2. 23. & 1. 6. c. 16. 27. c Bibliothec. l. 1. p. 58, 79. d Euterpe, sive, l. 2. c. 46. e Geograph. l. 17. p. 551. f Moreh Nevochim, p. 3. c. 46.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Every domesticated animal that was slain for food was a sort of peace-offering Leviticus 17:5. This law could only be kept as long as the children of Israel dwelt in their camp in the wilderness. The restriction was removed before they settled in the holy land, where their numbers and diffusion over the country would have rendered its strict observance impossible. See Deuteronomy 12:15-16, Deuteronomy 12:20-24.
Leviticus 17:4
Blood shall be imputed unto that man - i. e. he has incurred guilt in shedding blood in an unlawful manner.
Cut off - See Exodus 31:14 note.
Leviticus 17:5
Rather, May bring their beasts for slaughter, which they (now) slaughter in the open field. even that they may bring them before Yahweh to the entrance of the tent of meeting unto the priests, and slaughter them as peace-offerings to Yahweh.
Leviticus 17:7
Devils - The word in the original is the “shaggy goat” of Leviticus 4:23. But it is sometimes employed, as here, to denote an object of pagan worship or a demon dwelling in the deserts 2 Chronicles 11:15; Isaiah 13:21; Isaiah 34:14. The worship of the goat, accompanied by the foulest rites, prevailed in Lower Egypt; and the Israelites may have been led into this snare while they dwelt in Egypt.
This law for the slaughtering of animals was not merely to exclude idolatry from the chosen nation. It had a more positive and permanent purpose. It bore witness to the sanctity of life: it served to remind the people of the solemnity of the grant of the lives of all inferior creatures made to Noah Genesis 9:2-3; it purged and directed toward Yahweh the feelings in respect to animal food which seem to be common to man’s nature; and it connected a habit of thanksgiving with the maintenance of our human life by means of daily food. 1 Timothy 4:3-5. Having acknowledged that the animal belonged to Yahweh the devout Hebrew received back its flesh as Yahweh’s gift.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Leviticus 17:7. They shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils — They shall not sacrifice לשעירים lasseirim, to the hairy ones, to goats. The famous heathen god, Pan, was represented as having the posteriors, horns, and ears of a goat; and the Mendesians, a people of Egypt, had a deity which they worshipped under this form. Herodotus says that all goats were worshipped in Egypt, but the he-goat particularly. It appears also that the different ape and monkey species were objects of superstitious worship; and from these sprang, not only Mendes and Jupiter Ammon, who was worshipped under the figure of a ram, but also Pan and the Sileni, with the innumerable herd of those imaginary beings, satyrs, dryads, hamadryads, c. c., all woodland gods, and held in veneration among the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans.
After whom they have gone a whoring. — Though this term is frequently used to express idolatry, yet we are not to suppose that it is not to be taken in a literal sense in many places in Scripture, even where it is used in connection with idolatrous acts of worship. It is well known that Baal-Peor and Ashtaroth were worshipped with unclean rites and that public prostitution formed a grand part of the worship of many deities among the Egyptians, Moabites, Canaanites, Greeks, and Romans. The great god of the two latter nations, Jupiter, was represented as the general corrupter of women and of Venus, Flora, Priapus, and others, it is needless to speak. That there was public prostitution in the patriarchal times, Genesis 38:21. And that there was public prostitution of women to goats in Egypt, see Herodotus, lib. ii., c. 46, p. 108, edit. Gale, who gives a case of this abominable kind that took place in Egypt while he was in that country. See also many examples in Bochart, vol. ii., col. 641; and Leviticus 20:16.
