41 Bible Verses about Idolatry

You shall burn the images of their gods with fire; you shall not covet [the] silver or gold [that is] on them, and [so] you take [it] for yourself, so that you are not ensnared by it, for it [is] a detestable thing to Yahweh your God.

'Cursed be the man that makes a divine image or a cast image, [which is] a detestable thing for Yahweh, the work of the hand of a skilled craftsman, and [then] sets [it] in a hiding place.' And {all the people shall respond}, 'Amen.'

They made him jealous with strange [gods]; with detestable things they provoked him.

Yahweh will not be willing to forgive him, for [by then] the anger of Yahweh will smoke, and his passion against that man and all the curses written in this scroll will descend on him, and Yahweh will blot out his name from under heaven.

So {the anger of Yahweh was kindled} against that land to bring upon it all the curses written in this scroll,

Then Yahweh saw, and he spurned [them], because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters. So he said, 'I will hide my face from them; I will see what [will be] their end, for they [are] a generation of perversity, {children in whom there is no faithfulness}.

For a fire was kindled by my anger, and it burned {up to the depths of Sheol}, and it devoured [the] earth and its produce, and it set afire the foundation of [the] mountains.

So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that [were] in their hands, and the ornamental rings that [were] in their ears. And Jacob buried them under the oak which [was] near Shechem.

the headdresses and the armlets and the sashes, and the {perfume boxes} and the amulets,

Therefore by this he will make atonement [for] the guilt of Jacob, and this [will be] all of [the] fruit [of] the removal of his sin: {when he makes} all [the] stones of [the] altar like crushed stones of chalk, no poles of Asherah worship or incense altars will stand.

And look [at] this! A man's a chariot [is] coming, a pair of horsemen!" Then he responded and said, "It has fallen! Babylon has fallen! And all the images of her gods are smashed on the ground!"

And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will wrench out from his mouth {what he has swallowed}. And [the] nations will not stream towards him [any] longer {what's worse}, the wall of Babylon has fallen.

On that day humanity will throw away its idols of silver and its idols of gold, which they made for it to worship, to the rodents and to the bats--

An oracle of Egypt: Look! Yahweh [is] riding on a swift cloud and [is] coming [to] Egypt. And the idols of Egypt will tremble in front of him, and the heart of Egypt melts in his inner parts.

He returned and rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed. He erected altars for Baal and made a pole of Asherah worship just as Ahab king of Israel had made, and he bowed down to all of the host of heaven and served them.

And {he rebuilt} the high places that Hezekiah his father broke down, and he set up altars for the Baals, made Asherahs, and bowed down to the host of heaven and served them.

They abandoned all the commands of Yahweh their God and made for themselves two molten calf-shaped idols; they made a pole of Asherah worship and bowed down to the army of the heavens and served Baal.

And they shall spread them out before the sun, and before the moon, and before all the host of heaven, which they have loved, and which they have served, and which they have gone after, and which they have inquired about, and to which they have bowed in worship. They shall not be gathered, and they shall not be buried; they will be like dung on the surface of the ground.

But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, just as it is written in the book of the prophets: 'You did not bring offerings and sacrifices to me [for] forty years in the wilderness, [did you], house of Israel?

the people {who provoke} me to anger continually to my face, slaughtering for sacrifices in the garden, and making smoke offerings on bricks,

He offered [sacrifices] on the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month which his heart had devised. He inaugurated a religious feast for the {Israelites}, and he went up to the altar to offer incense.

And you sat on a magnificent couch and a table prepared {before her}, and my incense and my olive oil you put on her.

When I called them, they went from my face. They sacrificed to the Baals, and they sacrificed to idols.

And you took the clothes of your beautiful finished cloth, and you covered them and my oil and my incense you set {before them}.

But this is what you must do to them: you shall break down their altars, and their stone pillars you shall smash, and their Asherah poles you shall hew down, and you shall burn their idols with fire.

" 'You will not bow to their gods, and you will not serve them, and you will not act according to their actions, because you will utterly demolish them, and you will utterly break their stone pillars.

He said, "Remove the foreign gods that [are] in your midst, and incline your hearts to Yahweh the God of Israel."

"Keep for yourself what I myself have commanded you today. Look, I [am about to] drive from before you the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. Be careful for yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you are going, lest it be a snare among you. Rather, you will tear down their altars, and you will break their stone pillars, and you will cut off their Asherah poles.

Then Yahweh spoke to Moses on the desert-plateau of Moab by [the] Jordan [across] Jericho, saying, "Speak to the {Israelites} and say to them, 'When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, you will drive out the inhabitants of the land from your presence, and you will destroy all their idols and all the images of their molten idols, and you will demolish all their high places;

Also, he acted very abominably by going after idols like all the Amorites had done whom Yahweh had driven out from before the {Israelites}."

But he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and also made molten idols for the Baals. And he himself burned incense in the valley of Ben-Hinnom and burned his sons in the fire, according to the detestable [practices] of the nations whom Yahweh drove out before the Israelites. And he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops, and under every flourishing tree.

And {he rebuilt} the high places that Hezekiah his father broke down, and he set up altars for the Baals, made Asherahs, and bowed down to the host of heaven and served them.

He walked in all of the way which his father had walked, and he served the idols which his father had served and bowed down to them.

And he placed the carved image of the idol that he had made in the house of God, [of] which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, "In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever.

And Moses saw the people, that they [were] running wild because Aaron had allowed them to run wild, for a laughingstock among {their enemies}.

For the time that has passed [was] sufficient {to do what the Gentiles desire to do}, having lived in licentiousness, [evil] desires, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties, and wanton idolatries,

The {Israelites} secretly did things which [were] not right, against Yahweh their God; they built high places for themselves in all their towns, from the watchtower up to the fortified city.

When Israel dwelled in Shittim, the people began to prostitute [themselves] with the daughters of Moab. And they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and worshiped their gods. So Israel was joined together to Baal Peor, and {Yahweh became angry} with Israel.

