"But if you or your sons ever turn away from me, fail to obey the regulations and rules I instructed you to keep, and decide to serve and worship other gods,

Others will then answer, 'Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who led their ancestors out of Egypt. They embraced other gods whom they worshiped and served. 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! If you do, they will surely shift your allegiance to their gods." But Solomon was irresistibly attracted to them.

When Solomon became old, his wives shifted his allegiance to other gods; he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his father David had been.

He built high places for all his foreign wives so they could burn incense and make sacrifices to their gods.

and had warned him about this very thing, so that he would not follow other gods. But he did not obey the Lord's command.

After the king had consulted with his advisers, he made two golden calves. Then he said to the people, "It is too much trouble for you to go up to Jerusalem. Look, Israel, here are your gods who brought you up from the land of Egypt."

You have sinned more than all who came before you. You went and angered me by making other gods, formed out of metal; you have completely disregarded me.

Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah with this warning, "May the gods judge me severely if by this time tomorrow I do not take your life as you did theirs!"

Ben Hadad sent another message to him, "May the gods judge me severely if there is enough dirt left in Samaria for my soldiers to scoop up in their hands."