28:3 He offered sacrifices in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom and passed his sons through the fire,4 a horrible sin practiced by the nations5 whom the Lord drove out before the Israelites.
sn This may refer to child sacrifice, though some interpret it as a less drastic cultic practice (NEB “burnt his sons in the fire”; NASB “burned his sons in the fire”; NIV “sacrificed his sons in the fire”; NRSV “made his sons pass through fire”). For discussion see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 266–67.
5
tnHeb “like the abominable practices of the nations.”