Jehu ordered the one who was in charge of the wardrobe, ¹  “Bring out robes for all the servants of Baal.” So he brought out robes for them.

They worshiped ¹  the disgusting idols ²  in blatant disregard of the Lord’s command. ³ 

The Lord was with him; he succeeded in all his endeavors. ¹  He rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to submit to him. ² 

Who is the Almighty, that ¹  we should serve him? What would we gain if we were to pray ²  to him?’ ³ 

You rescue me from a hostile army; ¹  you make me ²  a leader of nations; people over whom I had no authority are now my subjects. ³ 

All who worship idols are ashamed, those who boast about worthless idols. All the gods bow down before him. ¹ 

The produce of the land is seized ¹  by all of them, even the king is served ²  by the fields. ³ 

The oxen and donkeys used in plowing ¹  will eat seasoned feed winnowed with a shovel and pitchfork. ² 

Indeed, ¹  nations or kingdoms that do not serve you will perish; such nations will be totally destroyed. ² 

The answer will come back, “It is because they broke their covenant with the Lord their God and worshiped and served other gods.”

But they will be subject ¹  to the Lord their God and to the Davidic ruler whom I will raise up as king over them. ² 

The desolate land will be plowed, instead of being desolate in the sight of everyone who passes by.

Jacob fled to the country of Aram, then Israel worked ¹  to acquire a wife; he tended sheep to pay for her.

Instead he will say, ‘I am no prophet – indeed, I am a farmer, for a man has made me his indentured servant since my youth.’ ¹ 

Our livestock must ¹  also go with us! Not a hoof is to be left behind! For we must take ²  these animals ³  to serve the Lord our God. Until we arrive there, we do not know what we must use to serve the Lord.” ⁴ 

Isn’t this what we told you ¹  in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone so that we can serve the Egyptians, ²  because it is better for us to serve ³  the Egyptians than to die in the desert!’” ⁴ 

Then they cried out to the Lord and admitted, ¹  ‘We have sinned, for we have forsaken the Lord and have served the Baals and the images of Ashtoreth. ²  Now deliver us from the hand of our enemies so that we may serve you.’ ³ 

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 

Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the areas belonging to the Israelites and encouraged ¹  all who were in Israel to worship the Lord their God. Throughout the rest of his reign ²  they did not turn aside from following the Lord God of their ancestors.

“So then, Jeremiah, ¹  when your people ²  ask, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?’ tell them, ‘It is because you rejected me and served foreign gods in your own land. So ³  you must serve foreigners ⁴  in a land that does not belong to you.’