Your portion [is] among [the] smooth [stones] of [the] valley; they, they [are] your lot; indeed, to them you have poured out a drink offering, you have brought a food offering. Shall I relent concerning these [things]?

And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be unclean like the place of Topheth, all the houses where they made smoke offerings upon their roofs to all the host of heaven, and [where] they poured out libations to other gods." '"

And the Chaldeans, who are fighting against this city, will come and set this city on fire, and they will burn it, and the houses where they have made smoke offerings on their roofs to Baal, and [where] they have devoted libations to other gods, in order to provoke me to anger.

The children [are] gathering wood, and the fathers [are] kindling the fire, and the women [are] kneading dough to make sacrificial cakes for the queen of heaven, and they pour out libations to other gods for the sake of provoking me to anger.

And indeed, [when] we [were] making smoke offerings to the queen of heaven and {pouring out} to her libations, [was it not] {with the consent of} our husbands [that] we made for her sacrificial cakes {marked with her image}, and we poured out to her libations?"

But you {who forsake} Yahweh, forgetting {my holy mountain}, who set a table for Fortune, and who {pour out} a jug of mixed wine for Destiny,

Therefore put to death {what is earthly in you}: sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustful passion, evil desire, and greediness, which is idolatry,

For rebellion [is like] the sin of divination; arrogance [is like] iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of Yahweh, he has rejected you from [being] king!"

For all the gods of the nations [are] idols, but Yahweh made the heavens.

For all the gods of the peoples [are] idols, but Yahweh made [the] heavens.

Rather, you will tear down their altars, and you will break their stone pillars, and you will cut off their Asherah poles.

But this is what you must do to them: you shall break down their altars, and their stone pillars you shall smash, and their Asherah poles you shall hew down, and you shall burn their idols with fire.

He also broke into pieces the stone pillars and cut down the Asherah poles and covered their sites [with] human bones.

They had left their idols there, so David and his men carried them away.

and exchanged the glory of the immortal God with the likeness of an image of mortal human beings and birds and quadrupeds and reptiles.

You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the speechless idols, however you were led.

who exchanged the truth of God with a lie, and worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed for eternity. Amen.

For all the gods of the peoples [are] idols, but Yahweh made [the] heavens.

You must not do so toward Yahweh your God, because of every detestable thing they have done for their gods Yahweh hates, for even their sons and their daughters they would burn in the fire to their gods.

And he himself burned his sons in the fire in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom. And he practiced sorcery and divination, and he engaged in witchcraft and dealt with mediums and spiritists. And he did much evil in the eyes of Yahweh, to provoke him to anger.

Because they have forsaken me, and they have defaced this place, and they have made smoke offerings in it to other gods whom they have not known, they, nor their ancestors, nor the kings of Judah, and they have filled up this place [with the] blood of [the] innocent, and they have built the high places of Baal, to burn their children in the fire, burnt offerings to Baal, which I commanded not, and I ordered not, and it did not come to my {mind}.

So they took the bull that he allowed to them, prepared it, and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, "O Baal, answer us!" But there was no voice and there was no answer, so they limped about the altar which they had made.

and not become idolaters, as some of them [did], just as it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play,"

But he said, "There is not a sound of shouting of victory, and there is not a sound of shouting of defeat. I hear a sound of singing." {And} as he came near to the camp, he saw the bull calf and dancing, and {Moses became angry}, and he threw the tablets from his hand, and he broke them under the mountain.

[that] at the time that you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, [the] lyre, [the] trigon, [the] harp, [the] drum and all kinds of music, you must fall down and you must worship the statue of gold that Nebuchadnezzar the king [has] set up.

You, O king, have made a decree that {everyone} who hears the sound of the horn, the flute, [the] lyre, [the] trigon, [the] harp and [the] drum and all kinds of music, he shall fall down and shall worship the statue of gold.

Now if you are ready so that {when} you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the lyre, [the] trigon, [the] harp and [the] drum and all kinds of music, you fall down and you worship the statue that I have made, [that will be good]. But if you do not worship it, {immediately} you will be thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire, and {who is the god} who will rescue you from my hands?"

And he makes the remainder of it into a god! He bows down to his idol, and he bows in worship and prays to him, and he says, "Save me, for you [are] my god!"

"Because Manasseh the king of Judah committed these detestable things [and] did evil more than the Amorites did who were before him and caused even Judah to sin with his idols,

This thing became a sin, and the people walked before the one as far as Dan.

And Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do evil more than the nations that Yahweh destroyed before the {Israelites}.

Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone.

And you will there serve gods {made by human hands}, [of] wood and stone, [gods] that cannot see and cannot hear and cannot eat and cannot smell.

And Yahweh shall scatter you among all the nations from [one] end of the earth up to the [other] end of the earth, and there you shall serve other gods that you have not known nor your ancestors, [gods of] wood and stone.

the people {who provoke} me to anger continually to my face, slaughtering for sacrifices in the garden, and making smoke offerings on bricks,

For when I bring them into the land that I swore to their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey, {they will eat their fill}, and they will become fat, and [then] they will turn to other gods, and they will serve them, and they will spurn me, and they will break my covenant.

and you must not go after other gods to serve them, and to bow in worship to them, and you must not provoke me to anger with the work of your hands, then I will not do something bad to you.'

" 'And you shall not give {any of} your offspring in order to sacrifice [them] to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God; I [am] Yahweh.

because he has forsaken me, and they bowed down to Ashtoreth, the god of [the] Sidonians, to Chemosh, the god of Moab, and to Molech, the god of the {Ammonites}. They did not walk in my ways to do right in my eyes, my ordinances, or my judgments, as [did] David his father.

Solomon went after Ashtoreth the god of [the] Sidonians and after Molech the abhorrence of the Ammonites.

And you have seen their detestable things and their idols of wood and stone, silver, and gold that [were] among them,

Their idols [are] silver and gold, [the] work of human hands.

And he makes the remainder of it into a god! He bows down to his idol, and he bows in worship and prays to him, and he says, "Save me, for you [are] my god!"

