69 Bible Verses about False Gods

The LORD of the hosts, the God of Israel, said: Behold, I will visit the multitude of Alexandria, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings; even Pharaoh, and all those that trust in him.

but ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves; for thou shalt worship no other god; for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

But thus shall ye deal with them: ye shall destroy their altars and break down their images and cut down their groves and burn their graven images in the fire.

And it came to pass the same night that the LORD said unto him, Take a bullock of thy father's house and a second bullock seven years old and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father has and cut down the grove that is by it and build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, according to due order, and take the second bullock and offer a burnt sacrifice upon the wood of the grove which thou shall have cut down. Then Gideon took ten men of his slaves and did as the LORD had said unto him. But he feared to do it by day because of his father's family and the men of the city, so he did it by night.read more.
And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built. And they said one to another, Who has done this thing? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon, the son of Joash, has done this thing. Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son that he may die because he has cast down the altar of Baal and because he has cut down the grove that was by it.

For the LORD shall smite Israel as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he had given to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger.

And he also removed Maachah, his mother, from being queen because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol and burnt it by the brook Kidron.

Ahab also made groves, and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.

Now therefore send and gather to me all Israel unto Mount Carmel, and the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of the groves, who eat at Jezebel's table.

And the king commanded Hilkiah, the high priest, and the priests of the second order and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that had been made for Baal and for the grove and for all the host of heaven; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron and caused their dust to be carried unto Bethel. And he put down the religious persons whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah and in the places round about Jerusalem; likewise, those that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven. And he brought out the graven image of the grove from the house of the LORD outside Jerusalem unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron and stamped it small to powder and cast the powder of it upon the graves of the sons of the people.read more.
He likewise broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes that were by the house of the LORD where the women wove hangings for the grove.

that their sons might remember their altars and their groves, by the green trees and upon the high hills.

And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee; so will I destroy thy cities.

And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the peoples that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them and provoked the LORD to anger. And they forsook the LORD and served Baal and Ashtaroth.

And the sons of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD and served the Baalim and Ashtaroth and the gods of Syria and the gods of Zidon and the gods of Moab and the gods of the sons of Ammon and the gods of the Philistines and forsook the LORD and did not serve him.

And Samuel spoke unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you and prepare your hearts unto the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. Then the sons of Israel did put away the Baalim and Ashtaroth and served the LORD only.

And they cried unto the LORD and said, We have sinned because we have forsaken the LORD and have served the Baalim and Ashtaroth, but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee.

And they put his weapons in the house of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan.

For Solomon went after Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites.

And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers, and there arose another generation after them which did not know the LORD nor the work which he had done to Israel. And the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baalim. And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the peoples that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them and provoked the LORD to anger.read more.
And they forsook the LORD and served Baal and Ashtaroth.

But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow does not cast out demons but by Beelzebub the prince of the demons.

But the scribes who had come down from Jerusalem said that he had Beelzebub and that by the prince of the devils he cast out devils.

But some of them said, He casts out devils through Beelzebub the prince of the demons.

Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria and was sick, and he sent messengers and said unto them, Go, enquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover of this disease. But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah, the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and thou shalt say unto them, Is there no God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron?read more.
Now therefore, thus hath the LORD said, Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed. And when the messengers turned back unto him, he said unto them, Why are ye now turned back? And they said unto him, We met a man who said unto us, Go, turn again unto the king that sent you and say unto him, Thus hath the LORD said, Is there no God in Israel, that thou dost send to enquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.

Bel bowed down; Nebo is fallen; their images were placed upon animals and upon beasts of burden that will carry you, laden with yourselves, burden of weariness.

Declare ye among the Gentiles, and publish, and set up a banner; publish, and do not conceal: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces.

And I will visit Bel himself in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he has swallowed up; and the Gentiles shall not flow together any more unto him; and the wall of Babylon shall fall.

Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the mount that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the sons of Ammon.

Woe to thee, Moab! thou art undone, O people of Chemosh; he has put thy sons to flight and thy daughters into captivity because of Sihon king of the Amorites.

because they have forsaken me and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh, the god of the Moabites, and Milcom, the god of the sons of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in my eyes and to keep my statutes and my rights, as did David his father.

