'Idols' in the Bible

When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household idols.

If you find your gods with anyone here, he will not live! Before our relatives, point out anything that is yours and take it.” Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the idols.

So Laban entered Jacob's tent, and Leah's tent, and the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find the idols. Then he left Leah's tent and entered Rachel's.

Now Rachel had taken Laban’s household idols, put them in the saddlebag of the camel, and sat on them. Laban searched the whole tent but found nothing.

She said to her father, “Sir, don’t be angry that I cannot stand up in your presence; I am having my period.” So Laban searched, but could not find the household idols.

otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and they would play the prostitute with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone might invite you to eat his sacrifice (meal),

"You shall make no cast idols for yourselves.

This is so that the sons of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they were sacrificing [to idols] in the open field [where they killed them], that they may bring them in to the Lord, at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting to the priest, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the Lord.

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.'

Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.

Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God.

And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.

they are to drive out all the inhabitants of the land and destroy all their idols and their molten images. You are to demolish all their high places,

This is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, break their pillars, cut down their ritual pillars, and burn their carved idols in fire,

And ye have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them:)

They made him jealous with other gods, they enraged him with abhorrent idols.

They have provoked My jealousywith their so-called gods;they have enraged Me with their worthless idols.So I will provoke their jealousywith an inferior people;I will enrage them with a foolish nation.

He had turned away from the idols that were at Gilgal. So he told Eglon, "I have a secret message for you, king." King Eglon responded "Silence!" and all of his attendants left him.

Meanwhile, Ehud escaped while they were delayed, passed by the idols, and escaped in the direction of Seirah.

This man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household idols, and installed one of his sons to be his priest.

Then the five men who had gone to scout out the territory of Laish told their relatives, "Are you aware that in these houses there's an ephod, some household idols, a carved image, and a cast image? You know what you need to do."

Then the five men who had gone to scout out the land went in and took the carved image overlaid with silver, the ephod, and the household idols, while the priest was standing by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war.

When they entered Micah’s house and took the carved image overlaid with silver, the ephod, and the household idols, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

So the priest was pleased and took his ephod, household idols, and carved image, and went with the people.

And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to publish it in the house of their idols, and among the people.

And they put Saul’s weapons and armor in the temple of the Ashtaroth (female goddesses), and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.

The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them off.

But [in the meantime] the people were still sacrificing [to God] on the high places (hilltops) [as the pagans did to their idols], for there was no [permanent] house yet built for the Name of the Lord.

Doing this was sinful, because the people traveled as far as Dan to appear before one of their idols.

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}.

And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.

Moreover, the word of the Lord came against Baasha and his household through the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani, both for all the evil that Baasha did in the sight of the Lord in provoking Him to anger with the work of his hands (idolatry), in being like the house of Jeroboam, and because he [willingly] destroyed it (the family of Jeroboam).

This happened because of all the sins of Baasha and those of his son Elah, which they committed and caused Israel to commit, provoking the Lord God of Israel with their worthless idols.

He followed the example of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sins that he caused Israel to commit, provoking the Lord God of Israel with their worthless idols.

And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.

Only Jehu did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat [by] which he caused Israel to sin; [namely,] the calf-shaped idols of gold which [were in] Bethel and Dan.

All the people of the land went and demolished the temple of Baal. They smashed its altars and idols to bits. They killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altar. Jehoiada the priest then placed guards at the Lord's temple.

For they served idols, whereof the LORD had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing.

They rejected His statutes and His covenant He had made with their ancestors and the decrees He had given them. They pursued worthless idols and became worthless themselves, following the surrounding nations the Lord had commanded them not to imitate.

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.

These nations feared the Lord but also served their idols. Their children and grandchildren continue doing as their fathers did until today.

Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols:

And he walked in all the way that his father walked in, and served the idols that his father served, and worshipped them:

This will happen because they have abandoned me and offered sacrifices to other gods, angering me with all the idols they have made. My anger will ignite against this place and will not be extinguished!'"

He brought all the priests from the cities of Judah and ruined the high places where the priests had offered sacrifices, from Geba to Beer Sheba. He tore down the high place of the goat idols situated at the entrance of the gate of Joshua, the city official, on the left side of the city gate.

Moreover the workers with familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images, and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD.

And when they had stripped him, they took his head, and his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to carry tidings unto their idols, and to the people.

The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David ordered that they be burned in the fire.

