72 Bible Verses about Shrines

Then you will know that I am Jehovah. Those who are killed will lie beside the idols around their altars. They will lie on every high hill, on all the mountaintops, and under every large tree and every leafy oak. These are the places where they made offerings to their disgusting idols.

They erected pillars of stone and wood on every high hill and under every green tree.

You will be ashamed of the oaks that you wanted to worship. You will be embarrassed by the garden that you have chosen for your gods.

Long ago you broke off your yoke, tore off your bonds, and said that you would not be a slave. You lay down and acted like a prostitute on every high hill and under every large tree.

that his father never did. He eats at the illegal mountain worship sites. He dishonors his neighbor's wife.

I brought them to the land I had promised to give them. When they saw the high hills and green trees, they offered sacrifices at all of them. They made me angry by the sacrifices they burned and by the wine they brought as offerings.

The carpenter measures with a line and makes an outline with a red chalk marker. He roughs it out with chisels and marks it with a compass. He shapes it in the form of man in all his glory, that it may dwell in a shrine.

They removed the image of Asherah from the house of Baal and burned it. The altar of Baal was pulled down and the house of Baal was broken up and made an unclean place, as it is to this day.

EVERY NATION MADE GODS FOR THEMSELVES. They put them in the houses of the high places the Samaritans had made. The men of Babylon made Succothbenoth and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, The Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites gave their children to be burned in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.

It was the eighth year of his reign. He was still a boy when he dedicated his life to service of the God of his ancestor David. In his twelfth year as king he purged Judah and Jerusalem by destroying the illegal places of worship, poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah, carved idols, and metal idols. He tore down the altars of the Baal gods. He cut down the incense altars that were above them. He destroyed the Asherah poles, carved idols, and metal idols. He ground them into powder and scattered the powder over the tombs of those who had sacrificed to them.

A man named Demetrius, a silversmith made silver shrines of Diana. He brought a lot of business to the craftsmen.

He got rid of the pagan priests. The kings of Judah appointed them to sacrifice at the illegal places of worship in the cities of Judah and all around Jerusalem. They had been sacrificing to Baal, the sun god, the moon god, the constellations of the zodiac (Mazzalohth Constellation-Job 38:32), and the entire army of heaven.

I will stop Moab from making burnt offerings at the places of worship. I will stop Moab from burning incense to their gods, says Jehovah.

Like his father Asa before him, he did what was right in the sight of Jehovah. However the places of worship were not destroyed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.

The high places were not taken away. The people continued making offerings and burning them in the high places.

He made offerings and burned them on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.

He offered sacrifices and burned incense as an offering at the illegal worship sites on hills and under every large tree.

And in each city of Judah, he made places of worship to sacrifice to other gods. He angered Jehovah the God of his ancestors.

He asked the men: Where is the temple prostitute who was by the road at Enaim? They said: There has been no temple prostitute here. So he went back to Judah and said: I did not find her. Besides, the men who lived there said there has not been any temple prostitute here.

None of the daughters of the sons of Israel shall be a temple prostitute.

There were also male (cult) prostitutes in the temples of idols throughout the land. The people of Judah practiced all the disgusting practices done by the nations that Jehovah forced out of the Israelites' way.

He banished perverted persons from the land. He removed those used for sex purposes in the worship of the gods. He removed all the idols his fathers had made.

They die in their youth, among male prostitutes of the shrines.

Destroy all the places where the nations you dispossess serve their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. Tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars. Burn their Asherah poles with fire. Cut down the carved images of their gods and obliterate their name from that place.

Instead tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and cut down their Asherim. Do not worship any other god but Jehovah for his reputation is filled with zeal, and he is a God who demands exclusive devotion.

As you advance, force out all the people who live there. Get rid of all their stone and metal idols, and destroy all their places of worship.

Deal with them in this way: Destroy their altars and break down their sacred pillars. Cut down their idols and burn them with fire.

That night Jehovah told Gideon: Take your father's bull and another seven year old bull, tear down your father's altar to Baal, and cut down the symbol of the goddess Asherah, that is beside it.

He brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah from Geba to Beersheba and made the places where those priests sacrificed unclean. He tore down the worship site at the entrance of the Gate of Joshua, the gate named after the mayor of the city. The worship site was to the left of anyone going through the city gate. The priests of the illegal worship sites had never gone to Jehovah's altar in Jerusalem. Instead, they ate their unleavened bread among the other worshipers. Josiah also made Topheth in the valley of Ben Hinnom unclean so that people would never again sacrifice their sons or daughters by burning them to the god Molech.read more.
He also removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the worship of the sun. He burned the chariots used in this worship. The altars the kings of Judah built on the palace roof above King Ahaz' quarters, King Josiah tore down, along with the altars put up by King Manasseh in the two courtyards of the Temple. He smashed the altars to bits and threw them into Kidron Valley. The king made the illegal places of worship east of Jerusalem unclean. They were on the southern part of the Hill of Destruction. King Solomon of Israel built them for Astarte the disgusting goddess of the Sidonians. Also made unclean were references to Chemosh the disgusting god of Moab, and Milcom the disgusting god of the Ammonites. Josiah crushed the sacred stones. He cut down the poles dedicated to Asherah. And he filled their places with human bones. He also tore down the altar at Bethel the place of worship made by Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin. He tore down both the altar and the place of worship. They burned the worship site. They crushed it into powder and burned the pole dedicated to Asherah. Josiah turned and saw the tombs on the hill. He sent men to take the bones out of the tombs and burn them on the altar to make it unclean. This fulfilled the word of Jehovah announced by the man of God. What is that headstone I see over there? Josiah asked. The men of the town said: It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah. The one who foretold all these things you have done to the altar of Bethel. He said: Let him be. Do not move his bones. So they let his bones be with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria. Josiah removed all the houses of the high places the kings of Israel built in the towns of Samaria. This provoked Jehovah to anger and he did with them as he had done in Bethel. He killed all the priests of the high places on the altars. Their bones were burned on the altars. Then the king went back to Jerusalem.

As soon as he finished offering the burned offering Jehu said to the armed men and the captains: Go in and put them to death! Do not let one come out! So they put them to the sword. Pulling the images to the ground, they went into the holy place of the house of Baal.

He got rid of the altars of foreign gods. He broke down the sacred stones. He cut down the poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah.

His heart was devoted to the ways of Jehovah. He destroyed all the pagan places of worship and the symbols of the goddess Asherah in Judah.

He removed the high places. He broke the stone pillars to bits, and cut down the Asherah poles. The brass snake that Moses had made was crushed to powder at his command, because in those days the children of Israel had offerings burned before it, and he gave it the name Nehushtan.

A Temple had not yet been built for Jehovah. The people were still offering sacrifices at many different altars. Solomon loved Jehovah. He followed the instructions of his father David. He also slaughtered animals and offered them as sacrifices on different altars.

However the people continued to sacrifice at the illegal places of worship. But they sacrificed only to Jehovah their God.

Make an altar of earth for me. Sacrifice your sheep and your cattle as offerings to be completely burned and as peace offerings. In every place that I set-aside for you to worship me, I will come to you and bless you.

With that Gideon realized that it was Jehovah's angel he saw. He said in terror: Sovereign Lord Jehovah! I have seen your angel face-to-face! Jehovah told him: Peace. Do not be afraid. You will not die. Gideon built an altar to Jehovah there and named it: Jehovah is Peace. (Jehovah-shalom) It is still standing at Ophrah and belongs to the clan of Abiezer.

The girls answered: He is there ahead of you. Hurry! He just went into the city today since the people are offering a sacrifice at the worship site. As you go into the city, you can find him before he goes to the worship site to eat. The people will not eat until he comes. He blesses the sacrifice. Then those who are invited may eat. You should be able to find him now. Saul and his servant went to the city. Samuel was coming toward them as they entered. He was on his way to the worship site.

After that you will come to Gibeah, the hill of God, where an armed force of the Philistines is stationed. When you come to the town, you will see a band of prophets coming down from the high place with instruments of music before them. They will be acting like prophets:

From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent. Bethel was on the west and Ai on the east. He built an altar to Jehovah and called on the name of Jehovah.

The people of Israel went to Bethel and sat there in the presence of God until evening. They lifted their voices and wept bitterly.

The whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh. They set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. The land was subdued before them.

They said: The yearly festival of Jehovah at Shiloh is coming soon. (Shiloh is north of Bethel, south of Lebonah, and east of the road between Bethel and Shechem.)

The people of Israel came from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, as well as from the land of Gilead in the east. They were united in Jehovah's presence at Mizpah.

The Israelites gathered at Mizpah. They drew some water, poured it out in front of Jehovah and fasted that day. They confessed: We have sinned against Jehovah. So Samuel judged Israel in Mizpah.

One time he went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices because that was where the most used altar was. He offered hundreds of burnt offerings there in the past. That night Jehovah appeared to him in a dream and asked him: What do you want me to give you?

David left Zadok and his priestly relatives to serve in Jehovah's Tent at the place of worship in Gibeon. They were ordered to sacrifice burnt offerings to Jehovah. This happened on the altar of burnt offerings continually, morning and evening, as written in the Law of Jehovah that he gave Israel.

So Solomon left the place of worship at Gibeon, where the Tent of Jehovah's presence was, and returned to Jerusalem. There he ruled over Israel.

If you say to me: We trust in Jehovah our God, is he not the one whose high places and altars have been taken away by Hezekiah. For he told Judah and Jerusalem that worship may only be given before this altar in Jerusalem?

