“‘These are the Lord’s appointed times, holy assemblies, which you must proclaim at their appointed time.

And on the first day there is to be a holy assembly; you must do no ordinary work ¹  on it.

Then the Levites quieted all the people saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy. Do not grieve.”

I will uproot your images of Asherah ¹  from your midst, and destroy your idols. ² 

And both the tabernacle and all the utensils of worship he likewise sprinkled with blood.

He eliminated the high places, smashed the sacred pillars to bits, and cut down the Asherah pole. ¹  He also demolished the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for up to that time ²  the Israelites had been offering incense to it; it was called Nehushtan. ³ 

It must not be applied ¹  to people’s bodies, and you must not make any like it with the same recipe. It is holy, and it must be holy to you.

the woven garments for serving in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to minister as priests.”

“Tell Aaron and his sons that they must deal respectfully with the holy offerings ¹  of the Israelites, which they consecrate to me, so that they do not profane my holy name. ²  I am the Lord.

the person who touches any of these ¹  will be unclean until evening and must not eat from the holy offerings unless he has bathed his body in water.

You must present a gift to the Lord for seven days, and the seventh day is a holy assembly; you must not do any regular work.’”

“‘On this very day you must proclaim an assembly; it is to be a holy assembly for you. ¹  You must not do any regular work. This is a perpetual statute in all the places where you live throughout your generations. ² 

“Tell the Israelites, ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you must have a complete rest, a memorial announced by loud horn blasts, ¹  a holy assembly.

“The ¹  tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. ²  It is to be a holy assembly for you, and you must humble yourselves ³  and present a gift to the Lord.

“‘These are the appointed times of the Lord that you must proclaim as holy assemblies to present a gift to the Lord – burnt offering, grain offering, sacrifice, and drink offerings, ¹  each day according to its regulation, ² 

Gideon used all this to make ¹  an ephod, ²  which he put in his hometown of Ophrah. All the Israelites ³  prostituted themselves to it by worshiping it ⁴  there. It became a snare to Gideon and his family.

The priests and Levites carried the ark, the tent where God appeared to his people, ¹  and all the holy items in the tent. ² 

Even if only a tenth of the people remain in the land, it will again be destroyed, ¹  like one of the large sacred trees ²  or an Asherah pole, when a sacred pillar on a high place is thrown down. ³  That sacred pillar symbolizes the special chosen family.” ⁴ 

“As for those who consecrate and ritually purify themselves so they can follow their leader and worship in the sacred orchards, ¹  those who eat the flesh of pigs and other disgusting creatures, like mice ²  – they will all be destroyed together,” ³  says the Lord.

“‘Alongside the portion set apart as the holy allotment, you will allot for the city an area one and two-thirds miles ¹  wide and eight and a quarter miles ²  long; it will be for the whole house of Israel.