"The LORD will curse your towns and your fields.

"The LORD will curse you by giving you only a few children, poor crops, and few cattle and sheep.

he said, "A curse on Canaan! He will be a slave to his brothers.

Your Majesty, listen to what I have to say. If it is the LORD who has turned you against me, an offering to him will make him change his mind; but if some people have done it, may the LORD's curse fall on them. For they have driven me out from the LORD's land to a country where I can only worship foreign gods.

that I, the LORD God of Israel, have placed a curse on everyone who does not obey the terms of this covenant.

that you do not sin by making for yourselves an idol in any form at all---whether man or woman,

reptile or fish.

But you are the people he rescued from Egypt, that blazing furnace. He brought you out to make you his own people, as you are today.

I will die in this land and never cross the river, but you are about to go across and occupy that fertile land.

" 'Do not make for yourselves images of anything in heaven or on earth or in the water under the earth.

"Do not make for yourselves images of anything in heaven or on earth or in the water under the earth.

Do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gold to be worshiped in addition to me.

When the people saw that Moses had not come down from the mountain but was staying there a long time, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, "We do not know what has happened to this man Moses, who led us out of Egypt; so make us a god to lead us."

So all the people took off their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron.

"Do not make gods of metal and worship them.

"Do not abandon me and worship idols; do not make gods of metal and worship them. I am the LORD your God.

The LORD said, "Do not make idols or set up statues, stone pillars, or carved stones to worship. I am the LORD your God.

All those who make idols are worthless, and the gods they prize so highly are useless. Those who worship these gods are blind and ignorant---and they will be disgraced.

It does no good to make a metal image to worship as a god!

The rest of the wood he makes into an idol, and then he bows down and worships it. He prays to it and says, "You are my god---save me!"

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!

And so these people will disappear like morning mist, like the dew that vanishes early in the day. They will be like chaff which the wind blows from the threshing place, like smoke from a chimney.

You saw their disgusting idols made of wood, stone, silver, and gold.

He worshiped Astarte, the goddess of Sidon, and Molech, the disgusting god of Ammon.

On the mountain east of Jerusalem he built a place to worship Chemosh, the disgusting god of Moab, and a place to worship Molech, the disgusting god of Ammon.

Josiah desecrated the altars that King Solomon had built east of Jerusalem, south of the Mount of Olives, for the worship of disgusting idols---Astarte the goddess of Sidon, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Molech the god of Ammon.

Following the disgusting practices of the nations whom the LORD had driven out of the land as his people advanced, Manasseh sinned against the LORD.

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!"

Once they were proud of their beautiful jewels, but they used them to make disgusting idols. That is why the LORD has made their wealth repulsive to them.

Some of his soldiers will make the Temple ritually unclean. They will stop the daily sacrifices and set up The Awful Horror.

"You will see 'The Awful Horror' of which the prophet Daniel spoke. It will be standing in the holy place." (Note to the reader: understand what this means!)

The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and covered with gold ornaments, precious stones, and pearls. In her hand she held a gold cup full of obscene and filthy things, the result of her immorality.

On her forehead was written a name that has a secret meaning: "Great Babylon, the mother of all prostitutes and perverts in the world."

Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and during his absence Rachel stole the household gods that belonged to her father.

Rachel had taken the household gods and put them in a camel's saddlebag and was sitting on them. Laban searched through the whole tent, but did not find them.

But even the people of Judah did not obey the laws of the LORD their God; they imitated the customs adopted by the people of Israel.

If we had stopped worshiping our God and prayed to a foreign god,

you would surely have discovered it, because you know our secret thoughts.

No one can hide where I cannot see them. Do you not know that I am everywhere in heaven and on earth?

He took me to the entrance of the outer courtyard and showed me a hole in the wall.

He told me, "Go in and look at the evil, disgusting things they are doing there."

Seventy Israelite leaders were there, including Jaazaniah son of Shaphan. Each one was holding an incense burner, and smoke was rising from the incense.

"Now speak to them and tell them what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying to them: Each of you Israelites who have given your heart to idols and let them lead you into sin and who then come to consult a prophet, will get an answer from me---the answer that your many idols deserve!

May this water enter your stomach and cause it to swell up and your genital organs to shrink." The woman shall respond, "I agree; may the LORD do so."

Then I would keep the promise I made to their ancestors that I would give them the rich and fertile land which they now have." I said, "Yes, LORD."

"Wonderful! I hope the LORD will do this! I certainly hope he will make your prophecy come true and will bring back from Babylonia all the Temple treasures and all the people who were taken away as prisoners.

Do not bring us to hard testing, but keep us safe from the Evil One.'

When you give thanks to God in spirit only, how can ordinary people taking part in the meeting say "Amen" to your prayer of thanksgiving? They have no way of knowing what you are saying.