Yes the bible is quite a moral book JWs say. See how it teaches all these good values.....
(All quotes from the 2013 NWT with editation)
Lets look at Exodus 22: 29 “You must not hesitate to make offerings from your abundant produce and the overflow of your presses.*+The firstborn of your sons you are to give to me.+
What an odd moral statement you might think... lets look closer at this:
Exodus 13: 11 “When YHWH brings you into the land of the Ca′naan·ites, which he has sworn to give to you and to your forefathers,+ 12 you must devote to YHWH every firstborn male,* as well as every male firstling of the livestock that you acquire. The males belong to YHWH.+ 13 Every firstling donkey you are to redeem with a sheep, and if you do not redeem it, then you must break its neck. And every firstborn male of your sons you are to redeem.+
Exodus 4:22 You must say to Phar′aoh, ‘This is what YHWH says: “Israel is my son, my firstborn.+23 I say to you, Send my son away so that he may serve me. But if you refuse to send him away, I am going to kill your son, your firstborn.”’”+
At this point some will point to Numbers where YHWH tells them the Levites replace the first born. But that is a late late work in the bible.
What does this mean?
It means one of the earliest layers of the bible (Schoolars call it E) has no problem with child sacrifice. Indeed Jeremiah mentions it repeatedly. Manasseh does it before.
What else does this work (E) say? Genesis 22 Let's be shocked:
Now after this El put Abraham to the test,+ and he said to him: “Abraham!” to which he replied: “Here I am!” 2 Then he said: “Take, please, your son, your only son whom you so love,+ Isaac,+ and travel to the land of Mo·ri′ah+ and offer him up there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I will designate to you.”3 So Abraham got up early in the morning and saddled his donkey and took two of his servants along with him and his son Isaac. He split the wood for the burnt offering, and then he rose and traveled to the place tha El indicated to him. 4 On the third day, Abraham looked up and saw the place from a distance. 5 Abraham now said to his servants: “You stay here with the donkey, but the boy and I will go over there and worship and return to you.”6 So Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. Then he took in his hands the fire and the knife,* and the two of them walked on together.7 Then Isaac said to his father Abraham: “My father!” He replied: “Yes, my son!” So he continued: “Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” 8 To this Abraham said: El himself will provide the sheep for the burnt offering,+ my son.” And both of them walked on together.9 Finally they reached the place that El had indicated to him, and Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac hand and foot and put him on the altar on top of the wood.+10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife* to kill his son.
El's messenger called out of heaven:
Then he said: I do know that you are El-fearing because you have not withheld your son, your only one, from me.”
See the 'sparing of 'Isaac' was added later!
There is reason to believe that in Judges 11 a daughter really is sacrificed and this is prabably a continuation of this same source (My idea here)
(By the way considersing my slight changes to the etxt... I HATE the WT translation "... the true God..." It destroys the idea of the story.)