¹⁸ They decided to abandon the Temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and they worshiped Asherah poles and idols instead! Because of this sin, divine anger fell on Judah and Jerusalem.

²⁰ Didn’t divine anger fall on the entire community of Israel when Achan, a member of the clan of Zerah, sinned by stealing the things set apart for the Lord^[a]? He was not the only one who died because of his sin.”

⁴ At one point Joash decided to repair and restore the Temple of the Lord.

² Jehu son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him. “Why should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord?” he asked the king. “Because of what you have done, the Lord is very angry with you.

⁶ Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him.

²⁵ But Hezekiah did not respond appropriately to the kindness shown him, and he became proud. So the Lord’s anger came against him and against Judah and Jerusalem.

¹³ “You must not bring the prisoners here!” they declared. “We cannot afford to add to our sins and guilt. Our guilt is already great, and the Lord’s fierce anger is already turned against Israel.”

²³ For they also built for themselves pagan shrines and set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.