Deuteronomy 12:30-31

12:30 After they have been destroyed from your presence, be careful not to be ensnared like they are; do not pursue their gods and say, “How do these nations serve their gods? I will do the same.” 12:31 You must not worship the Lord your God the way they do! ¹  For everything that is abhorrent ²  to him, ³  everything he hates, they have done when worshiping their gods. They even burn up their sons and daughters before their gods!

Deuteronomy 16:21-22

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16:21 You must not plant any kind of tree as a sacred Asherah pole ⁴  near the altar of the Lord your God which you build for yourself. 16:22 You must not erect a sacred pillar, ⁵  a thing the Lord your God detests.

Deuteronomy 20:18

20:18 so that they cannot teach you all the abhorrent ways they worship ⁶  their gods, causing you to sin against the Lord your God.

Leviticus 20:23

20:23 You must not walk in the statutes of the nation ⁷  which I am about to drive out before you, because they have done all these things and I am filled with disgust against them.

[12:31]  ¹ tn Heb “you must not do thus to/for the Lord your God.”

[12:31]  ² tn See note on this term at Deut 7:25.

[12:31]  ³ tn Heb “every abomination of the Lord.” See note on the word “his” in v. 27.

[16:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “an Asherah, any tree.”

[16:22]  ⁵ sn Sacred pillar. This refers to the stelae (stone pillars; the Hebrew term is מַצֵּבֹת, matsevot) associated with Baal worship, perhaps to mark a spot hallowed by an alleged visitation of the gods. See also Deut 7:5.

[20:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “to do according to all their abominations which they do for their gods.”

[20:23]  ⁷ tc One medieval Hebrew ms, Smr, and all the major ancient versions have the plural “nations.” Some English versions retain the singular (e.g., KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV); others have the plural “nations” (e.g., NAB, NIV) and still others translate as “people” (e.g., TEV, NLT).