God says, “I will bring down all the power of the wicked; the godly will be victorious.”

For he shattered the bronze gates, and hacked through the iron bars.

Moab’s might will be crushed. Its power will be broken. I, the Lord, affirm it!

The Israelites regretted what had happened to their brother Benjamin. They said, “Today we cut off an entire tribe from Israel!

He removed the pagan altars and the high places, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles.

“The bricks have fallen, but we will rebuild with chiseled stone; the sycamore fig trees have been cut down, but we will replace them with cedars.”

Look, the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, is ready to cut off the branches with terrifying power. The tallest trees will be cut down, the loftiest ones will be brought low.

Look how you have fallen from the sky, O shining one, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground, O conqueror of the nations!

“I will go before you and level mountains. Bronze doors I will shatter and iron bars I will hack through.

Babylon hammered the whole world to pieces. But see how that ‘hammer’ has been broken and shattered! See what an object of horror Babylon has become among the nations!

Instead, this is what you must do to them: You must tear down their altars, shatter their sacred pillars, cut down their sacred Asherah poles, and burn up their idols.

You must tear down their altars, shatter their sacred pillars, burn up their sacred Asherah poles, and cut down the images of their gods; you must eliminate their very memory from that place.

In fact, days are coming when I will remove your strength and the strength of your father’s house. There will not be an old man in your house!

he tore down the altars and Asherah poles, demolished the idols, and smashed all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

ג (Gimel) In fierce anger he destroyed the whole army of Israel. He withdrew his right hand as the enemy attacked. He was like a raging fire in the land of Jacob; it consumed everything around it.

In all your dwellings, the cities will be laid waste and the high places ruined so that your altars will be laid waste and ruined, your idols will be shattered and demolished, your incense altars will be broken down, and your works wiped out.

“Certainly when I punish Israel for their covenant transgressions, I will destroy Bethel’s altars. The horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.

Then I took my staff “Pleasantness” and cut it in two to annul my covenant that I had made with all the people.

Then I cut the second staff “Binders” in two in order to annul the covenant of brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

He ordered the altars of the Baals to be torn down, and broke the incense altars that were above them. He smashed the Asherah poles, idols and images, crushed them up and sprinkled the dust over the tombs of those who had sacrificed to them.