You shall not make for yourself an idol or a likeness of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth;

Do not turn aside to idols, nor make molten gods for yourselves. I, the Lord, am your God.

Chapter 26

The Reward of Obedience. Do not make idols for yourselves. You shall not erect a carved image or a sacred stone for yourselves, nor shall you set up a carved stone for worship in your land; for I, the Lord, am your God.

I will demolish your high places, overthrow your incense stands, and cast your corpses upon the corpses of your idols. In my loathing of you,

Danger of Idolatry. Because you saw no form at all on the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire, be strictly on your guard

not to act corruptly by fashioning an idol for yourselves to represent any figure, whether it be the form of a man or of a woman,

Be careful, therefore, lest you forget the covenant which the Lord, your God, has made with you, and fashion for yourselves against his command an idol in any form whatsoever.

God’s Fidelity and Love. When you have children and children’s children, and have grown old in the land, should you then act corruptly by fashioning an idol in the form of anything, and by this evil done in his sight provoke the Lord, your God,

You shall not make for yourself an idol or a likeness of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth;

But this is how you must deal with them: Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, chop down their asherahs, and destroy their idols by fire.

the Lord said to me, Go down from here now, quickly, for your people whom you have brought out of Egypt are acting corruptly; they have already turned aside from the way I commanded them and have made for themselves a molten idol.

Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn up their asherahs, and chop down the idols of their gods, that you may destroy the very name of them from that place.

Chapter 13

Penalties for Enticing to Idolatry. Every word that I command you, you shall be careful to observe, neither adding to it nor subtracting from it.

“Cursed be anyone who makes a carved or molten idol, an abomination to the Lord, the work of a craftsman’s hands, and sets it up in secret!” And all the people shall answer, “Amen!”

Warning Against Idolatry. You know that we lived in the land of Egypt and that we passed through the nations, that you too passed through

and saw the loathsome things and idols of wood and stone, of gold and silver, that they possess.

Punishment for Idolatry. Future generations, your descendants who will rise up after you, as well as the foreigners who will come here from distant lands, when they see the calamities of this land and the ills the Lord has inflicted upon it—

Since they have incited me with a “no-god,” and provoked me with their empty idols, I will incite them with a “no-people”; with a foolish nation I will provoke them.

When he restored the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother, she said, “I consecrate the silver to the Lord from my own hand on behalf of my son to make an idol overlaid with silver.”

So when he restored the silver to his mother, she took two hundred pieces and gave them to the silversmith, who made of them an idol overlaid with silver. So it remained in the house of Micah.

Then the five men who had gone to reconnoiter the land spoke up and said to their kindred, “Do you know that in these houses there are an ephod, teraphim, and an idol overlaid with silver? Now decide what you must do!”

and entered the house of Micah with the priest standing there. They took the idol, the ephod, the teraphim and the metal image. When the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

The priest, agreeing, took the ephod, the teraphim, and the idol, and went along with the troops.

The Danites set up the idol for themselves, and Jonathan, son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his descendants were priests for the tribe of the Danites until the time the land went into captivity.

They maintained the idol Micah had made as long as the house of God was in Shiloh.

For a sin of divination is rebellion, and arrogance, the crime of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord in turn has rejected you as king.”

They cut off Saul’s head and stripped him of his armor; these they sent throughout the land of the Philistines to bring the good news to the temple of their idols and to the people.

He took the crown of Milcom from the idol’s head, a talent of gold in weight, with precious stones; this crown David wore on his own head. He also brought out a great amount of spoil from the city.

banishing the pagan priests from the land and removing all the idols his ancestors had made.

because of all the sins which Baasha and his son Elah committed and caused Israel to commit, provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger by their idols.

In every way he imitated the sinful conduct of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, and the sin he had caused Israel to commit, thus provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger by their idols.

He became completely abominable by going after idols, just as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord drove out of the Israelites’ way.

and served idols, although the Lord had told them: You must not do this.

