²¹ Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver^(A) between two opinions? If the Lord^(B) is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”

But the people said nothing.

²⁴ “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.^(A)

¹⁵ But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites,^(A) in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household,^(B) we will serve the Lord.”^(C)

²¹ You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons.^{(A) 22} Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy?^(B) Are we stronger than he?^(C)

Warning Against Idolatry

¹⁴ Do not be yoked together^(A) with unbelievers.^(B) For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?^{(C) 15} What harmony is there between Christ and Belial^[a]?^(D) Or what does a believer^(E) have in common with an unbeliever?^{(F) 16} What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols?^(G) For we are the temple^(H) of the living God.^(I) As God has said:

⁴¹ Even while these people were worshiping the Lord,^(A) they were serving their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their ancestors did.

³ So Samuel said to all the Israelites, “If you are returning^(A) to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid^(B) yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths^(C) and commit^(D) yourselves to the Lord and serve him only,^(E) and he will deliver^(F) you out of the hand of the Philistines.”

³⁵ You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other.^(A)