Jeroboam also inaugurated a religious feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, like the religious feast which was in Judah, and he offered [sacrifices] on the altar. Thus he did in Bethel, by sacrificing to the calves that he had made; and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.

Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent [directions] to assemble the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all of the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king [had] set up. Then the satraps, the prefects, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the province [were] assembled for the dedication of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king [had] set up, and [were] standing {before} the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Slanderous men are {among you} to shed blood, and they, {among you}, eat upon the mountains; they do wickedness in the midst of you.

and on the mountains he [does] not eat and he [does] not lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, and the wife of his neighbor he [does] not defile and he [does] not approach a woman of menstruation,

(though he did not do all of these [things]), for [the son] also eats on the mountains and he defiles the wife of his neighbor. He oppresses [the] needy and [the] poor, [and] {he commits robbery}, [and] he [does] not return pledge for a loan, [and] he lifts his eyes to the idols [so] he does a detestable thing.

[they have] their hands, but they cannot feel, their feet, but they cannot walk; they cannot utter a sound in their throats.

And you will there serve gods {made by human hands}, [of] wood and stone, [gods] that cannot see and cannot hear and cannot eat and cannot smell.

They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see;

And {no one takes it to heart}, and [there is] no knowledge and no understanding to say, "I burned half of it in [the] fire and also I baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat, and I have eaten. And I shall make [the] rest of it into an abomination! I shall bow down to a block of wood!"

Their idols [are] silver and gold, [the] work of human hands. They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear; they have noses, but cannot smell; read more.
[they have] their hands, but they cannot feel, their feet, but they cannot walk; they cannot utter a sound in their throats. [Those who] make them become like them, [as does] everyone who trusts in them.

For the statutes of the peoples [are] vanity, for it [is] a tree cut down from [the] forest, [the] work of [the] hands of a craftsman with the tool.

And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: '{Long ago} your ancestors--Terah the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor--lived beyond the river, and they served other gods.

Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole the idols that belonged to her father.

And God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there, and make an altar to the God who appeared to you when you fled from before Esau your brother." Then Jacob said to his household and to all who [were] with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods that [are] in your midst and purify yourselves and change your garments. Then let us make ready and let us go up to Bethel, so that I can make an altar there to the God who answered me in the day of my trouble, and who has been with me on the way that I have gone." read more.
So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that [were] in their hands, and the ornamental rings that [were] in their ears. And Jacob buried them under the oak which [was] near Shechem.

Assemble and come; draw near together, survivors of the nations! They do not know, those who carry {their wooden idols} and pray to a god who cannot save.

And the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they threw the {contents} that were in the merchant ship into the sea to lighten it for them. And [meanwhile] Jonah went down into the hold of the vessel and lay down and fell asleep.

And he makes the remainder of it into a god! He bows down to his idol, and he bows in worship and prays to him, and he says, "Save me, for you [are] my god!"

Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your trouble."

They carry it on [their] shoulder; they support it and they set it [in] its place, and it stands in position. It cannot be removed from its place; even [when] he cries out to it, it does not answer. It does not save him from his trouble.

"So now, revere Yahweh and serve him in sincerity and faithfulness; remove the gods that your ancestors served beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve Yahweh.

and they prostituted [themselves] in Egypt in their childhood; they were prostituting [themselves] there, [and] their breasts were fondled, and there they caressed the bosoms of their virginity.

Yet she increased her whorings, {recalling} the days of her childhood when she was prostituted in the land of Egypt

And death will be preferred to life by all the remaining of this evil clan in all the remaining places where I have driven them away," {declares} Yahweh.

Your calf is rejected, Samaria; my anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of innocence? Because [it is] from Israel, an artisan made it, it [is] not a god; for the calf of Samaria will be broken [to] pieces. Because they sow the wind, they will reap the whirlwind. [The] standing grain does not have heads; it will not yield flour. [And] if it would yield, strangers would devour it. read more.
Israel is swallowed up; now they are among the nations, like an object that no one desires.

And you will take up Sikkuth, your king, and Kaiwan, your images, the star of your gods which you made for yourselves. And I will deport you beyond Damascus," says Yahweh--the God of hosts [is] his name.

But where [are] your gods that you made for yourself? Let them arise if they can save you in the time of your trouble. For [according to] the number of your towns are your gods, Judah.

And I came, and I saw, and look, all kinds of creatures and detestable beasts; [and] all of the idols of the house of Israel [were] carved on the wall {all around}.

Its land is filled [with] idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what they made [with] their fingers.

But they did not listen to their leaders, but lusted after other gods and bowed down to them. They turned away quickly from the way that their ancestors went, who had obeyed the commandment of Yahweh; they did not do [as their ancestors].

They abandoned Yahweh the God of their ancestors, who brought them out from the land of Egypt. They {followed} other gods from the gods of the people who [were] around them; and they bowed down to them, and they provoked the anger of Yahweh.

But you did more evil than all who were before you. You have gone and made for yourself other gods and molten idols to provoke me, but me you have {completely disregarded}.

Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Return, and turn away from your idols and from all of your detestable things! Turn away your faces!" '

Then I said to them, '[Let] each [one] throw away the detestable things of his eyes, and you must not make yourselves unclean with the idols of Egypt! I [am] Yahweh your God.'

and saying, "Men, why are you doing these [things]? We also are men with the same nature as you, proclaiming the good news [that] you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all the things [that are] in them--

And also Maacah, the mother of Asa, the king removed her from [being] queen, because she had made a repulsive image for Asherah. And Asa cut down her repulsive image, and he crushed and burned [it] at the Wadi Kidron.

he broke down the altars and the Asherahs and crushed the idols, grinding [them] to dust, and he cut down all the incense stands in all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

Then Jehu said, "Sanctify a [solemn] assembly for Baal!" So they proclaimed [it].

If any of the unbelievers invites you, and you want to go, eat everything that is set before you, {asking no questions} for the sake of the conscience. But if someone says to you, "This is offered to idols," do not eat [it], for the sake of that one who informed [you] and the conscience.