But these nations were both venerating the Lord and serving their own idols. Their children and children’s children are still acting like their ancestors, to this very day.

The Asherah idol he had made, he placed in the Lord’s house, of which the Lord had said to David and to his son Solomon: In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I shall set my name forever.

“Because Manasseh, king of Judah, has practiced these abominations, and has done greater evil than all that was done by the Amorites before him, and has led Judah into sin by his idols,

He walked in all the ways of his father; he served the idols his father had served, and bowed down to them.

He also put an end to the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the vicinity of Jerusalem, as well as those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, moon, and signs of the zodiac, and to the whole host of heaven.

Further, Josiah purged the consultation of ghosts and spirits, with the household gods, idols, and all the other horrors to be seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, so that he might carry out the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had found in the house of the Lord.

They stripped him, and took his head and his armor; these they sent throughout the land of the Philistines to bring the good news to their idols and to the people.

David took the crown of Milcom from the idol’s head. It was found to weigh a talent of gold, with precious stones on it; this crown David wore on his own head. He also brought out a great amount of spoil from the city.

When Asa heard these words and the prophecy (Oded the prophet), he was encouraged to remove the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had taken in the highlands of Ephraim, and to restore the altar of the Lord which was before the vestibule of the Lord.

They abandoned the house of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and began to serve the asherahs and the idols; and because of this crime of theirs, wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem.

He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even made molten idols for the Baals.

An idol he had made he placed in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to his son Solomon: In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I shall set my name forever.

He removed the foreign gods and the idol from the Lord’s house and all the altars he had built on the mount of the Lord’s house and in Jerusalem, and cast them outside the city.

He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, as his father Manasseh had done. Amon offered sacrifice to all the idols his father Manasseh had made, and served them.

All the nations of the world will turn and reverence God in truth; all will cast away their idols, which have deceitfully led them into error.

Mordecai went away and did exactly as Esther had commanded.

Chapter C

Prayer of Mordecai. Recalling all that the Lord had done, Mordecai prayed to the Lord and said: “Lord, Lord, King and Ruler of all, everything is in your power, and there is no one to oppose you when it is your will to save Israel. You made heaven and earth and every wonderful thing under heaven. You are Lord of all, and there is no one who can resist you, the Lord. You know all things. You know, Lord, that it was not out of insolence or arrogance or desire for glory that I acted thus in not bowing down to the arrogant Haman. I would have gladly kissed the soles of his feet for the salvation of Israel. But I acted as I did so as not to place the honor of a mortal above that of God. I will not bow down to anyone but you, my Lord. It is not out of arrogance that I am acting thus. And now, Lord God, King, God of Abraham, spare your people, for our enemies regard us with deadly envy and are bent upon destroying the inheritance that was yours from the beginning. Do not spurn your portion, which you redeemed for yourself out of the land of Egypt. Hear my prayer; have pity on your inheritance and turn our mourning into feasting, that we may live to sing praise to your name, Lord. Do not silence the mouths of those who praise you.” All Israel, too, cried out with all their strength, for death was staring them in the face. Prayer of Esther. Queen Esther, seized with mortal anguish, fled to the Lord for refuge. Taking off her splendid garments, she put on garments of distress and mourning. In place of her precious ointments she covered her head with dung and ashes. She afflicted her body severely and in place of her festive adornments, her tangled hair covered her. Then she prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel, saying: “My Lord, you alone are our King. Help me, who am alone and have no help but you, for I am taking my life in my hand. From birth, I have heard among my people that you, Lord, chose Israel from among all nations, and our ancestors from among all their forebears, as a lasting inheritance, and that you fulfilled all your promises to them. But now we have sinned in your sight, and you have delivered us into the hands of our enemies, because we worshiped their gods. You are just, O Lord. But now they are not satisfied with our bitter servitude, but have sworn an oath to their idols to do away with the decree you have pronounced, to destroy your inheritance, to close the mouths of those who praise you, to extinguish the glory of your house and your altar, to open the mouths of the nations to acclaim their worthless gods, and to extol a mortal king forever. “Lord, do not relinquish your scepter to those who are nothing. Do not let our foes gloat over our ruin, but turn their own counsel against them and make an example of the one who began this against us. Be mindful of us, Lord. Make yourself known in the time of our distress and give me courage, King of gods and Ruler of every power. Put in my mouth persuasive words in the presence of the lion, and turn his heart to hatred for our enemy, so that he and his co-conspirators may perish. Save us by your power, and help me, who am alone and have no one but you, Lord. “You know all things. You know that I hate the pomp of the lawless, and abhor the bed of the uncircumcised or of any foreigner. You know that I am under constraint, that I abhor the sign of grandeur that rests on my head when I appear in public. I abhor it like a polluted rag, and do not wear it in private. I, your servant, have never eaten at the table of Haman, nor have I graced the banquet of the king or drunk the wine of libations. From the day I was brought here till now, your servant has had no joy except in you, Lord, God of Abraham. O God, whose power is over all, hear the voice of those in despair. Save us from the power of the wicked, and deliver me from my fear.”