For all the gods of the people are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

Jeroboam appointed his own priests to serve at the worship centers and to lead in the worship of the goat idols and calf idols he had made.

So now you yourselves are considering [that you are] strong before the kingdom of Yahweh [which is] in the hand the sons of David, since you yourselves are a great multitude and you have bull calves of gold that Jeroboam has made for idols.

Have you not driven out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron and the Levites, and made priests for yourselves like the peoples of other lands? So whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams, even he may become a priest of non-existent gods (idols).

And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD.

Then all the people went to the temple of Baal, broke its altars and idols to pieces, and executed Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of the altars.

And they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served groves and idols: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass.

But he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and also made molten idols for the Baals.

They took action and removed the [pagan] altars which were in Jerusalem; they also removed all the incense altars and threw them into the Brook Kidron [the dumping place for the ashes of such repulsive things].

He also eliminated the foreign gods and idols from the LORD's Temple, along with all of the altars that he had built in Jerusalem and on the mountain where the LORD's Temple was located, and he discarded them outside the city.

The Annals of the Prophets include his prayer, give an account of how the Lord responded to it, record all his sins and unfaithful acts, and identify the sites where he built high places and erected Asherah poles and idols before he humbled himself.

He did evil in the sight of the Lord, just like his father Manasseh had done. He offered sacrifices to all the idols his father Manasseh had made, and worshiped them.

In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his ancestor David. In his twelfth year he began ridding Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, Asherah poles, idols, and images.

He ordered the altars of the Baals to be torn down, and broke the incense altars that were above them. He smashed the Asherah poles, idols and images, crushed them up and sprinkled the dust over the tombs of those who had sacrificed to them.

And when he had broken down the altars and the groves, and had beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.

This will happen because they have abandoned me and offered sacrifices to other gods, angering me with all the idols they have made. My anger will ignite against this place and will not be extinguished!'"

Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the areas belonging to the Israelites and encouraged all who were in Israel to worship the Lord their God. Throughout the rest of his reign they did not turn aside from following the Lord God of their ancestors.

I hate those who are devoted to worthless idols,but I trust in the Lord.

Let the peoples praise You, O God;Let all the peoples praise You.

Let the peoples praise You, O God;Let all the peoples praise You.

They made him angry with their pagan shrines, and made him jealous with their idols.

For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods.

And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them.

And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.

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

Those who make them will become like them,Everyone who trusts in them.

Turn my eyes away from vanity [all those worldly, meaningless things that distract—let Your priorities be mine],And restore me [with renewed energy] in Your ways.

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

They have mouths, but they do not speak;They have eyes, but they do not see;

Those who make idols are like them [absolutely worthless—spiritually blind, deaf, and powerless];So is everyone who trusts in and relies on them.

Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:

So the common man has been humbled [before idols]And the man of importance has been degraded,Therefore do not forgive them [O Lord].

And the idols he shall utterly abolish.

In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;

As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria;

Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?

The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.

And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.

Look, riders come—horsemen in pairs.”And he answered, saying,“Babylon has fallen, has fallen.All the images of her godshave been shattered on the ground.”

Then you will defile your silver-plated idols and your gold-plated images. You will throw them away like menstrual cloths, and call them filth.

For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin.

Do you [who worship idols] not know? Have you not heard?Has it not been told to you from the beginning?Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth [the omnipotence of God and the stupidity of bowing to idols]?

“Present your case [for idols made by men’s hands],” says the Lord.“Produce your evidence [of divinity],”Says the king of Jacob.

Hear this! You [idols] are less than nothing,And your work is worthless;The worshiper who chooses you [as a god] is repulsive.

Who [among the idols] has declared this from the beginning, so that we could know?Or from earlier times, so that we could say, “He is [unquestionably] right!”?In fact, there was no one who declared it,Indeed, there was no one who proclaimed it;There was no one at all who heard you speak [for you pagan gods are speechless].

“But when I look [on the pagan prophets and priests], there is no one [who could predict these events],And there is no counselor among them,Who, if I ask, can give an answer.

I am Yahweh, that is My name;I will not give My glory to anotheror My praise to idols.

They will be turned back and utterly ashamed—those who trust in idolsand say to metal-plated images:You are our gods!

All who make idols are nothing,and what they treasure does not profit.Their witnesses do not see or know anything,so they will be put to shame.

They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols.

“Come, gather together,and draw near, you fugitives of the nations.Those who carry their wooden idols,and pray to a god who cannot save,have no knowledge.