Suppose you say: 'We are trusting Jehovah our God. He is the god whose places of worship and altars Hezekiah got rid of. Hezekiah told Judah and Jerusalem: Worship at this altar.''

Do not worship Jehovah your God with such things. You should seek Jehovah at the place Jehovah your God chooses out of all your tribes. This is where he will dwell and establish his name. This is where you should go. There you shall bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, and the contribution of your hand, your vowed offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock.read more.
You and your households should eat there before Jehovah your God, and rejoice in all your undertakings that Jehovah your God has blessed.

I will allow no one to take his long lasting kingdom away from him. He will be the one to build a temple for me.

He is the one who will build a house for me. I will establish his throne forever.

Micah had his own place of worship. He made some idols and an ephod, and appointed one of his sons as his priest.

The Danites set up the idol to be worshiped, and Jonathan, the son of Gershom and grandson of Moses, served as a priest for the Danites. His descendants served as their priests until the people were taken away into exile. Micah's idol remained there as long as the Tent where God was worshiped was at Shiloh.

After asking for advice, the king made two golden calves. He said: You have been worshiping in Jerusalem long enough. Israel, here are your gods who brought you out of Egypt. He placed one in Bethel and the other in Dan. This became Israel's sin, worshiping the golden calves. The people went as far as Dan to worship the one calf.read more.
Jeroboam built worship sites on hilltops. He appointed men who were not descended from Levi to be priests.

The words that he spoke at Jehovah's command against the altar in Bethel and against all the places of worship in the towns of Samaria will surely come true.

So they worshipped Jehovah. They appointed priests from the people for the high places. The priests were to make offerings for them in the houses of the high places. They worshipped Jehovah, but they gave honor to their gods like the nations did from whom they had been taken as prisoners.

As an alternative, Jeroboam appointed his own priests for the illegal worship sites and the goat and calf statues he had made as idols.

Come to Bethel and transgress! Come to Gilgal and multiply transgression! Bring your sacrifices every morning and your tithes every three days.

Then the king ordered the high priest Hilkiah, the priests who served under Hilkiah, and the doorkeepers to remove from Jehovah's Temple all utensils that had been made for Baal, Asherah, and the entire army of heaven. Josiah burned the utensils outside Jerusalem. It was in an open field near the Kidron Brook. Then he carried their ashes to Bethel. He got rid of the pagan priests. The kings of Judah appointed them to sacrifice at the illegal places of worship in the cities of Judah and all around Jerusalem. They had been sacrificing to Baal, the sun god, the moon god, the constellations of the zodiac (Mazzalohth Constellation-Job 38:32), and the entire army of heaven. He removed the pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah from the temple. He took it to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem. There he burned it in the Kidron Valley, ground it to dust, and threw its ashes on the tombs of the common people.read more.
He tore down the houses of the male temple (cult) prostitutes who were in Jehovah's Temple. This is where women did weaving for Asherah.

Then he brought me to the entrance of the gate of Jehovah's house toward the north; and I saw women sitting there weeping for Tammuz (the god). He said to me: Do you see this, son of man? Yet you will see still greater abominations than these. So he took me to the inner courtyard of the Temple. There near the entrance of the sanctuary, between the altar and the porch, were about twenty-five men. They turned their backs to the sanctuary and were bowing low toward the east, worshiping the rising sun.

They built places of worship for false gods. They put up stone pillars and symbols of Asherah to worship on the hills and under shady trees. There were also male (cult) prostitutes in the temples of idols throughout the land. The people of Judah practiced all the disgusting practices done by the nations that Jehovah forced out of the Israelites' way.

Then he said: Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are committing in the dark, each man in the room of his carved images? For they say: 'Jehovah does not see us! Jehovah has forsaken the land!'

Then Solomon put up a high place for Chemosh, the disgusting god of Moab, in the mountain near Jerusalem. And for Molech, the disgusting god worshipped by the children of Ammon. He did likewise for all his strange wives, who made offerings with burning of perfumes to their gods.

He did evil in the eyes of Jehovah. He copied the disgusting ways of those nations Jehovah sent out before the children of Israel. He built the high places that Hezekiah his father destroyed. He made altars for Baal. Then he made an Asherah as Ahab, king of Israel, had done. Manasseh was a worshipper and servant of all the stars of heaven.

They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire. I did not command this. I would never think of such a thing. (It would not come from my heart.)

They have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal. This is not something I commanded or spoke of, nor did it ever enter my mind (heart) (conscience).'

In the valley of Ben Hinnom they built worship sites for Baal to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech. I did not ask them to do this. It never entered my heart (mind). I did not make Judah sin.'

You have carried the tabernacle of your king and the shrine of your images, the star of your god, which you made for yourselves.

Yes, you took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan. You made figures to worship them. I will carry you away beyond Babylon.

by the side of every road you built places to worship idols and practice prostitution. You dragged your beauty through the mud. You offered yourself to everyone who came by, and you were more of a prostitute every day.