When all the lords of the tower of Shechem heard, they went to the vault of the temple of El-Berith.

And it happened, as soon as Gideon died, the {Israelites} returned and prostituted [themselves] after the Baals, and they made for themselves Baal-Berith as god.

And they gave to him seventy [pieces of] silver from the temple of Baal-Berith, and Abimelech hired with them worthless and reckless men, and {they followed him}.

The children [are] gathering wood, and the fathers [are] kindling the fire, and the women [are] kneading dough to make sacrificial cakes for the queen of heaven, and they pour out libations to other gods for the sake of provoking me to anger.

And my bread that I gave to you, finely milled flour and oil and honey [with which] I fed you, then you set it {before them} as a {pleasing odor}, and so it was,' {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

Your portion [is] among [the] smooth [stones] of [the] valley; they, they [are] your lot; indeed, to them you have poured out a drink offering, you have brought a food offering. Shall I relent concerning these [things]?

But certainly we will do {everything} that went out from our mouths, to make smoke offerings to the queen of heaven and to pour out to her libations just as we did, we, and our ancestors, our kings, and our officials, in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, [for] then {we had enough to eat}, and we were well-off, and we did not see disaster.

But [as] for the cowards and unbelievers and detestable persons and murderers and sexually immoral people and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their share [is] in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.

And another third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself also will drink of the wine of the anger of God that has been mixed full strength in the cup of his wrath, and will be tortured with fire and sulphur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torture went up {forever and ever}, and those who worshiped the beast and his image did not have rest day and night, {along with anyone who received} the mark of his name.

{And do this so that you do not lift} your eyes [toward] heaven and {observe} the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of the heaven, and be led astray and bow down to them and serve them, things that Yahweh your God has allotted to all [of] the peoples under all [of] the heaven.

and by going and serving other gods and [so] he bows down to them and to the sun or to the moon or to any [of] the host of heaven {which I have forbidden},

You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the speechless idols, however you were led.

What value [is] an idol when its carver has fashioned it, a molten idol, a teacher of lies? For [he who] fashioned his creation trusts in it, [though] making mute idols!

But they transgressed against the God of their ancestors and prostituted themselves after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.

The {Israelites} did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and {they served} the Baals. They abandoned Yahweh the God of their ancestors, who brought them out from the land of Egypt. They {followed} other gods from the gods of the people who [were] around them; and they bowed down to them, and they provoked the anger of Yahweh. They abandoned Yahweh, and they served Baal and the Ashtaroth.

And you will take up Sikkuth, your king, and Kaiwan, your images, the star of your gods which you made for yourselves.

And you took along the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of the god Rephan, the images that you made, to worship them, and I will deport you beyond Babylon!'

They carry it on [their] shoulder; they support it and they set it [in] its place, and it stands in position. It cannot be removed from its place; even [when] he cries out to it, it does not answer. It does not save him from his trouble.

'Cursed be the man that makes a divine image or a cast image, [which is] a detestable thing for Yahweh, the work of the hand of a skilled craftsman, and [then] sets [it] in a hiding place.' And {all the people shall respond}, 'Amen.'

What value [is] an idol when its carver has fashioned it, a molten idol, a teacher of lies? For [he who] fashioned his creation trusts in it, [though] making mute idols!

But my people have forgotten me. They make smoke offerings to the idols, and they caused them to stumble in their ways, [the] ancient ways, to go [into] {bypaths}, not [one that] is built up.

And it will happen [that] if you indeed forget Yahweh your God and you go after other gods and you serve them and you bow down before them, I warn you today that you will surely perish.

And you shall not set up for yourselves a stone pillar, [a thing] that Yahweh your God hates.

And I sent to you all my servants the prophets, {sending over and over again}, {saying}, "Please, you must not do this detestable thing that I hate."

And you prostituted with the {Assyrians} on account of {your insatiable lust}, and you prostituted [with] them, and still you were not satisfied. And you increased your fornication to [the] land of traders, [to] Chaldea, and even with this you were not satisfied. How hot with fever [was] your heart!' {declares} the Lord Yahweh. '{When you did} all of these actions {of a headstrong female prostitute},

And Oholah prostituted [herself] {while she was still mine}, and she lusted for her lovers, for Assyria [who was] nearby, clothed in blue cloth, governors and prefects, {handsome young men} [and] all of them horsemen, {experts on horseback}. And she bestowed her fornication on them, [on] the choice [ones] of the {Assyrians}, all of them, and with every one [after] which she lusted; with all of their idols she defiled herself.

Look! you [are] nothing, and your work [is] something worthless; whoever chooses you [is] an abomination.

Therefore, concerning the eating of food sacrificed to idols, we know that "an idol [is] nothing in the world" and that "[there is] no God except one."

But now I have written to you not to associate with any so-called brother, if he is a sexually immoral person or a greedy person or an idolater or an abusive person or a drunkard or a swindler--with such a person not even to eat.

so as not to go among these remaining nations with you; {do not profess} the name of their gods, and do not swear by them, serve them, or {bow down to them}.

And the rest of humanity who were not killed by these plagues did not repent of the works of their hands, {in order not to worship} the demons and the gold and silver and bronze and stone and wooden idols, which are able neither to see nor to hear nor to walk,

and he said to him, "I will give to you all these things, if you will fall down [and] worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Go away, Satan, for it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God and serve only him.'"

And the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, and the people gathered opposite Aaron, and they said to him, "Come, make for us gods who will go before us, because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." And Aaron said to them, "Take off the rings of gold that [are] on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring [it] to me." And all the people took off the rings of gold that [were] on their ears and brought [it] to Aaron. read more.
And he took from their hand, and he shaped it with a tool, and he made it a cast-image bull calf, and they said, "These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt." And Aaron saw, and he built an altar before it, and Aaron called, and he said, "A feast for Yahweh tomorrow."

if this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of Yahweh in Jerusalem. The heart of this people will return to their master Rehoboam the king of Judah, and they shall kill me and {return to him}." And the king had decided, so he made two golden calves and he said to them, "{You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough}; here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt."

