The Hebrew verb qitter means to burn incense or make an offering go up in smoke — a Piel form (intensive) emphasizing the deliberate, repeated act of offering sweet-smelling incense to God or to idols.
Qitter is central to both authorized worship and condemned idolatry in the Old Testament. The burning of incense in the tabernacle and temple was a prescribed act of worship (Exodus 30:7-8), symbolizing prayer ascending to God (Psalm 141:2). But Israel repeatedly burned incense to Baal and other gods — the prophets condemn this relentlessly. Revelation 8:3-4 brings this imagery to its fulfillment: the prayers of the saints as incense rise before God's throne. Every valid act of prayer is a spiritual offering of incense.