“They set up
Their abominations
In the house
That bears my name.
They defiled it.
They built
The high places of Baal
In the valley
Of the son of Hinnom,
To offer up
Their sons
As well as their daughters
To Molech.
I did not command them,
It did not enter my mind
That they should do
This abomination,
Causing Judah to sin.”
The major fault of the Israelites and Judeans was their false worship. First, they defiled the Temple, the house of Yahweh, by placing these false idols in the Temple itself. Then they also built the high altars for the false god Baal. Finally, they were offering up their sons and daughters to Molech in Hinnom valley, outside Jerusalem, that later became known as Gehenna or hell. Molech was a Canaanite god that demanded child sacrifices, who was specifically mentioned in Leviticus, chapter 20. Once again, Yahweh, as in chapter 19, said that he had not commanded or had it even entered his mind to ask for child sacrifices. Clearly, this worship of false gods and sacrificing children was against the will of Yahweh.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 