Chapter D

Esther Goes to Ahasuerus. On the third day, ending her prayers, she took off her prayer garments and arrayed herself in her splendid attire. In making her appearance, after invoking the all-seeing God and savior, she took with her two maids; on the one she leaned gently for support, while the other followed her, bearing her train. She glowed with perfect beauty and her face was as joyous as it was lovely, though her heart was pounding with fear. She passed through all the portals till she stood before the king, who was seated on his royal throne, clothed in full robes of state, and covered with gold and precious stones, so that he inspired great awe. As he looked up in extreme anger, his features fiery and majestic, the queen staggered, turned pale and fainted, collapsing against the maid in front of her. But God changed the king’s anger to gentleness. In great anxiety he sprang from his throne, held her in his arms until she recovered, and comforted her with reassuring words. “What is it, Esther?” he said to her. “I am your brother. Take courage! You shall not die; this order of ours applies only to our subjects. Come near!” Raising the golden scepter, he touched her neck with it, embraced her, and said, “Speak to me.” She replied: “I saw you, my lord, as an angel of God, and my heart was shaken by fear of your majesty. For you are awesome, my lord, though your countenance is full of mercy.” As she said this, she fainted. The king was shaken and all his attendants tried to revive her.

and many Israelites delighted in his religion; they sacrificed to idols and profaned the sabbath.

They unrolled the scroll of the law, to learn about the things for which the Gentiles consulted the images of their idols.

while the cavalry too were scattered over the plain. They fled to Azotus and entered Beth-dagon, the temple of their idol, to save themselves.

So Simon came to terms with them and did not attack them. He expelled them from the city, however, and he purified the houses in which there were idols. Then he entered the city with hymns and songs of praise.

and that the prophet, in giving them the law, directed the deportees not to forget the commandments of the Lord or be led astray in their thoughts, when seeing the gold and silver idols and their adornments.

But under the tunic of each of the dead they found amulets sacred to the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbids the Jews to wear. So it was clear to all that this was why these men had fallen.

You hate those who serve worthless idols, but I trust in the Lord.

They enraged him with their high places, and with their idols provoked him to jealous anger.

For the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.

II

All who serve idols are put to shame, who glory in worthless things; all gods bow down before him.

They served their idols and were ensnared by them.

Shedding innocent blood, the blood of their own sons and daughters, Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, desecrating the land with bloodshed.

II

Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.

IV

The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands.

B. Idolatry

But wretched are they, and in dead things are their hopes, who termed gods things made by human hands: Gold and silver, the product of art, and images of beasts, or useless stone, the work of an ancient hand.

The Carpenter and Wooden Idols

A carpenter may cut down a suitable tree and skillfully scrape off all its bark, And deftly plying his art produce something fit for daily use,

but the handmade idol is accursed, and its maker as well: he for having produced it, and the corruptible thing, because it was termed a god.