But certainly we will do {everything} that went out from our mouths, to make smoke offerings to the queen of heaven and to pour out to her libations just as we did, we, and our ancestors, our kings, and our officials, in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, [for] then {we had enough to eat}, and we were well-off, and we did not see disaster.

Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, {saying}, 'You and your wives have promised with your mouths and with your hands you have fulfilled, {saying}, "We certainly will carry out our vows that we vowed, to make smoke offerings to the queen of the heavens, and to pour out to her libations." You must certainly keep your vows and you must certainly carry out your vows.'

And they shall spread them out before the sun, and before the moon, and before all the host of heaven, which they have loved, and which they have served, and which they have gone after, and which they have inquired about, and to which they have bowed in worship. They shall not be gathered, and they shall not be buried; they will be like dung on the surface of the ground.

And the word of Yahweh came to me, {saying}, "You shall not take for yourself a wife, there shall not be for you sons and daughters in this place." For thus says Yahweh concerning the sons and concerning the daughters born in this place, and concerning their mothers who gave birth to them, and concerning their fathers who fathered them in this land: read more.
"They will die by diseases, they will not be mourned, and they will not be buried. They will be as dung on the face of the earth. And they will perish by the sword and they will perish by the famine. And their dead bodies will become food for the birds of the air, and for the wild animals of the earth." For thus says Yahweh, "You must not enter [the] house of [the] funeral meal, and you must not go to lament, and you must not show sympathy for them, for I have taken away my peace from this people," {declares} Yahweh, "the loyal love and the compassion. Both the great and small will die in this land. They will not be buried, and they will not mourn for them, and no one will cut himself with a blade, and no one will shave himself for them. And they will not break bread for [the] mourning ceremony for them, to comfort him because of [the] dead. And they will not give drink to them, [the] cup of desolation, for their fathers, or for their mothers. And you shall not enter [the] house of [the] banquet, to sit with them, to eat and drink." For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, "Look, I [am] about to cause to disappear from this place, before your eyes and in your days, [the] voice of jubilation, and [the] voice of joy, and [the] voice of [the] bridegroom, and [the] voice of [the] bride. {And then} when you tell this people all these words and they ask you, '{Why} has Yahweh pronounced against us all this great evil, and what [is] our iniquity, and what [is] our sin that we have sinned against Yahweh our God?' Then you shall say to them, '{Because} your ancestors have forsaken me,' {declares} Yahweh, 'and they have gone after other gods, and they have served them, and they have bowed down in worship to them, and they have forsaken me, and they have not kept my laws.

And he took from their hand, and he shaped it with a tool, and he made it a cast-image bull calf, and they said, "These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt." And Aaron saw, and he built an altar before it, and Aaron called, and he said, "A feast for Yahweh tomorrow." And they started early the next day, and they offered burnt offerings, and they presented fellowship offerings, and the people sat to eat and drink, and they rose up to revel.

They made a calf at Horeb and bowed down to a cast image. And [so] they exchanged their glory for an image of an ox that eats grass.

For their sons and daughters will cause your son to turn away {from following me}, and [so] they will serve other gods, and {the anger of Yahweh would be kindled} against you, and he would quickly destroy you.

{And then}, when you [people] say, 'Why has Yahweh our God done all of these [things] to us?' Then you will say to them, 'As you have forsaken me and have served gods of a foreign land in your land, so will you serve strangers in {a land that does not belong to you}.'

And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will wrench out from his mouth {what he has swallowed}. And [the] nations will not stream towards him [any] longer {what's worse}, the wall of Babylon has fallen.

"Declare among the nations and proclaim, and lift up a banner. Proclaim, you must not conceal [it]. Say, 'Babylon is captured, Bel is ashamed, Merodach is filled with terror, her idols are ashamed, her idols are filled with terror.

God chose new [leaders], then war [was at the] gates; a small shield or a spear was not seen among forty thousand in Israel.

They sacrificed to the demons, not God, [to] gods whom they had not known, new [gods] [who] came from recent times; {their ancestors had not known them}.

because they have abandoned me and they have burned incense to other gods, provoking me to anger with all of the works of their hands. My wrath shall be kindled against this place and not be quenched.'"

Then you shall say to them, '{Because} your ancestors have forsaken me,' {declares} Yahweh, 'and they have gone after other gods, and they have served them, and they have bowed down in worship to them, and they have forsaken me, and they have not kept my laws.

He kept the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun from coming to the temple of Yawheh at the side room of Nathan-Melech the eunuch, which [was] in the court; and the chariots of the sun he burned with fire.

But {instead} he will honor the god of fortresses, a god whom his ancestors did not know. He will honor [him] with gold, and with silver, and with precious stones and with costly gifts.

"Come [to] Bethel and transgress; [to] Gilgal and {multiply transgression}! Bring your sacrifices in the morning and your tithes on the {third day}. And bring a thank offering of unleavened bread, and proclaim freewill offerings, pronounce them, for so you love [to do], O {people} of Israel," [is] the declaration of my Lord Yahweh.

I will leave in Israel seven thousand, all of the knees that have not bowed down to Baal and all of the mouths that have not kissed him."

And now they sin again, and they make for themselves a molten idol, idols from their silver metal according to their understanding, all of them the work of skilled craftsmen. To these they say, "Sacrifice!" People are kissing bull calves.

and {I was secretly enticed}, and {my hand threw them a kiss},

And you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughter to their son; and you shall not take his daughter for your son.

and you take from their daughters for your sons, and their daughters prostitute [themselves] after their gods, and they cause your sons to prostitute [themselves] after their gods.

However, if your heart turns aside and you [do] not listen and you are lured away and you bow down to other gods and you serve them,

There shall be no strange god among you, and you shall not bow down to a foreign god.

Therefore put to death {what is earthly in you}: sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustful passion, evil desire, and greediness, which is idolatry,

For this you know {for certain}, that every sexually immoral [person], or unclean [person], or greedy [person] (who is an idolater), does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

And I will sprinkle on you pure water, and you will be clean from all of your uncleanness, and I will cleanse you from all of your idols.

