You will be sorry that you ever worshiped trees and planted sacred gardens.

(SEE 2:17)

When that day comes, they will throw away the gold and silver idols they have made, and abandon them to the moles and the bats.

But Israel's sins will be forgiven only when the stones of pagan altars are ground up like chalk, and no more incense altars or symbols of the goddess Asherah are left.

You will take your idols plated with silver and your idols covered with gold, and will throw them away like filth, shouting, "Out of my sight!"

He did the same thing in the cities and the devastated areas of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far north as Naphtali.

Throughout the territory of the Northern Kingdom he smashed the altars and the symbols of Asherah, ground the idols to dust, and broke into bits all the incense altars. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

I will sprinkle clean water on you and make you clean from all your idols and everything else that has defiled you.

The people of Israel will have nothing more to do with idols; I will answer their prayers and take care of them. Like an evergreen tree I will shelter them; I am the source of all their blessings."

all human beings and animals, birds and fish. I will bring about the downfall of the wicked. I will destroy everyone, and no survivors will be left. I, the LORD, have spoken.

At that time I will remove the names of the idols from the land, and no one will remember them any more. I will get rid of anyone who claims to be a prophet and will take away the desire to worship idols.

Their land is full of idols, and they worship objects that they have made with their own hands.

God said, "People of Israel, you have sinned against me and opposed me. But now, come back to me!

A time is coming when all of you will throw away the sinful idols you made out of silver and gold.

A person uses part of a tree for fuel and part of it for making an idol. With one part he builds a fire to warm himself and bake bread; with the other part he makes a god and worships it.

The maker of idols hasn't the wit or the sense to say, "Some of the wood I burned up. I baked some bread on the coals, and I roasted meat and ate it. And the rest of the wood I made into an idol. Here I am bowing down to a block of wood!"

It makes as much sense as eating ashes. His foolish ideas have so misled him that he is beyond help. He won't admit to himself that the idol he holds in his hand is not a god at all.

"My people chose kings, but they did it on their own. They appointed leaders, but without my approval. They took their silver and gold and made idols---for their own destruction.

An Israelite craftsman made the idol, and it is not a god at all! The gold bull worshiped in Samaria will be smashed to pieces!

The people of Israel were like a grapevine that was full of grapes. The more prosperous they were, the more altars they built. The more productive their land was, the more beautiful they made the sacred stone pillars they worship.

The people whose hearts are deceitful must now suffer for their sins. God will break down their altars and destroy their sacred pillars.

In the past, when the tribe of Ephraim spoke, the other tribes of Israel were afraid; they looked up to Ephraim. But the people sinned by worshiping Baal, and for this they will die.

They still keep on sinning by making metal images to worship---idols of silver, designed by human minds, made by human hands. And then they say, "Offer sacrifices to them!" How can anyone kiss those idols---idols in the shape of bulls!

I will destroy your idols and sacred stone pillars; no longer will you worship the things that you yourselves have made.

I will pull down the images of the goddess Asherah in your land and destroy your cities.

Because he abolished the pagan places of worship and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah, the kingdom was at peace under his rule.

Under his direction the altars where Baal was worshiped were smashed, and the incense altars near them were torn down. They ground to dust the images of Asherah and all the other idols and then scattered the dust on the graves of the people who had sacrificed to them.