So Jacobsaidto his householdand to allwhowere with him, "Putawaythe foreigngodswhichare amongyou, and purifyyourselves and changeyour garments;
"For I have chosenhim, sothat he may commandhis childrenand his householdafterhim to keepthe wayof the LORDby doingrighteousnessand justice,sothat the LORDmay bringupon AbrahamwhatHe has spokenabouthim."
When Labanhad goneto shearhis flock,then Rachelstolethe householdidolsthat were her father's.
"Nowyou have indeedgoneaway becauseyou longedgreatlyfor your father'shouse;[but] whydid you stealmy gods?"
Now Rachelhad takenthe householdidolsand putthem in the camel'ssaddle,and she saton them. And Labanfeltthroughallthe tentbut did not find[them].
When Shechemthe sonof Hamorthe Hivite,the princeof the land,sawher, he tookher and laywith her by force.
It cameabout while Israelwas dwellingin that land,that Reubenwentand laywith Bilhahhis father'sconcubine,and Israelheard[of it]. The Sons of IsraelNow there were twelve
The Sons of Israel
Now there were twelve
"And whatonenationon the earthis like Your peopleIsrael,whomGodwentto redeemfor Himself as a peopleand to makea namefor Himself, and to doa greatthingfor You and awesomethingsfor Your land,beforeYour peoplewhomYou have redeemedfor Yourself from Egypt,[from] nationsand their gods?
But everynationstill madegodsof its own and putthem in the housesof the highplaceswhichthe peopleof Samariahad made,everynationin their citiesin whichthey lived.
Elishasenta messengerto him, saying,"Goand washin the Jordanseventimes,and your fleshwill be restoredto you and [you will] be clean."
For allthe godsof the peoplesare idols,But the LORDmadethe heavens.
Whenthe daysof feastinghad completedtheir cycle,Jobwould sendand consecratethem, risingup earlyin the morningand offeringburntofferings[according to] the numberof them all;for Jobsaid,"Perhapsmy sonshave sinnedand cursedGodin their hearts."ThusJobdidcontinually.
Washme thoroughlyfrom my iniquityAnd cleanseme from my sin.
Purifyme with hyssop,and I shall be clean;Washme, and I shall be whiterthansnow.
The LORDalso saidto Moses,"Goto the peopleand consecratethem todayand tomorrow,and let them washtheir garments;
So Moseswentdownfrom the mountainto the peopleand consecratedthe people,and they washedtheir garments.
"Now concerning everythingwhichI have saidto you, be on your guard;and do not mentionthe nameof othergods,norlet [them] be heardfrom your mouth.
Guardyour stepsas you goto the houseof Godand drawnearto listenratherthanto offerthe sacrificeof fools;for they do not knowthey are doingevil.
"Washyourselves, makeyourselves clean;Removethe evilof your deedsfrom My sight.Ceaseto do evil,
Depart,depart,goout from there,Touchnothingunclean;Goout of the midstof her, purifyyourselves, You who carrythe vesselsof the LORD.
"As for your adulteriesand your [lustful] neighings,The lewdnessof your prostitutionOn the hillsin the field,I have seenyour abominations.Woeto you, O Jerusalem!Howlongwill you remainunclean?"
Can manmakegodsfor himself? Yet they are not gods!
"Whyshould I pardonyou? Your sonshave forsakenMe And swornby those who are not gods.When I had fedthem to the full,They committedadulteryAnd troopedto the harlot'shouse.
"Castawayfrom you allyour transgressionswhichyou have committedand makeyourselves a newheartand a newspirit!For whywill you die,O houseof Israel?
"I saidto them, 'Castaway,eachof you, the detestablethingsof his eyes,and do not defileyourselves with the idolsof Egypt;I am the LORDyour God.'
"Then I will sprinklecleanwateron you, and you will be clean;I will cleanseyou from allyour filthinessand from allyour idols.
They drankthe wineand praisedthe godsof goldand silver,of bronze,iron,woodand stone.
Anyone,moreover, whotoucheshis bedshall washhis clothesand bathein waterand be uncleanuntilevening;
"But ifhe does not wash[them] or bathehis body,then he shall bearhis guilt."
"And you shall washyour clotheson the seventhdayand be clean,and afterwardyou may enterthe camp."
"You seeand hearthat not onlyin Ephesus,but in almostallof Asia,thisPaulhas persuadedand turned awaya considerablenumber of people,sayingthat gods madewith handsare nogods[at all].
Do not be idolaters,as someof them were; as it is written,"THE PEOPLESAT DOWNTO EATAND DRINK,AND STOODUP TO PLAY."
Therefore,havingthesepromises,beloved,let us cleanseourselvesfrom alldefilementof fleshand spirit,perfectingholinessin the fearof God.
Howeverat that time,when you did not knowGod,you were slavesto thosewhich by natureare nogods.
and the curse,ifyou do not listento the commandmentsof the LORDyour God,but turnasidefrom the waywhichI am commandingyou today,by followingothergodswhichyou have not known.
"They madeHim jealouswith strange[gods]; With abominationsthey provokedHim to anger.
You shall havenoothergodsbeforeMe.
"You shall not followothergods,anyof the godsof the peopleswhosurroundyou,
"The gravenimagesof their godsyou are to burnwith fire;you shall not covetthe silveror the goldthat is on them, nortakeit for yourselves, oryou will be snaredby it, for it is an abominationto the LORDyour God.
let us draw nearwith a sincereheartin full assuranceof faith,having our heartssprinkled[clean] from an evilconscienceand our bodieswashedwith purewater.
Drawnearto Godand He will draw nearto you. Cleanseyour hands,you sinners;and purifyyour hearts,you double-minded.
sothat you will not associatewith thesenations,thesewhich remainamongyou, or mentionthe nameof their gods,or make [anyone] swear[by them], or servethem, or bowdownto them.
"Now,therefore, fearthe LORDand serveHim in sincerityand truth;and putawaythe godswhichyour fathersservedbeyondthe Riverand in Egypt,and servethe LORD.
"Ifit is disagreeablein your sightto servethe LORD,choosefor yourselves todaywhomyou will serve:whetherthe godswhichyour fathersservedwhichwere beyondthe River,or the godsof the Amoritesin whoselandyou are living;but as for me and my house,we will servethe LORD."
Joshuasaidto allthe people,"Thussaysthe LORD,the Godof Israel,'From ancienttimesyour fatherslivedbeyondthe River,[namely], Terah,the fatherof Abrahamand the fatherof Nahor,and they servedothergods.
"Ifyou forsakethe LORDand serveforeigngods,then He will turnand doyou harmand consumeyou afterHe has donegoodto you."
"Nowtherefore, putawaythe foreigngodswhichare in your midst,and inclineyour heartsto the LORD,the Godof Israel."
saveothers, snatchingthem out of the fire;and on somehave mercywith fear,hatingeventhe garmentpollutedby the flesh.
So they putawaythe foreigngodsfrom amongthem and servedthe LORD;and He couldbearthe miseryof Israelnolonger.
Then she said,"Behold,your sister-in-lawhas gonebackto her peopleand her gods;returnafteryour sister-in-law."
He said,"In peace;I have cometo sacrificeto the LORD.Consecrateyourselves and comewith me to the sacrifice."He also consecratedJesseand his sonsand invitedthem to the sacrifice.
Then Samuelspoketo allthe houseof Israel,saying,"Ifyou returnto the LORDwith allyour heart,removethe foreigngodsand the Ashtarothfrom amongyou and directyour heartsto the LORDand serveHim alone;and He will deliveryou from the handof the Philistines."