Likewise, the king defiled the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon, the king of Israel, had built unto Ashtoreth, the abomination of the Zidonians, and unto Chemosh, the abomination of the Moabites, and unto Milcom, the abomination of the sons of Ammon.

For because thou hast trusted in thy works; in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken; and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together.

Then the cardinals of the Philistines gathered themselves together to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god and to rejoice, for they said, Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hands.

When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon. And when those of Ashdod arose early in the morning, behold, Dagon had fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon and set him in his place again. And when they arose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD, and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.read more.
Therefore, neither the priests of Dagon nor any that come into Dagon's temple tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day. But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon those of Ashdod, and he destroyed them and smote them with hemorrhoids in Ashdod and within all their borders. And when they saw this, those of Ashdod said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us, for his hand is sore upon us and upon Dagon our god.

And they put his weapons in the house of their gods and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon.

For it came to pass when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David, his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites.

And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech; neither shalt thou contaminate the name of thy God: I am the LORD.

Likewise, thou shalt say to the sons of Israel, Any man of the sons of Israel or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel that gives any of his seed unto Molech shall surely die; the people of the land shall stone him with stones. And I will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people because he has given of his seed unto Molech, contaminating my sanctuary and defiling my holy name. And if the people of the land should hide their eyes from the man, when he gives of his seed unto Molech, to not kill him,read more.
then I will set my face against that man and against his family and will cut him off with all those that fornicated after him, prostituting themselves after Molech.

And he defiled Tophet, which is in the valley of the sons of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.

And thou didst go to the king with ointment and didst multiply thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto Sheol.

And they built altars unto Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I did not command them, neither did it come into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

Concerning the Ammonites, thus hath the LORD said: Does Israel have no sons? does he have no heir? why then does their king inherit Gad and his people dwell in his cities?

and those that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops and those that worship swearing by the LORD and by their king

On the contrary, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them; and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.

Then he brought me to the entrance of the door of the LORD's house which is toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.

For they also built themselves high places and statues, and groves on every high hill and under every green tree. And there were also male cult prostitutes in the land, and they did according to all the abominations of the Gentiles which the LORD had cast out before the sons of Israel.

And I will cause seven thousand to remain in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which has not kissed him.

And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command them, neither did it come into my heart.

And now they sin more and more, and of their silver they have made molten images according to their own intelligence, idols, all of it the work of the craftsmen; they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.

And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built. And they said one to another, Who has done this thing? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon, the son of Joash, has done this thing. Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son that he may die because he has cast down the altar of Baal and because he has cut down the grove that was by it.read more.
And Joash replied unto all that stood against him, Will ye contend for Baal? Will ye save him? Whoever will contend for him, let him be put to death while it is yet morning; if he is God, let him contend for himself with the one who has cast down his altar. Therefore, on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal contend against him because he has thrown down his altar.

And it came to pass when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubles Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim. Now therefore send and gather to me all Israel unto Mount Carmel, and the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of the groves, who eat at Jezebel's table.read more.
Then Ahab sent unto all the sons of Israel and gathered the prophets together unto Mount Carmel. And Elijah came near unto all the people and said, How long shall ye halt between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him. And the people did not answer him a word. Then Elijah spoke again unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Give us, therefore, two bullocks, and let them choose one bullock for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on wood and put no fire under it; and I will dress the other bullock and lay it on wood and put no fire under it. And invoke ye in the name of your gods, and I will invoke in the name of the LORD; and it shall be that the God that answers by fire is God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken. So Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves and dress it first, for ye are many, and invoke in the name of your gods, but put no fire under it. And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it and invoked in the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, answer us. But there was no voice nor anyone that answered. And they jumped up and down near the altar which they had made. And it came to pass at noon that Elijah mocked them and said, Cry aloud, for he is a god; peradventure he is talking or he had to go to the latrine, or he is on a journey, or he sleeps and will awake. And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets until the blood gushed out upon them. And when midday was past, even so they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, and there was neither voice nor anyone that answered nor anyone that heard. Then Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be thy name; and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD; then he made a trench round about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. And he put the wood in order and cut the bullock in pieces and laid it on the wood and said, Fill four pitchers with water and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood. And he said, Do it the second time, and they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time, and they did it the third time. So that the water ran round about the altar, and he had filled the trench also with water. And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, LORD God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel and that I am thy slave and that I have done all these things at thy word. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God and that thou shalt convert their heart back again to thee. Then fire of the LORD fell, which consumed the burnt sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the dust and licked up the water that was in the trench. And seeing it, all the people fell on their faces, and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God. And Elijah said unto them, Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they seized them; and Elijah took them down to the brook Kishon and slew them there.