Therefore upon even the idols of the nations shall a judgment come, since they became abominable among God’s works, Snares for human souls and a trap for the feet of the senseless.

The Origin and Evils of Idolatry

For the source of wantonness is the devising of idols; and their invention, a corruption of life.

For the worship of infamous idols is the reason and source and extreme of all evil.

For as their trust is in lifeless idols, they expect no harm when they have sworn falsely.

But on both counts justice shall overtake them: because they thought perversely of God by devoting themselves to idols, and because they deliberately swore false oaths, despising piety.

The Potter’s Clay Idols

For the potter, laboriously working the soft earth, molds for our service each single article: He fashions out of the same clay both the vessels that serve for clean purposes and their opposites, all alike; As to what shall be the use of each vessel of either class the worker in clay is the judge.

For more than anyone else he knows that he is sinning, when out of earthen stuff he creates fragile vessels and idols alike.

For they esteemed all the idols of the nations as gods, which cannot use their eyes to see, nor nostrils to breathe the air, Nor ears to hear, nor fingers on their hands for feeling; even their feet are useless to walk with.

he is mortal, and what he makes with lawless hands is dead. For he is better than the things he worships; he at least lives, but never his idols.

What good is an offering to an idol that can neither eat nor smell? So it is with the one being punished by the Lord,

For he grieved over our betrayals, and destroyed the abominable idols.

Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the works of their hands, what their fingers have made.

The idols will vanish completely.

On that day people shall throw to moles and bats their idols of silver and their idols of gold which they made for themselves to worship.

Just as my hand reached out to idolatrous kingdoms that had more images than Jerusalem and Samaria—

Just as I treated Samaria and her idols, shall I not do to Jerusalem and her graven images?”

Chapter 19

Egypt

Oracle on Egypt: See, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud on his way to Egypt; The idols of Egypt tremble before him, the hearts of the Egyptians melt within them.

The courage of the Egyptians shall ebb away within them, and I will bring their counsel to nought; They shall consult idols and charmers, ghosts and clairvoyants.

You shall defile your silver-plated idols and your gold-covered images; You shall throw them away like filthy rags, you shall say, “Get out!”

On that day each one of you shall reject his idols of silver and gold, which your hands have made.

Power of God and the Vanity of Idols

Who has measured with his palm the waters, marked off the heavens with a span, held in his fingers the dust of the earth, weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?

An idol? An artisan casts it, the smith plates it with gold, fits it with silver chains.

Is mulberry wood the offering? A skilled artisan picks out a wood that will not rot, Seeks to set up for himself an idol that will not totter.

Ah, all of them are nothing, their works are nought, their idols, empty wind!

I am the Lord, Lord is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols.

They shall be turned back in utter shame who trust in idols; Who say to molten images, “You are our gods.”

Those who fashion idols are all nothing; their precious works are of no avail. They are their witnesses: they see nothing, know nothing, and so they are put to shame.

Who would fashion a god or cast an idol, that is of no use?

It is used for fuel: with some of the wood he warms himself, makes a fire and bakes bread. Yet he makes a god and worships it, turns it into an idol and adores it!

Come and assemble, gather together, you fugitives from among the nations! They are without knowledge who bear wooden idols and pray to gods that cannot save.

Chapter 46

The Gods of Babylon

Bel bows down, Nebo stoops, their idols set upon beasts and cattle; They must be borne upon shoulders, a load for weary animals.

I declared them to you of old; before they took place I informed you, That you might not say, “My idol did them, my statue, my molten image commanded them.”

An Idolatrous People

But you, draw near, you children of a sorceress, offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute!

When you cry out, let your collection of idols save you. All these the wind shall carry off, a mere breath shall bear them away; But whoever takes refuge in me shall inherit the land, and possess my holy mountain.

