You know that when you were pagans you were often led astray by speechless idols, however you were led.

No, I mean that what the pagans sacrifice ¹  is to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons.

For they have gone forth ¹  on behalf of “The Name,” ²  accepting nothing from the pagans. ³ 

The people continued to offer sacrifices at the high places, but only to the Lord their God.

He burned the bones of the pagan priests ¹  on their altars; he purified Judah and Jerusalem.

and on the first day of the first month they finished considering all the men who had married foreign wives.

All these had taken foreign wives, and some of them also had children by these women. ¹ 

They made him angry with their pagan shrines, ¹  and made him jealous with their idols.

For all the nations of the world pursue ¹  these things, and your Father knows that you need them.

They mixed in with the nations and learned their ways. ¹ 

It is actually reported that sexual immorality exists among you, the kind of immorality that is not permitted even among the Gentiles, so that someone is cohabiting with ¹  his father’s wife.

He removed the pagan altars ¹  and the high places, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. ² 

He also built high places on the hills of Judah; he encouraged the residents of Jerusalem to be unfaithful to the Lord ¹  and led Judah away from the Lord. ² 

“I will attack ¹  Judah and all who live in Jerusalem. ²  I will remove ³  from this place every trace of Baal worship, ⁴  as well as the very memory ⁵  of the pagan priests. ⁶ 

On that day I will punish all who leap over the threshold, ¹  who fill the house of their master ²  with wealth taken by violence and deceit. ³ 

If ¹  he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. If ²  he refuses to listen to the church, treat him like ³  a Gentile ⁴  or a tax collector. ⁵ 

He eliminated ¹  the pagan priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to offer sacrifices ²  on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the area right around Jerusalem. (They offered sacrifices ³  to Baal, the sun god, the moon god, the constellations, and all the stars in the sky.)

You must not worship the Lord your God the way they worship.

For all the gods of the nations are worthless, ¹  but the Lord made the sky.

not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God.