Deuteronomy 12:31
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
31 You shall not worship the Lord, your God, that way, because they offered to their gods every abomination that the Lord detests, even burning their sons and daughters to their gods.(A)
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Exodus 22:18
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
18 Anyone who lies with an animal shall be put to death.(A)
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Leviticus 18:21
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
21 (A)You shall not offer any of your offspring for immolation to Molech,[a] thus profaning the name of your God. I am the Lord.
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Leviticus 19:31
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
31 Do not turn to ghosts or consult spirits, by which you will be defiled.(A) I, the Lord, am your God.
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Leviticus 20:6
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
6 Should anyone turn to ghosts and spirits and prostitute oneself with them,(A) I will turn against that person and cut such a one off from among the people.
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Leviticus 20:27
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
27 A man or a woman who acts as a medium or clairvoyant(A) shall be put to death. They shall be stoned to death; their bloodguilt is upon them.
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1 Samuel 28:7-19
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
7 Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a medium[a] through whom I can seek counsel.” His servants answered him, “There is a woman in Endor who is a medium.”(A)
The Medium at Endor. 8 So he disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and set out with two companions. They came to the woman at night, and Saul said to her, “Divine for me; conjure up the spirit I tell you.”(B) 9 But the woman answered him, “You know what Saul has done, how he expelled the mediums and diviners from the land. Then why are you trying to entrap me and get me killed?” 10 But Saul swore to her by the Lord, “As the Lord lives, you shall incur no blame for this.” 11 “Whom do you want me to conjure up?” the woman asked him. “Conjure up Samuel for me,” he replied.
Samuel Appears. 12 When the woman saw Samuel, she shrieked at the top of her voice and said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!” 13 But the king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What do you see?” “I see a god rising from the earth,” she replied. 14 “What does he look like?” asked Saul. “An old man is coming up wrapped in a robe,” she replied. Saul knew that it was Samuel, and so he bowed his face to the ground in homage.
Saul’s Doom. 15 [b]Samuel then said to Saul, “Why do you disturb me by conjuring me up?” Saul replied: “I am in great distress, for the Philistines are waging war against me and God has turned away from me. Since God no longer answers me through prophets or in dreams, I have called upon you to tell me what I should do.”(C) 16 To this Samuel said: “But why do you ask me, if the Lord has abandoned you for your neighbor?(D) 17 The Lord has done to you what he declared through me: he has torn the kingdom from your hand and has given it to your neighbor David.
18 “Because you disobeyed the Lord’s directive and would not carry out his fierce anger against Amalek, the Lord has done this to you today.(E) 19 Moreover, the Lord will deliver Israel, and you as well, into the hands of the Philistines. By tomorrow you and your sons will be with me, and the Lord will have delivered the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.”(F)
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- 28:7 A medium: Saul’s own prohibition of necromancy and divination (v. 3) was in keeping with the consistent teaching of the Old Testament (cf. Lv 19:31; 20:6, 27; Dt 18:10).
- 28:15–19 The consultation with the medium serves to remind the reader that the Lord’s plan for David marches onward; no sorcery can thwart it.
2 Kings 17:17
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
17 (A)They immolated their sons and daughters by fire. They practiced augury and divination. They surrendered themselves to doing what was evil in the Lord’s sight, and provoked him.
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2 Kings 21:6
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
6 He immolated his child by fire. He practiced soothsaying and divination, and reintroduced the consulting of ghosts and spirits.
He did much evil in the Lord’s sight and provoked him to anger.(A)
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2 Kings 23:10
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
10 The king also defiled Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom, so that there would no longer be any immolation of sons or daughters by fire[a] in honor of Molech.(A)
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- 23:10 Topheth…by fire: Topheth was a cultic site probably in the Hinnom Valley just west of Jerusalem where, apparently, children were immolated to the deity Molech (Hebrew melek, “king,” deformed in the biblical tradition to “Molech”). The practice was condemned by Deuteronomic law and denounced by Jeremiah (Dt 12:31; Jer 7:29–31). In Jer 19 the deity is identified as the Canaanite god Baal.
2 Kings 23:24
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
24 Further, Josiah purged the consultation of ghosts and spirits, with the household gods, idols,[a] and all the other horrors to be seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, so that he might carry out the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had found in the house of the Lord.(A)
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Isaiah 8:19-20
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
19 And when they say to you, “Inquire of ghosts and soothsayers who chirp and mutter;[a](A) should not a people inquire of their gods, consulting the dead on behalf of the living, 20 for instruction and testimony?” Surely, those who speak like this are the ones for whom there is no dawn.[b]
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Ezekiel 21:21
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
21 Slash to the right!
turn to the left,
Wherever your edge is directed!(A)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.