The one slaughtering an ox, striking a man, sacrificing a lamb, breaking a dog’s neck, Making an offering of pig’s blood, burning incense, honoring an idol— These have chosen their own ways, and taken pleasure in their own abominations.

The priests did not ask, “Where is the Lord?” The experts in the law did not know me: the shepherds rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, and went after useless idols.

Listen! the cry of the daughter of my people, far and wide in the land! “Is the Lord no longer in Zion, is her King no longer in her midst?” Why do they provoke me with their idols, with their foreign nonentities?

Chapter 10

The Folly of Idolatry. Hear the word the Lord speaks to you, house of Israel.

Everyone is too stupid to know; every artisan is put to shame by his idol: He has molded a fraud, without breath of life.

Among the idols of the nations are there any that give rain? Or can the mere heavens send showers? Is it not you, Lord, our God, to whom we look? You alone do all these things.

I will at once repay them double for their crime and their sin because they profaned my land with the corpses of their detestable idols, and filled my heritage with their abominations.

Proclaim this among the nations, announce it! Announce it, do not hide it, but say: Babylon is captured, Bel put to shame, Marduk terrified; its images are put to shame, its idols shattered.

A drought upon the waters, and they dry up! For it is a land of idols, soon made frantic by phantoms.

Every man is stupid, ignorant; every artisan is put to shame by his idol: He molds a fraud, without life-breath.

Realize that the days are coming when I will punish the idols of Babylon; the whole land shall be put to shame, all her slain shall fall in her midst.

Therefore see, the days are coming—oracle of the Lord— when I will punish her idols, and throughout the land the wounded will groan.

Better the just who has no idols; such shall be far from disgrace!

Your altars shall be laid waste, your incense stands smashed, and I will throw your slain down in front of your idols.

Yes, I will lay the corpses of the Israelites in front of their idols, and scatter your bones around your altars.

Wherever you live, cities shall be ruined and high places laid waste, in order that your altars be laid waste and devastated, your idols broken and smashed, your incense altars hacked to pieces, and whatever you have made wiped out.

Then your refugees will remember me among the nations to which they have been exiled, after I have broken their lusting hearts that turned away from me and their eyes that lusted after idols. They will loathe themselves for all the evil they have done, for all their abominations.

They shall know that I am the Lord, when their slain lie among their idols, all around their altars, on every high hill and mountaintop, beneath every green tree and leafy oak—any place they offer sweet-smelling oblations to all their idols.

I went in and looked—figures of all kinds of creeping things and loathsome beasts, all the idols of the house of Israel, pictured around the wall.

Then he said to me: Do you see, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his idol chamber? They think: “The Lord cannot see us; the Lord has forsaken the land.”

Chapter 9

Slaughter of the Idolaters. Then he cried aloud for me to hear: Come, you scourges of the city!

Chapter 14

Idolatry and Unfaithfulness. Some elders of Israel came and sat down before me.

Son of man, these men keep the memory of their idols alive in their hearts, setting the stumbling block of their sin before them. Should I allow myself to be consulted by them?

Therefore say to them: Thus says the Lord God: If any of the house of Israel who keep the memory of their idols in their hearts, setting the stumbling block of their sin before them, come to a prophet, I the Lord will answer in person because of their many idols,

in order to catch the hearts of the house of Israel, estranged from me because of all their idols.

Therefore say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Return, turn away from your idols; from all your abominations, turn your faces.

For if anyone of the house of Israel or any alien residing in Israel who are estranged from me and who keep their idols in their hearts, setting the stumbling block of their sin before them, come to ask a prophet to consult me on their behalf, I the Lord will answer them in person.

Thus says the Lord God: Because you poured out your lust and exposed your nakedness in your prostitution with your lovers and your abominable idols, because you gave the life-blood of your children to them,

if he does not eat on the mountains, or raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel; if he does not defile a neighbor’s wife, or have relations with a woman during her period;

oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not give back a pledge, raises his eyes to idols, does abominable things,

a son who does not eat on the mountains, or raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, or defile a neighbor’s wife;

Then I said to them: Throw away, each of you, the detestable things that held your eyes; do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the Lord, your God.

