They were worshiping the Lord and at the same time serving their own gods in accordance with the practices of the nations from which they had been deported.

The Lord made an agreement with them and instructed them, “You must not worship other gods. Do not bow down to them, serve them, or offer sacrifices to them.

These nations are worshiping the Lord and at the same time serving their idols; their sons and grandsons do just as their fathers have done, to this very day.

But Elisha replied, “As certainly as the Lord lives (whom I serve), I will take nothing from you.” Naaman insisted that he take it, but he refused.

At the same time they worshiped the Lord. They appointed some of their own people to serve as priests in the shrines on the high places.

Elisha said, “As certainly as the Lord who rules over all lives (whom I serve), if I did not respect King Jehoshaphat of Judah, I would not pay attention to you or acknowledge you.

“Please, Lord. Remember how I have served you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion, and how I have carried out your will.” Then Hezekiah wept bitterly.

On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard who served the king of Babylon, arrived in Jerusalem.

Jehu assembled all the people and said to them, “Ahab worshiped Baal a little; Jehu will worship him with great devotion.

He followed in the footsteps of his father and worshiped and bowed down to the disgusting idols which his father had worshiped.

They worshiped the disgusting idols in blatant disregard of the Lord’s command.

The Lord was with him; he succeeded in all his endeavors. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to submit to him.

Gedaliah took an oath so as to give them and their troops some assurance of safety. He said, “You don’t need to be afraid to submit to the Babylonian officials. Settle down in the land and submit to the king of Babylon. Then things will go well for you.”

They abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God; they made two metal calves and an Asherah pole, bowed down to all the stars in the sky, and worshiped Baal.

He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he set up altars for Baal and made an Asherah pole just like King Ahab of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the stars in the sky and worshiped them.

(Now the priests of the high places did not go up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they did eat unleavened cakes among their fellow priests.)

He said, “Get some flour.” Then he threw it into the pot and said, “Now pour some out for the men so they may eat.” There was no longer anything harmful in the pot.

Raiding parties went out from Syria and took captive from the land of Israel a young girl, who became a servant to Naaman’s wife.

The stew was poured out for the men to eat. When they ate some of the stew, they cried out, “Death is in the pot, O prophet!” They could not eat it.

‘Some of your very own descendants whom you father will be taken away and will be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”