26 Bible Verses about False Worship

He brought me into the inner court of the LORD's house; and see, at the door of the LORD's temple, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs toward the LORD's temple, and their faces toward the east; and they were worshipping the sun toward the east.

and the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, which are defiled, shall be as the place of Topheth, even all the houses on whose roofs they have burned incense to all the host of heaven, and have poured out drink offerings to other gods."'"

For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made an Asherah, as did Ahab king of Israel, and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served them.

They forsook all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah, and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.

and they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, which they have loved, and which they have served, and after which they have walked, and which they have sought, and which they have worshiped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried, they shall be for dung on the surface of the earth.

You shall burn the engraved images of their gods with fire. You shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it for yourself, lest you be snared in it; for it is an abomination to the LORD your God.

Then Jacob said to his household, and to all who were with him, "Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, change your garments.

"'You shall make for yourselves no idols, neither shall you raise up an engraved image or a pillar, neither shall you place any figured stone in your land, to bow down to it: for I am the LORD your God.

Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

"You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

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

You know that when you were heathen, you were led away to those mute idols, however you might be led.

Has a nation changed its gods, which really are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit.

For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.

Then shall the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem go and cry to the gods to which they offer incense: but they will not save them at all in the time of their trouble.

The rest of mankind, who were not killed with these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they would not worship demons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood; which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk.

and he appointed him priests for the high places, and for the male goats, and for the calves which he had made.

They shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat idols, after which they play the prostitute. This shall be a statute forever to them throughout their generations.'

They sacrificed to demons, not God, to gods that they did not know, to new gods that came up recently, which your fathers did not dread.

Yes, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.

A drought is on her waters, and they shall be dried up; for it is a land of engraved images, and they glory over idols.

but have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And they have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see, nor hear, nor know. And the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, you have not glorified.

Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold, or silver, or stone, engraved by art and design of man.

They are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

"What value does the engraved image have, that its maker has engraved it; the molten image, even the teacher of lies, that he who fashions its form trusts in it, to make mute idols?

The Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God; and he carried them into the land of Shinar to the house of his god: and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.

He made houses of high places, and made priests from among all the people, who were not of the sons of Levi.

Not only is there danger that this our trade come into disrepute; but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be counted as nothing, and that she should even be deposed from her magnificence, whom all Asia and the world worships."

The Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.

In this thing may the LORD pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon. When I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, may the LORD pardon your servant in this thing."

They forsook all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah, and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.

The inhabitants of Samaria will be in terror for the calves of Beth Aven; for its people will mourn over it, Along with its priests who rejoiced over it, for its glory, because it has departed from it.

However from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin, Jehu did not depart from after them, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan.

"Now you think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David; and you are a great multitude, and there are with you the golden calves which Jeroboam made you for gods.

and he appointed him priests for the high places, and for the male goats, and for the calves which he had made.

The children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baals, and the Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Sidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; and they forsook the LORD, and did not serve him.

The king defiled the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mountain of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon.

because they have forsaken me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon. They have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in my eyes, and to keep my statutes and my ordinances, as David his father did.

They forsook the LORD, and served Baal and the Ashtaroth.

Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, "If you do return to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you, and direct your hearts to the LORD, and serve him only; and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines."

Michal took the teraphim, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' hair at its head, and covered it with the clothes.

Now Rachel had taken the teraphim, put them in the camel's saddle, and sat on them. Laban felt about all the tent, but did not find them.

Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep: and Rachel stole the teraphim that were her father's.

The man Micah had a house of gods, and he made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.

Then the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish answered, and said to their brothers, "Do you know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and an engraved image, and a molten image? Now therefore consider what you have to do."

He reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.

And they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, "Baal, answer us." But there was no voice, nor any who answered. And they limped about the altar they had made.

Therefore, by this the iniquity of Jacob will be forgiven, and this is all the fruit of taking away his sin: that he makes all the stones of the altar as chalk stones that are beaten in pieces, so that the Asherim and the incense altars shall rise no more.

a people who provoke me to my face continually as they sacrifice in gardens and burn incense on bricks;

Because Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning, they became for him altars for sinning.

Israel joined himself to Baal Peor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.

Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baal Peor; for all the men who followed Baal Peor, the LORD your God has destroyed them from the midst of you.

They joined themselves also to Baal Peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead.

I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your fathers as the first ripe in the fig tree at its first season; but they came to Baal Peor, and consecrated themselves to the shameful thing, and became abominable like that which they loved.

Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day, although there came a plague on the congregation of the LORD,

He received what they handed him, and fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it a molten calf; and they said, "These are your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt."

I looked, and behold, you had sinned against the LORD your God; you had made yourselves a molten calf: you had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you.

Yes, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, 'This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,' and had committed awful blasphemies;

They made a calf in Horeb, and worshiped a molten image.

They made a calf in those days, and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their hands.

"'You shall not give any of your children to sacrifice to Molech; neither shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.

They built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through fire to 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.'

You also carried along Sikkuth your king and Kiyyun, the star of your god, your images that you made for yourselves.

You took up the tabernacle of Moloch, the star of your god Rephan, the figures which you made to worship. I will carry you away beyond Babylon.'

He defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.

In that day, men shall cast away their idols of silver, and their idols of gold, which have been made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats;

It will come to pass in that day, says the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they will be remembered no more. I will also cause the prophets and the spirit of impurity to pass out of the land.

They will not look to the altars, the work of their hands; neither shall they respect that which their fingers have made, either the Asherim, or the incense altars.

Therefore behold, the days come, that I will execute judgment on the engraved images of Babylon; and her whole land shall be confounded; and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.

I will cut off your engraved images and your pillars out of your midst; and you shall no more worship the work of your hands.

The king defiled the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mountain of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon.

For, because you have trusted in your works and in your treasures, you also shall be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity, his priests and his officials together.

Won't you possess that which Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whoever the LORD our God has driven out from before us, we will possess.

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

Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and traded the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed animals, and crawling creatures.

You know that when you were heathen, you were led away to those mute idols, however you might be led.

Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that no idol is anything in the world, and that there is no God but one.

The lords of the Philistines gathered them together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to celebrate; for they said, "Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hand."

The Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.

They put his armor in the house of their gods, and fastened his head in the house of Dagon.

Assemble yourselves and come. Draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations. Those have no knowledge who carry the wood of their engraved image, and pray to a god that can't save.

They are like a palm tree, of turned work, and do not speak: they must be carried, because they can't go. Do not be afraid of them; for they can't do evil, neither is it in them to do good."

Even saying these things, they hardly stopped the crowds from making a sacrifice to them.

For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen,

When the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, "You men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the image which fell down from Zeus?

When they heard this they were filled with anger, and began to shout, saying, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians."

The people shouted, "The voice of a god, and not of a man."

When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voice, saying in the language of Lycaonia, "The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men."

But they expected that he would have swollen or fallen down dead suddenly, but when they watched for a long time and saw nothing bad happen to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.

Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.

There you shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.

He who is too impoverished for such an offering chooses a tree that will not rot. He seeks a skillful workman to set up an engraved image for him that will not be moved.

Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold, or silver, or stone, engraved by art and design of man.