But they rebelled and refused to listen to me; none of them threw away the detestable things that held their eyes, nor did they abandon the idols of Egypt. Then I considered pouring out my fury and spending my anger against them there in the land of Egypt.

Their hearts followed after their idols so closely that they did not live by my statutes, but rejected my ordinances and desecrated my sabbaths.

Then I said to their children in the wilderness: Do not follow the statutes of your parents. Do not keep their ordinances. Do not defile yourselves with their idols.

because they did not carry out my ordinances, but rejected my statutes and desecrated my sabbaths, having eyes only for the idols of their ancestors.

Therefore say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Will you defile yourselves in the way your ancestors did? Will you lust after their detestable idols?

By offering your gifts, by making your children pass through the fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols even to this day. Shall I let myself be consulted by you, house of Israel? As I live—oracle of the Lord God—I swear I will not let myself be consulted by you!

As for you, house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: Go! each of you, and worship your idols. Listen to me! You shall never again desecrate my holy name with your offerings and your idols!

and say: Thus says the Lord God: O city that sheds blood within itself so that its time has come, that has made idols for its own defilement:

By the blood you shed you have become guilty, and by the idols you made you have become defiled. You have brought on your day, you have come to the end of your years. Therefore I make you an object of scorn for the nations and a laughingstock for all lands.

She gave herself as a prostitute to them, to all the Assyrian elite; with all those for whom she lusted, she also defiled herself with their idols.

brought these things upon you because you served as a prostitute for the nations, defiling yourself with their idols.

For they committed adultery, and blood covers their hands. They committed adultery with their idols; even the children they bore for me they burnt as food for them.

On the very day they slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered my sanctuary to desecrate it. Thus they acted within my house!

They shall inflict on you the penalty of your depravity, and you shall pay for your sins of idolatry. Then you shall know that I am the Lord God.

Thus says the Lord God: I will destroy idols, and put an end to images in Memphis. There will never again be a prince over the land of Egypt. Instead, I will spread fear throughout the land of Egypt.

Therefore say to them: Thus says the Lord God: You eat on the mountains, you raise your eyes to your idols, you shed blood—yet you would keep possession of the land?

So I poured out my fury upon them for the blood they poured out on the ground and for the idols with which they defiled it.

I will sprinkle clean water over you to make you clean; from all your impurities and from all your idols I will cleanse you.

No longer shall they defile themselves with their idols, their abominations, and all their transgressions. I will deliver them from all their apostasy through which they sinned. I will cleanse them so that they will be my people, and I will be their God.

Levites. As for the Levites who went far away from me when Israel strayed from me after their idols, they will bear the consequences of their sin.

Because they used to serve them before their idols, thus becoming a stumbling block to the house of Israel, therefore I have sworn an oath against them, says the Lord God, and they will bear the consequences of their sin.

The Babylonians had an idol called Bel, and every day they provided for it six bushels of fine flour, forty sheep, and six measures of wine.

When the king asked him, “Why do you not worship Bel?” Daniel replied, “Because I do not revere idols made with hands, but only the living God who made heaven and earth and has dominion over all flesh.”

Ephraim is bound to idols, let him alone!

They made kings, but not by my authority; they established princes, but without my knowledge. With their silver and gold they made idols for themselves, to their own destruction.

Chapter 10

Destruction of Idolatrous Cultic Objects

Israel is a luxuriant vine whose fruit matches its growth. The more abundant his fruit, the more altars he built; The more productive his land, the more sacred pillars he set up.

The inhabitants of Samaria are afraid for the calf of Beth-aven; Its people mourn for it and its idolatrous priests wail over it, —over its glory which has departed from it.

The more I called them, the farther they went from me, Sacrificing to the Baals and burning incense to idols.

