They consult their wooden idols, and their diviner’s staff answers with an oracle. The wind of prostitution blows them astray; they commit spiritual adultery ¹  against their God.

Their wicked deeds do not allow them to return to their God; because a spirit of idolatry ¹  controls their heart, ²  and they do not acknowledge the Lord.

The arrogance of Israel testifies against him, yet they refuse to return to the Lord their God! In spite of all this they refuse to seek him!

Those who are left from the kingdom of Judah ¹  will take possession of it. ²  By the sea ³  they ⁴  will graze, in the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down in the evening, for the Lord their God will intervene for them ⁵  and restore their prosperity. ⁶ 

On that day the Lord their God will deliver them as the flock of his people, for they are the precious stones of a crown sparkling over his land.

Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long ¹  will this man be a menace ²  to us? Release the people so that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not know ³  that Egypt is destroyed?”

You must destroy ¹  all the people whom the Lord your God is about to deliver over to you; you must not pity them or worship ²  their gods, for that will be a snare to you.

You must burn the images of their gods, but do not covet the silver and gold that covers them so much that you take it for yourself and thus become ensnared by it; for it is abhorrent ¹  to the Lord your God.

You must by all means destroy ¹  all the places where the nations you are about to dispossess worship their gods – on the high mountains and hills and under every leafy tree. ² 

After they have been destroyed from your presence, be careful not to be ensnared like they are; do not pursue their gods and say, “How do these nations serve their gods? I will do the same.”

When the people saw him, ¹  they praised their god, saying, “Our god has handed our enemy over to us, the one who ruined our land and killed so many of us!” ² 

Others will then answer, ¹  ‘Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who led their ancestors ²  out of Egypt. They embraced other gods whom they worshiped and served. ³  That is why the Lord has brought all this disaster down on them.’”

They came from nations about which the Lord had warned the Israelites, “You must not establish friendly relations with them! ¹  If you do, they will surely shift your allegiance to their gods.” ²  But Solomon was irresistibly attracted to them. ³ 

Now the advisers ¹  of the king of Syria said to him: “Their God is a god of the mountains. That’s why they overpowered us. But if we fight them in the plains, we will certainly overpower them.

This happened because the Israelites sinned against the Lord their God, who brought them up from the land of Egypt and freed them from the power of ¹  Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped ²  other gods;

The Israelites said things about the Lord their God that were not right. ¹  They built high places in all their cities, from the watchtower to the fortress. ² 

They abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God; they made two metal calves and an Asherah pole, bowed down to all the stars in the sky, ¹  and worshiped ²  Baal.

This happened because they did not obey ¹  the Lord their God and broke his agreement with them. ²  They did not pay attention to and obey all that Moses, the Lord’s servant, had commanded. ³ 

The Israelites and people of Judah ¹  who lived in the cities of Judah also contributed a tenth of their cattle and sheep, as well as a tenth of the holy items consecrated to the Lord their God. They brought them and placed them in many heaps. ² 

Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the areas belonging to the Israelites and encouraged ¹  all who were in Israel to worship the Lord their God. Throughout the rest of his reign ²  they did not turn aside from following the Lord God of their ancestors.