Josiah also got rid of ¹  the ritual pits used to conjure up spirits, ²  the magicians, personal idols, disgusting images, ³  and all the detestable idols that had appeared in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem. In this way he carried out the terms of the law ⁴  recorded on the scroll that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the Lord’s temple.

He went to Samaria and exterminated all the members of Ahab’s family who were still alive in Samaria, ¹  just as the Lord had announced to Elijah. ² 

They burned incense on all the high places just like the nations whom the Lord had driven away from before them. Their evil practices made the Lord angry. ¹ 

Hezekiah took the letter ¹  from the messengers and read it. ²  Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord.

They have burned the gods of the nations, ¹  for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them. ² 

He did evil in the sight of ¹  the Lord and committed the same horrible sins practiced by the nations ²  whom the Lord drove out from before the Israelites.

But they did not obey, ¹  and Manasseh misled them so that they sinned more than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed from before the Israelites.

I will abandon this last remaining tribe among my people ¹  and hand them over to their enemies; they will be plundered and robbed by all their enemies, ² 

He tore down the quarters ¹  of the male cultic prostitutes in the Lord’s temple, where women were weaving shrines ²  for Asherah.

He sacrificed all the priests of the high places on the altars located there, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

So they tracked them ¹  as far as the Jordan. The road was filled with clothes and equipment that the Syrians had discarded in their haste. ²  The scouts ³  went back and told the king.

Jehu sent invitations throughout Israel, and all the servants of Baal came; not one was absent. They arrived at the temple of Baal and filled it up from end to end. ¹ 

Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Rekab went to the temple of Baal. Jehu ¹  said to the servants of Baal, “Make sure there are no servants of the Lord here with you; there must be only servants of Baal.” ² 

He took away all the gold and silver, all the items found in the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the royal palace, and some hostages. ¹  Then he went back to Samaria. ²  (

The Israelites said things about the Lord their God that were not right. ¹  They built high places in all their cities, from the watchtower to the fortress. ² 

Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master this: ‘This is what the Lord says: “Don’t be afraid because of the things you have heard – these insults the king of Assyria’s servants have hurled against me. ¹ 

He passed his son ¹  through the fire ²  and practiced divination and omen reading. He set up a ritual pit to conjure up underworld spirits, and appointed magicians to supervise it. ³  He did a great amount of evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. ⁴ 

He deported Jehoiachin from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with the king’s mother and wives, his eunuchs, and the high-ranking officials of the land. ¹ 

When the men with a skin disease reached the edge of the camp, they entered a tent and had a meal. ¹  They also took some silver, gold, and clothes and went and hid it all. ²  Then they went back and entered another tent. They looted it ³  and went and hid what they had taken.

Then they said to one another, “It’s not right what we’re doing! This is a day to celebrate, but we haven’t told anyone. ¹  If we wait until dawn, ²  we’ll be punished. ³  So come on, let’s go and inform the royal palace.”