I am God! I can be trusted. Your past troubles are gone; I no longer think of them. When you pray for someone to receive a blessing, or when you make a promise, you must do it in my name. I alone am the God who can be trusted.
They once taught my people to worship Baal. But if they admit I am the only true God, and if they let my people teach them how to worship me, these nations will also become my people.
People of Judah, how can I forgive you? I gave you everything, but you abandoned me and worshipped idols. You men go to prostitutes and are unfaithful to your wives.
People of Israel, what does the LORD your God want from you? The LORD wants you to respect and follow him, to love and serve him with all your heart and soul,
because he rescued you from slavery in Egypt. If a prophet tells you to disobey the LORD your God and to stop worshipping him, then that prophet is evil and must be put to death.
I wish they would always worship me with fear and trembling and be this willing to obey me! Then they and their children would always enjoy a successful life.
Don't have anything to do with the nations that live around you. Don't worship their gods or pray to their idols or make promises in the names of their gods.
Then Joshua told the people: Worship the LORD, obey him, and always be faithful. Get rid of the idols your ancestors worshipped when they lived on the other side of the River Euphrates and in Egypt.
“Jonathan, I swear it's true! But your father knows how much you like me, and he didn't want to break your heart. That's why he didn't tell you. I swear by the living LORD and by your own life that I'm only one step ahead of death.”
One day, Samuel told all the people of Israel, “If you really want to turn back to the LORD, then prove it. Get rid of your foreign idols, including the ones of the goddess Astarte. Turn to the LORD with all your heart and worship only him. Then he will rescue you from the Philistines.”