{And then}, on that day,' {declares} Yahweh of hosts, 'I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and also the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness I will banish from the land.

because he has forsaken me, and they bowed down to Ashtoreth, the god of [the] Sidonians, to Chemosh, the god of Moab, and to Molech, the god of the {Ammonites}. They did not walk in my ways to do right in my eyes, my ordinances, or my judgments, as [did] David his father.

Woe to you, Moab! You have perished, people of Chemosh. He has given his sons as fugitives, and his daughters into captivity, to the king of the Amorites, Sihon.

The rulers of [the] Philistines had gathered to sacrifice a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to rejoice. And they said, "Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hand."

Now [the] Philistines had captured the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then [the] Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to the temple of Dagon and placed it beside Dagon. When the Ashdodites got up early the next morning, {there was} Dagon fallen with his face to the ground before the ark of Yahweh! So they took Dagon and returned him to his place.

And {no one takes it to heart}, and [there is] no knowledge and no understanding to say, "I burned half of it in [the] fire and also I baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat, and I have eaten. And I shall make [the] rest of it into an abomination! I shall bow down to a block of wood!"

And they set up their abominations in the house that is called by my name, to defile it.

You will not make gods of cast metal for yourself.

You must not turn to idols, and you must not make for yourselves gods of cast metal; I [am] Yahweh your God.

And Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep, and he sent [them] to Balaam and to the princes who [were] with him.

They came to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed for himself eighty men outside, and he said, "The man who lets [anyone] escape from the men who I am {entrusting to you}, {he will pay with his life}!"

And it happened, in the morning Balak took Balaam and took him up to Bamoth-Baal, and he saw from there the end of the nation.

"For from long ago you have broken your yoke, you tore to pieces your bonds. And you said, 'I will not serve!' But on every high hill and under every leafy tree you [were] lying down [as] a prostitute.

The altars which [were] on the roof of the upper room of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courtyards of the temple of Yahweh, the king tore down and ran from there and threw their ashes into the Wadi Kidron.

and those who bow down on the rooftops to the host of heaven, and those who bow down, swearing to Yahweh but [also] swearing by Milkom,

And they started early the next day, and they offered burnt offerings, and they presented fellowship offerings, and the people sat to eat and drink, and they rose up to revel.

So they took the bull that he allowed to them, prepared it, and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, "O Baal, answer us!" But there was no voice and there was no answer, so they limped about the altar which they had made.

And the priest of the [temple] of Zeus that was just outside the city brought bulls and garlands to the gates [and] was wanting to offer sacrifice, along with the crowds.

You will not bow down to them, and you will not serve them, because I [am] Yahweh your God, a jealous God, punishing [the] guilt of [the] parents on the children on [the] third and on [the] fourth [generations] of those hating me,

'You shall not bow down to them, and you shall not serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, [am] a jealous God, punishing the guilt of fathers upon [their] children and upon [the] third and upon [the] fourth generation of [those] hating me,

The servants of the king of Aram said to him, "Their gods [are] gods of the mountains, therefore they were stronger than we. Let us fight with them in the plain; surely we will be stronger than they.

So they said to the king of Assyria, "The nations whom you deported and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know the customs of the God of the land, so he sent lions among them, and now they are killing them because they do not know the customs of the God of the land."

Now on that same night Yahweh said to him, "Take the bull of the cattle that belongs to your father, and a second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that belongs to your father, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it;

The {Israelites} did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and {they served} the Baals. They abandoned Yahweh the God of their ancestors, who brought them out from the land of Egypt. They {followed} other gods from the gods of the people who [were] around them; and they bowed down to them, and they provoked the anger of Yahweh. They abandoned Yahweh, and they served Baal and the Ashtaroth.

"{How} can I forgive you? Your children have forsaken me, and they have sworn by [those who are] not gods. But I fed them to the full, and they committed adultery, and flocked [to] the house of a prostitute.

But at that time [when you] did not know God, you were enslaved to the things which by nature are not gods.

I will leave in Israel seven thousand, all of the knees that have not bowed down to Baal and all of the mouths that have not kissed him."

As far as this matter, may Yahweh pardon your servant when my master goes [into] the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he [is] leaning himself on my arm, that I also bow down [in] the house of Rimmon: when I bow down [in] the house of Rimmon, may Yahweh please pardon your servant in this matter."

And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be unclean like the place of Topheth, all the houses where they made smoke offerings upon their roofs to all the host of heaven, and [where] they poured out libations to other gods." '"

Your portion [is] among [the] smooth [stones] of [the] valley; they, they [are] your lot; indeed, to them you have poured out a drink offering, you have brought a food offering. Shall I relent concerning these [things]?

So they took the bull that he allowed to them, prepared it, and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, "O Baal, answer us!" But there was no voice and there was no answer, so they limped about the altar which they had made.

And he makes the remainder of it into a god! He bows down to his idol, and he bows in worship and prays to him, and he says, "Save me, for you [are] my god!"

Then I said to them, '[Let] each [one] throw away the detestable things of his eyes, and you must not make yourselves unclean with the idols of Egypt! I [am] Yahweh your God.'

And I poured out my rage on them for the blood that they poured on the land and for their idols [with which] they defiled it.

" 'You will not bow to their gods, and you will not serve them, and you will not act according to their actions, because you will utterly demolish them, and you will utterly break their stone pillars.

And God spoke all these words, saying, "I [am] Yahweh, your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from the house of slaves. "There shall be for you no other gods before me. read more.
"You shall not make for yourself a divine image [with] any form that [is] in the heavens above or that [is] in the earth below or that [is] in the water below the earth. You will not bow down to them, and you will not serve them, because I [am] Yahweh your God, a jealous God, punishing [the] guilt of [the] parents on the children on [the] third and on [the] fourth [generations] of those hating me,

because he has forsaken me, and they bowed down to Ashtoreth, the god of [the] Sidonians, to Chemosh, the god of Moab, and to Molech, the god of the {Ammonites}. They did not walk in my ways to do right in my eyes, my ordinances, or my judgments, as [did] David his father.

