Bible Verses About Idolatry: Warnings against, and punishments of

If a man or woman among you in one of the towns that the LORD your God gives you is found doing evil in the sight of the LORD your God by transgressing His covenant

and going to worship other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven—which I have forbidden—

and if it is reported and you hear about it, you must investigate it thoroughly. If the report is true and such an abomination has happened in Israel,

you must bring out to your gates the man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you must stone that person to death.

So You delivered them into the hands of enemies who oppressed them, and in their time of distress they cried out to You. From heaven You heard them, and in Your great compassion You gave them deliverers who saved them from the hands of their enemies.

But as soon as they had rest, they again did evil in Your sight. So You abandoned them to the hands of their enemies, who had dominion over them. When they cried out to You again, You heard from heaven, and You delivered them many times in Your compassion.

You admonished them to turn back to Your law, but they were arrogant and disobeyed Your commandments. They sinned against Your ordinances, by which a man will live if he practices them. They stubbornly shrugged their shoulders; they stiffened their necks and would not obey.

You were patient with them for many years, and Your Spirit admonished them through Your prophets. Yet they would not listen, so You gave them into the hands of the neighboring peoples.

But in Your great compassion, You did not put an end to them; nor did You forsake them, for You are a gracious and compassionate God.

So now, our God, the great and mighty and awesome God who keeps His gracious covenant, do not view lightly all the hardship that has come upon us, and upon our kings and leaders, our priests and prophets, our ancestors and all Your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until today.

You are just in all that has befallen us, because You have acted faithfully, while we have acted wickedly.

Our kings and leaders and priests and fathers did not obey Your law or listen to Your commandments and warnings that You gave them.

For even while they were in their kingdom, with the abundant goodness that You had given them, and in the spacious and fertile land that You had set before them, they would not serve You or turn from their wicked ways.

So here we are today as slaves in the land You gave our fathers to enjoy its fruit and goodness— here we are as slaves!

Its abundant harvest goes to the kings You have set over us because of our sins. And they rule over our bodies and our livestock as they please. We are in great distress.

They enraged Him with their high places and provoked His jealousy with their idols.

On hearing it, God was furious and rejected Israel completely.

He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent He had pitched among men.

He delivered His strength to captivity, and His splendor to the hand of the adversary.

He surrendered His people to the sword because He was enraged by His heritage.

Fire consumed His young men, and their maidens were left without wedding songs.

His priests fell by the sword, but their widows could not lament.

They did not destroy the peoples as the LORD had commanded them,

but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs.

They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them.