Genesis 35:2Easy To Read VersionSo Jacob said to his family and to all his servants, “Destroy all those foreign gods made of wood and metal that you have. Make yourselves pure. Put on clean clothes. See the chapter |
I saw the terrible things you did. {\cf2\super [117]} \par I saw you laughing\par and having sex with your lovers.\par I know about your plans\par to be like a prostitute. {\cf2\super [118]} \par I have seen you on the hills\par and in the fields.\par It will be very bad for you, Jerusalem.\par I wonder how long you will continue doing\par your dirty sins.”\par
\{God said,\}\par “Judah, give me one good reason\par why I should forgive you.\par Your children have abandoned me.\par They made promises to idols\par And those idols are not really gods!\par I gave your children everything they needed.\par But they still were unfaithful to me!\par They spent much time with prostitutes.\par
“You must throw the statues of their gods into the fire and burn them. You must not want to keep the silver or the gold that is on those statues. You must not take that silver or gold for yourselves. It will be like a trap to you—{it will ruin your life}. Why? Because the Lord your God hates those idols.
Then Joshua said to the people, “Now you have heard the Lord’s words. So you must respect the Lord and truly serve him. Throw away the false gods that your ancestors worshiped. That was something that happened a long time ago on the other side of the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Now you must serve only the Lord.
“But maybe you don’t want to serve the Lord. You must choose for yourselves today. Today you must decide who you will serve. Will you serve the gods that your ancestors worshiped when they lived on the other side of the Euphrates River? Or will you serve the gods of the Amorite people that lived in this land? You must choose for yourselves. But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord!”
Samuel told the people of Israel, “If you are really coming back to the Lord—with all your heart—then you must throw away your foreign gods. You must throw away your idols of Ashtoreth. [83] And you must give yourselves fully to the Lord. You must serve only the Lord! Then the Lord will save you from the Philistines.”