They abandoned Yahweh, and they served Baal and the Ashtaroth.

So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that [were] in their hands, and the ornamental rings that [were] in their ears. And Jacob buried them under the oak which [was] near Shechem.

Then Jacob said to his household and to all who [were] with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods that [are] in your midst and purify yourselves and change your garments.

who burn with lust among the oaks, under every leafy tree, who slaughter children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?

"For from long ago you have broken your yoke, you tore to pieces your bonds. And you said, 'I will not serve!' But on every high hill and under every leafy tree you [were] lying down [as] a prostitute.

Assemble and come; draw near together, survivors of the nations! They do not know, those who carry {their wooden idols} and pray to a god who cannot save.

And he makes the remainder of it into a god! He bows down to his idol, and he bows in worship and prays to him, and he says, "Save me, for you [are] my god!"

Be careful for yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you are going, lest it be a snare among you.

lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they prostitute [themselves] after their gods, and they sacrifice to their gods, and they invite you, and you eat their sacrifice,

Therefore, [because we] are offspring of God, we ought not to think the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by human skill and thought.

For [although they] knew God, they did not honor [him] as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasoning, and their senseless hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God with the likeness of an image of mortal human beings and birds and quadrupeds and reptiles.

And her whorings from [the time of] Egypt she [did] not abandon, for they slept with her in her childhood, and they caressed the bosoms of her virginity, and they poured out their fornication on her.

to whom our fathers were not willing to become obedient, but rejected [him] and turned [back] in their hearts to Egypt, saying to Aaron, 'Make us gods who will go on before us! For this Moses, who led us out from the land of Egypt--we do not know what has happened to him!' And they manufactured a calf in those days, and offered up a sacrifice to the idol, and began rejoicing in the works of their hands.

I will leave in Israel seven thousand, all of the knees that have not bowed down to Baal and all of the mouths that have not kissed him."

But what does the divine response say to him? "I have left for myself seven thousand people who have not bent the knee to Baal."

but we should write a letter to them to abstain from the pollution of idols and from sexual immorality and from what has been strangled and from blood.

Because of this, God gave them over to degrading passions, for their females exchanged the natural relations for those contrary to nature, and likewise also the males, abandoning the natural relations with the female, were inflamed in their desire toward one another, males with males committing the shameless deed, and receiving in themselves the penalty that was necessary for their error. And just as they did not see fit {to recognize God}, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do the things [that are] not proper, read more.
being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greediness, malice, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malevolence. [They are] gossipers, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boasters, contrivers of evil, disobedient to parents, senseless, faithless, unfeeling, unmerciful, who, [although they] know the requirements of God, that those who do such things are worthy of death, not only do they do the same [things], but also they approve of those who do [them].

And the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, and the people gathered opposite Aaron, and they said to him, "Come, make for us gods who will go before us, because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him."

They served idols which Yahweh had said to them, "You shall not do this thing!"

Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice in his upper room, which [was] in Samaria, and he was injured. So he sent messengers, and he said to them, "Go, inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, if I will survive this injury."

and he said to him, "Thus says Yahweh, 'Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron--is it because there is no God in Israel [from whom] to inquire his word?--therefore the bed upon which you went, you shall not come down from it, for you shall surely die.'"

I will leave in Israel seven thousand, all of the knees that have not bowed down to Baal and all of the mouths that have not kissed him."

And now they sin again, and they make for themselves a molten idol, idols from their silver metal according to their understanding, all of them the work of skilled craftsmen. To these they say, "Sacrifice!" People are kissing bull calves.

Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your trouble."

They carry it on [their] shoulder; they support it and they set it [in] its place, and it stands in position. It cannot be removed from its place; even [when] he cries out to it, it does not answer. It does not save him from his trouble.

" 'And you will be attentive to all that I have said to you, and you will not {profess} the name of other gods; it will not be heard in your mouth.

so as not to go among these remaining nations with you; {do not profess} the name of their gods, and do not swear by them, serve them, or {bow down to them}.

So it happened that when Peter entered, Cornelius met him, fell at [his] feet, [and] worshiped [him].

And [when] the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices in the Lycaonian language, saying, "The gods have become like men [and] have come down to us!" And they began calling Barnabas Zeus and Paul Hermes, because he was the {principal speaker}. And the priest of the [temple] of Zeus that was just outside the city brought bulls and garlands to the gates [and] was wanting to offer sacrifice, along with the crowds. read more.
But [when] the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard about [it], they tore their clothing [and] rushed out into the crowd, shouting and saying, "Men, why are you doing these [things]? We also are men with the same nature as you, proclaiming the good news [that] you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all the things [that are] in them--

[He] feeds [on] ashes; a {deceived mind} misleads him. And he cannot save {himself}, and he cannot say, "Is [this] not an illusion in my right hand?"

who exchanged the truth of God with a lie, and worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed for eternity. Amen.

So they took the bull that he allowed to them, prepared it, and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, "O Baal, answer us!" But there was no voice and there was no answer, so they limped about the altar which they had made.

When Ephraim multiplied altars to expiate sins, they became to him altars to sin [on].

When I called them, they went from my face. They sacrificed to the Baals, and they sacrificed to idols.

Assemble and come; draw near together, survivors of the nations! They do not know, those who carry {their wooden idols} and pray to a god who cannot save.

My people, consult {their wooden idols}, and their divining rod gives them oracles; because a spirit of whoredom led [them] astray, and they played the whore from under their God.

And it was because of the frivolity of her fornication that she defiled the land and committed adultery with the stone and with the tree.

Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

so as not to go among these remaining nations with you; {do not profess} the name of their gods, and do not swear by them, serve them, or {bow down to them}.

and they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and [so] the land was defiled with the blood.

And they manufactured a calf in those days, and offered up a sacrifice to the idol, and began rejoicing in the works of their hands.

But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, just as it is written in the book of the prophets: 'You did not bring offerings and sacrifices to me [for] forty years in the wilderness, [did you], house of Israel?

