"But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not obey me.

So I let them go their stubborn ways and do whatever they wanted.

So I will bring disaster upon them---the very things they are afraid of---because no one answered when I called or listened when I spoke. They chose to disobey me and do evil."

"Whenever one of you Israelites or one of you foreigners who live in the Israelite community turn away from me and worship idols, and then go to consult a prophet, I, the LORD, will give you your answer!

"If any prophets are deceived into giving a false answer, it is because I, the LORD, have deceived them. I will remove them from the people of Israel.

"Then I gave them laws that are not good and commands that do not bring life.

The Sovereign LORD says, "And now, all you Israelites, suit yourselves! Go on and serve your idols! But I warn you that after this you will have to obey me and stop dishonoring my holy name by offering gifts to your idols.

The people of Israel are under the spell of idols. Let them go their own way.

And so God has given those people over to do the filthy things their hearts desire, and they do shameful things with each other.

Because they do this, God has given them over to shameful passions. Even the women pervert the natural use of their sex by unnatural acts.

Because those people refuse to keep in mind the true knowledge about God, he has given them over to corrupted minds, so that they do the things that they should not do.

and use every kind of wicked deceit on those who will perish. They will perish because they did not welcome and love the truth so as to be saved.

The result is that all who have not believed the truth, but have taken pleasure in sin, will be condemned.

Do not be tempted to worship and serve what you see in the sky---the sun, the moon, and the stars. The LORD your God has given these to all other peoples for them to worship.

by worshiping and serving other gods or the sun or the moon or the stars, contrary to the LORD's command.

They broke all the laws of the LORD their God and made two metal bull-calves to worship; they also made an image of the goddess Asherah, worshiped the stars, and served the god Baal.

He rebuilt the pagan places of worship that his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he built altars for the worship of Baal and made an image of the goddess Asherah, as King Ahab of Israel had done. Manasseh also worshiped the stars.

I have never worshiped the sun in its brightness or the moon in all its beauty.

Such a sin should be punished by death; it denies Almighty God.

The houses of Jerusalem, the houses of the kings of Judah, and indeed all the houses on whose roofs incense has been burned to the stars and where wine has been poured out as an offering to other gods---they will all be as unclean as Topheth."

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 had turned their backs to the sanctuary and were bowing low toward the east, worshiping the rising sun.

"People of Israel, I did not demand sacrifices and offerings during those forty years that I led you through the desert.

But now, because you have worshiped images of Sakkuth, your king god, and of Kaiwan, your star god, you will have to carry those images

You did not bring me your burnt offerings of sheep; you did not honor me with your sacrifices. I did not burden you by demanding offerings or wear you out by asking for incense.

For forty years I was disgusted with those people. I said, 'How disloyal they are! They refuse to obey my commands.'

There they put me to the test and tried me, says God, although they had seen what I did for forty years.

This is what the scripture says: "If you hear God's voice today, do not be stubborn, as your ancestors were when they rebelled against God."

With whom was God angry for forty years? With the people who sinned, who fell down dead in the desert.