Now they continue to sin, making for themselves molten images, Silver idols according to their skill, all of them the work of artisans. “To these, offer sacrifice,” they say. People kiss calves!

Ephraim! What more have I to do with idols? I have humbled him, but I will take note of him. I am like a verdant cypress tree. From me fruit will be found for you!

Those who worship worthless idols abandon their hope for mercy.

All its carved figures shall be broken to pieces, all its wages shall be burned in the fire, and all its idols I will destroy. As the wages of a prostitute it gathered them, and to the wages of a prostitute they shall return.

Of what use is the carved image, that its maker should carve it? Or the molten image, the lying oracle, that its very maker should trust in it, and make mute idols?

I will stretch out my hand against Judah, and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; I will eliminate from this place the last vestige of Baal, the name of the idolatrous priests.

On that day—oracle of the Lord of hosts—I will destroy the names of the idols from the land, so that they will be mentioned no more; I will also remove the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness from the land.

So they made a calf in those days, offered sacrifice to the idol, and reveled in the works of their hands.

“Men, why are you doing this? We are of the same nature as you, human beings. We proclaim to you good news that you should turn from these idols to the living God, ‘who made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them.’

but tell them by letter to avoid pollution from idols, unlawful marriage, the meat of strangled animals, and blood.

namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meats of strangled animals, and from unlawful marriage. If you keep free of these, you will be doing what is right. Farewell.’”

While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he grew exasperated at the sight of the city full of idols.

As for the Gentiles who have come to believe, we sent them our decision that they abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from unlawful marriage.”

Punishment of Idolaters. The wrath of God is indeed being revealed from heaven against every impiety and wickedness of those who suppress the truth by their wickedness.

You who forbid adultery, do you commit adultery? You who detest idols, do you rob temples?

not at all referring to the immoral of this world or the greedy and robbers or idolaters; for you would then have to leave the world.

But I now write to you not to associate with anyone named a brother, if he is immoral, greedy, an idolater, a slanderer, a drunkard, or a robber, not even to eat with such a person.

Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor boy prostitutes nor sodomites

B. Offerings to Idols

Chapter 8

Knowledge Insufficient. Now in regard to meat sacrificed to idols: we realize that “all of us have knowledge”; knowledge inflates with pride, but love builds up.

So about the eating of meat sacrificed to idols: we know that “there is no idol in the world,” and that “there is no God but one.”

Practical Rules. But not all have this knowledge. There are some who have been so used to idolatry up until now that, when they eat meat sacrificed to idols, their conscience, which is weak, is defiled.

If someone sees you, with your knowledge, reclining at table in the temple of an idol, may not his conscience too, weak as it is, be “built up” to eat the meat sacrificed to idols?

And do not become idolaters, as some of them did, as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to revel.”

No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it. Warning Against Idolatry.

Therefore, my beloved, avoid idolatry.

So what am I saying? That meat sacrificed to idols is anything? Or that an idol is anything?

You know how, when you were pagans, you were constantly attracted and led away to mute idols.

What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said: “I will live with them and move among them, and I will be their God and they shall be my people.

idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions,

Be sure of this, that no immoral or impure or greedy person, that is, an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry.

For they themselves openly declare about us what sort of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God

For the time that has passed is sufficient for doing what the Gentiles like to do: living in debauchery, evil desires, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and wanton idolatry.

Children, be on your guard against idols.

Yet I have a few things against you. You have some people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who instructed Balak to put a stumbling block before the Israelites: to eat food sacrificed to idols and to play the harlot.

Yet I hold this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, who teaches and misleads my servants to play the harlot and to eat food sacrificed to idols.

The rest of the human race, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, to give up the worship of demons and idols made from gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk.

But as for cowards, the unfaithful, the depraved, murderers, the unchaste, sorcerers, idol-worshipers, and deceivers of every sort, their lot is in the burning pool of fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” The New Jerusalem.

Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the unchaste, the murderers, the idol-worshipers, and all who love and practice deceit.