¹⁵ He got rid of the foreign gods and removed^(A) the image from the temple of the Lord, as well as all the altars he had built on the temple hill and in Jerusalem; and he threw them out of the city.

³ He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had demolished; he also erected altars to the Baals and made Asherah poles.^(A) He bowed down^(B) to all the starry hosts and worshiped them. ⁴ He built altars in the temple of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “My Name^(C) will remain in Jerusalem forever.” ⁵ In both courts of the temple of the Lord,^(D) he built altars to all the starry hosts. ⁶ He sacrificed his children^(E) in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, practiced divination and witchcraft, sought omens, and consulted mediums^(F) and spiritists.^(G) He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.

⁷ He took the image he had made and put it in God’s temple,^(H) of which God had said to David and to his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my Name forever.

⁸ Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.^(A)

Repentance to Bring Blessing

²⁰ The one who sins is the one who will die.^(A) The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them.^(B)

²¹ “But if^(C) a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees^(D) and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die.^{(E) 22} None of the offenses they have committed will be remembered against them. Because of the righteous things they have done, they will live.^(F)

⁷ He took the carved Asherah pole^(A) he had made and put it in the temple,^(B) of which the Lord had said to David and to his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my Name^(C) forever.