Little children, guard yourselves from idols. ¹ 

“At that time Michael, the great prince who watches over your people, ¹  will arise. ²  There will be a time of distress unlike any other from the nation’s beginning ³  up to that time. But at that time your own people, all those whose names are ⁴  found written in the book, will escape.

So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people has committed a very serious sin, ¹  and they have made for themselves gods of gold.

God chose new leaders, ¹  then fighters appeared in the city gates; ²  but, I swear, not a shield or spear could be found, ³  among forty military units ⁴  in Israel.

There is a man in your kingdom who has within him a spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, he proved to have ¹  insight, discernment, and wisdom like that ²  of the gods. ³  King Nebuchadnezzar your father appointed him chief of the magicians, astrologers, wise men, and diviners. ⁴ 

“You must not bow down to their gods; you must not serve them or do according to their practices. Instead you must completely overthrow them and smash their standing stones ¹  to pieces. ² 

for they will turn your sons away from me to worship other gods. Then the anger of the Lord will erupt against you and he will quickly destroy you.

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.

Now if you forget the Lord your God at all ¹  and follow other gods, worshiping and prostrating yourselves before them, I testify to you today that you will surely be annihilated.

For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God who is unbiased and takes no bribe,

and the curse if you pay no attention ¹  to his ²  commandments and turn from the way I am setting before ³  you today to pursue ⁴  other gods you have not known.

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 

You must tear down their altars, shatter their sacred pillars, ¹  burn up their sacred Asherah poles, ²  and cut down the images of their gods; you must eliminate their very memory from that place.

so that they cannot teach you all the abhorrent ways they worship ¹  their gods, causing you to sin against the Lord your God.

But you must not turn away from all the commandments I am giving ¹  you today, to either the right or left, nor pursue other gods and worship ²  them.

or associate with these nations that remain near ¹  you. You must not invoke or make solemn declarations by the names of their gods! ²  You must not worship ³  or bow down to them!

If ¹  you abandon the Lord and worship ²  foreign gods, he will turn against you; ³  he will bring disaster on you and destroy you, ⁴  though he once treated you well.” ⁵ 

At that time I also warned you, ¹  ‘If you disobey, ²  I will not drive out the Canaanites ³  before you. They will ensnare you ⁴  and their gods will lure you away.’” ⁵ 

I said to you, “I am the Lord your God! Do not worship ¹  the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are now living!” But you have disobeyed me.’” ² 

You should make images of the sores and images of the mice ¹  that are destroying the land. You should honor the God of Israel. Perhaps he will release his grip on you, your gods, and your land. ²