He removed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained [to] burn incense on the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem and who offered incense to, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven.

and exchanged the glory of the immortal God with the likeness of an image of mortal human beings and birds and quadrupeds and reptiles.

Therefore, [because we] are offspring of God, we ought not to think the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by human skill and thought.

For someone {named} Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver replicas of the temple of Artemis, was bringing no little business to the craftsmen.

So not only is there a danger this line of business of ours [will] come into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Artemis [will] be regarded as nothing--and [she] is about to be brought down even from her grandeur, [she] whom the whole [of] Asia and the [entire] world worship!"

Therefore, what am I saying? That food sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? [No], but that [the things] which they sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to become sharers with demons.

and saying, "Men, why are you doing these [things]? We also are men with the same nature as you, proclaiming the good news [that] you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all the things [that are] in them--

and you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this man Paul has persuaded [and] turned away a large crowd [by] saying that the [gods] made by hands are not gods.

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Neither sexually immoral people, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor passive homosexual partners, nor dominant homosexual partners, nor thieves, nor greedy persons, not drunkards, not abusive persons, not swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

And Jehu son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him. And he said to King Jehoshaphat, "Should you [be] a help to the wicked and love those who hate Yahweh? On account of this, wrath [has come] against you from Yahweh. Nevertheless some good things have been found in regard to you, for you burned the Asherahs out of the land and set your heart to seek God."

then men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men [with] shaven beards and torn garments, [who had] cut themselves with blades, {having} grain offerings and frankincense in their hands to bring [to] the {temple} of Yahweh.

So they called out with a loud voice, and they cut themselves with swords and with spears as was their custom, until the blood poured out over them.

I will leave in Israel seven thousand, all of the knees that have not bowed down to Baal and all of the mouths that have not kissed him."

As far as this matter, may Yahweh pardon your servant when my master goes [into] the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he [is] leaning himself on my arm, that I also bow down [in] the house of Rimmon: when I bow down [in] the house of Rimmon, may Yahweh please pardon your servant in this matter."

Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.

For [they] themselves report about us, what sort of welcome we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve [the] living and true God,

"So {you must be very careful for yourselves}, because you did not see any form on the day Yahweh spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire, so that you [do] not {ruin yourselves} and make for yourselves a divine image [in] a form of any image, a replica of male or female, a replica of any animal that [is] upon the earth, a replica of any winged bird that flies in the air, read more.
a replica of any creeping thing on the ground, a replica of any fish that [is] in the water {below} the earth. {And do this so that you do not lift} your eyes [toward] heaven and {observe} the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of the heaven, and be led astray and bow down to them and serve them, things that Yahweh your God has allotted to all [of] the peoples under all [of] the heaven.

You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the speechless idols, however you were led.

If [there] is found in one of your {towns} that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you a man or a woman that does evil in the eyes of Yahweh your God to transgress his covenant and by going and serving other gods and [so] he bows down to them and to the sun or to the moon or to any [of] the host of heaven {which I have forbidden}, and it is reported to you or you hear [about it] and you enquire [about it] thoroughly and, indeed, [the] trustworthiness of the deed [has] been established, it {has occurred}, this detestable thing, in Israel, read more.
then you shall bring out that man or that woman who has done this evil thing to your gates; that is, the man or the woman, and you shall stone them with stones {to death}.

you will drive out the inhabitants of the land from your presence, and you will destroy all their idols and all the images of their molten idols, and you will demolish all their high places;

and against all the ships of Tarshish, and against all the ships of desire.

And he removed the foreign gods and the carved image from the house of Yahweh and all the altars which he built on the mountain of the house of Yahweh and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside the city.

And he himself burned incense in the valley of Ben-Hinnom and burned his sons in the fire, according to the detestable [practices] of the nations whom Yahweh drove out before the Israelites.

However, the prophet that behaves presumptuously by speaking a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, and who speaks in the name of other gods, then that prophet shall die.'

Then he said to her, "What [is] his appearance?" She said, "An old man [is] coming up, and {he is wrapped in a robe}." Then Saul realized that it was Samuel, and he knelt [with] his face to the ground and bowed down. Then Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" And Saul said, "{I am in distress}! For [the] Philistines [are about] to make war against me, but God has turned away from me, and he does not answer me any more, not {by the prophets} or by the dreams. So I called to you to let me know what I should do."

And his heart was courageous in the ways of Yahweh. Moreover, he removed the high places and the Asherahs from Judah.

And when all this was finished, all Israel who were found in the cities of Judah went out and shattered the stone pillars, cut down the Asherahs, and destroyed the high places and the altars from all Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh {to the very last one}. Then all the Israelites returned, each to his own property [and] to their cities.

And I, John, [am] the one who heard and who saw these [things]. And when I heard and saw [them], I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed these [things] to me. And he said to me, "{Do not do that!} I am your fellow slave, and of your brothers the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!"

And he himself burned his sons in the fire in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom. And he practiced sorcery and divination, and he engaged in witchcraft and dealt with mediums and spiritists. And he did much evil in the eyes of Yahweh, to provoke him to anger.

For even if after all [there] are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, just as [there] are many gods and many lords,

'Cursed be the man that makes a divine image or a cast image, [which is] a detestable thing for Yahweh, the work of the hand of a skilled craftsman, and [then] sets [it] in a hiding place.' And {all the people shall respond}, 'Amen.'

Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are sexual immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, factions,

Those [who] hurry [after] another [god] increase their sorrows. I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood, nor take up their names on my lips.

I will remove its blood from its mouth, and its abominations from between its teeth. And it too will be a remnant for our God; and it will be like a tribal chief in Judah, and Ekron [will be] like [the] Jebusite.

They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone.

And the people saw him, and they praised their god, for they said, "Our god has given into our hand those who hate us, devastate our land, and have {killed many of us}."

And you must not bring a detestable thing into your house, or you will become a thing devoted to destruction like it; you must utterly detest it, and you must utterly abhor it, for it [is] [an] object devoted to destruction.