And Jehu gathered all the people together and said unto them, Ahab served Baal a little but Jehu shall serve him much. Now, therefore, call unto me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests; let no one be lacking, for I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal; whoever is lacking shall not live. But Jehu did it in subtilty to the intent that he might destroy those that served Baal. And Jehu said, Sanctify a solemn assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed it.read more.
And Jehu sent through all Israel, and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was no one lacking that did not come. And they came into the house of Baal, and the house of Baal was full from one end to another. And he said to the one that was over the vestry, Bring forth vestments for all those that served Baal. And he brought them forth vestments. And Jehu went with Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal and said unto the servants of Baal, Search and make sure that none of the slaves of the LORD are here with you, but only the servants of Baal. And when they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings, Jehu put eighty men outside and said, Whoever leaves alive any of the men whom I have brought into your hands, his life shall be for that of the other. And after they had finished offering the burnt offering, Jehu said to those of his guard and to the captains, Go in, and slay them; let none escape. And they smote them with the edge of the sword, and the guard and the captains left them where they fell and went to the city of the house of Baal, and they removed the images out of the house of Baal and burned them. And they broke down the image of Baal and broke down the house of Baal and made it a latrine unto this day. Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.

And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal and broke it down; his altars and his images they broke in pieces thoroughly and slew Mattan, the priest of Baal, before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the LORD.

And the king commanded Hilkiah, the high priest, and the priests of the second order and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that had been made for Baal and for the grove and for all the host of heaven; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron and caused their dust to be carried unto Bethel. And he put down the religious persons whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah and in the places round about Jerusalem; likewise, those that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.

For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah, his father, had destroyed, and he raised up altars for Baal and made a grove, as Ahab, king of Israel, had done; and he worshipped all the host of heaven and served those things.

Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; but he did not do that which was right in the sight of the LORD, like David, his father. To the contrary he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and also made molten images unto Baalim. Moreover, he burnt incense in the valley of the sons of Hinnom and burnt his sons in the fire, after the abominations of the Gentiles whom the LORD had cast out before the sons of Israel.read more.
He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills and under every green tree.

When Ephraim spoke everyone feared, he was exalted in Israel; but he was found guilty in Baal and died. And now they sin more and more, and of their silver they have made molten images according to their own intelligence, idols, all of it the work of the craftsmen; they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.

Blessed is that man that makes the LORD his trust and does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.

Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, or language which speak blasphemy against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill because there is no other god that can deliver after this sort.

O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after the lie? Selah.

This shall be thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me said the LORD; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood.

O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the time of the affliction; Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things in which there is no profit.

Thus hath the LORD said: For three transgressions of Judah and for the fourth, I will not convert her because they have despised the law of the LORD and have not kept his statutes, and their lies caused them to err after which their fathers have walked:

And I will extend my hand over Judah and over all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place and the name of their religious persons with their priests

And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius because he was the chief speaker.

For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen, whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation and said, Sirs, ye know that by this gain we have our wealth. Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with handsread more.
so that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought, but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship. And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.

And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose ensign was Castor and Pollux.

And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne and made an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of god, and not of man.

And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius because he was the chief speaker. Then the priest of Jupiter, who was before their city, brought bulls and garlands unto the gates and would have done sacrifice unto them with the people. Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they rent their clothes and ran in among the people, crying outread more.
and saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all the things that are therein,

But they were waiting to see when he should have swollen or fallen down dead suddenly; but after they had waited a great while and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.