³³ During his reign, however, he failed to remove all the pagan shrines, and the people never fully committed themselves to follow the God of their ancestors.

⁶ He was deeply committed to^[a] the ways of the Lord. He removed the pagan shrines and Asherah poles from Judah.

³ Even so, there is some good in you, for you have removed the Asherah poles throughout the land, and you have committed yourself to seeking God.”

¹⁴ But he was an evil king, for he did not seek the Lord with all his heart.

¹⁹ who decide to follow the Lord, the God of their ancestors, even though they are not properly cleansed for the ceremony.”

³ He removed the foreign altars and the pagan shrines. He smashed the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah poles.

Samuel Leads Israel to Victory

³ Then Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you want to return to the Lord with all your hearts, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Turn your hearts to the Lord and obey him alone; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.”

⁴ But to this day the Lord has not given you minds that understand, nor eyes that see, nor ears that hear!