· Translation: KJV

2 Kings 21:6He made his son to pass through the fire, and practiced sorcery, and used enchantments, and dealt with those who had familiar spirits, and with wizards: he worked much evil in the sight of Yahweh, to provoke him to anger.

The setting

Jerusalem, ~650 BC. King Manasseh systematically destroys everything his father Hezekiah built. In the Valley of Hinnom, just outside Jerusalem's walls, he burns his own son alive...

The emotion here: horrified chronicler recording unthinkable evil

The original word

he'ebir (הֶעֱבִיר) — literally 'caused to pass over' through fire, a euphemism for child sacrifice

Why it matters

The Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna) where this happened became the city dump and symbol of hell in Jesus' time

Read with care

What most readers miss in 2 Kings 21:6

This wasn't just evil religion - Manasseh was trying to secure political alliances with Assyria through their religious practices

Common misconceptionPeople think this is just ancient paganism, but child sacrifice was sophisticated international diplomacy - Manasseh was trading his son's life for Assyrian protection.

Bible Genome reading

2 Kings 21:6 — Bible Genome reading

SpeakerNarrator
EraDivided Kingdom
Primary emotionangry
Literary typenarrative

Emotional genome

Comfort power10%
Quotability60%
Memorability80%
Crisis relevance80%
Standalone50%
Themes:child sacrificeoccultism

In context

No verse stands alone.

Read the conversation around it.

Open 2 Kings 21

2 Kings 21:6 comes from the book of 2 Kings, written during the Divided Kingdom period. These words are attributed to Narrator. The dominant emotion in this verse is angry, with a comfort power of 10% and a tone that is lamenting. It belongs to the narrative genre of biblical literature. Key themes include child sacrifice, occultism. Notable phrases: made his son to pass through the fire; sorcery; familiar spirits; wizards.

Your reflection

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