“But if you turn away and abandon My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them,

And they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who brought them from the land of Egypt, and they adopted other gods, and worshiped and served them; therefore He has brought all this adversity on them.’”

“Your father made our yoke hard; but now, lighten the hard labor imposed by your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.”

And then King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had served his father Solomon while he was still alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?”

But he ignored the advice of the elders which they had given him, and consulted with the young men who had grown up with him and served him.

These are the ones who served the king, apart from those whom the king put in the fortified cities throughout Judah.

And they abandoned the house of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols; so wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs.

My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and to be His ministers and burn incense.”

Now do not stiffen your neck like your fathers, but yield to the Lord and enter His sanctuary which He has consecrated forever, and serve the Lord your God, that His burning anger may turn away from you.

And Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and the Levites by their divisions, each according to his service, both the priests and the Levites, for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to serve and to give thanks and to praise in the gates of the camp of the Lord.

For he rebuilt the high places which his father Hezekiah had torn down; he also set up altars for the Baals and made Asherim, and he worshiped all the heavenly lights and served them.

He set up the altar of the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings and thanksgiving offerings on it; and he ordered Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel.

He did evil in the sight of the Lord, just as his father Manasseh had done, and Amon sacrificed to all the carved images which his father Manasseh had made, and he served them.

Josiah removed all the abominations from all the lands belonging to the sons of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God. Throughout his lifetime they did not turn from following the Lord God of their fathers.

He also said to the Levites who taught all Israel and who were holy to the Lord, “Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel built; it will not be a burden on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and His people Israel.