⁴ “Do not worship the Lord your God in the way these pagan peoples worship their gods.

²³ Do not live according to the customs of the people I am driving out before you. It is because they do these shameful things that I detest them.

¹⁸ This will prevent the people of the land from teaching you to imitate their detestable customs in the worship of their gods, which would cause you to sin deeply against the Lord your God.

²¹ “You must never set up a wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build for the Lord your God. ²² And never set up sacred pillars for worship, for the Lord your God hates them.

³⁰ do not fall into the trap of following their customs and worshiping their gods. Do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations worship their gods? I want to follow their example.’ ³¹ You must not worship the Lord your God the way the other nations worship their gods, for they perform for their gods every detestable act that the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods.