Instead, they turned away to serve and worship gods they had not known before, gods that were not from the Lord.

去侍奉敬拜素不认识的别神，是耶和华所未曾给他们安排的。

去事奉别神，敬拜他们所不认识的神明，这是耶和华未曾允许的。

去事奉别神，敬拜他们所不认识的神明，这是耶和华未曾允许的。

去供奉、祭拜他们所不认识、并非耶和华所分派的神明。

去事奉别的神，向他们叩拜，就是他们不认识的神，也是耶和华没有给他们指定要拜的神；

去事奉敬拜素不認識的別神，是耶和華所未曾給他們安排的。

去事奉別神，敬拜他們所不認識的神明，這是耶和華未曾允許的。

去事奉別神，敬拜他們所不認識的神明，這是耶和華未曾允許的。

去供奉、祭拜他們所不認識、並非耶和華所分派的神明。

去事奉別的神，向他們叩拜，就是他們不認識的神，也是耶和華沒有給他們指定要拜的神；

去事奉敬拜別的神；這些神是他們素來不認識的，是永恆主所沒有分給他們去敬拜的；

奉事崇拜他神、素所未識、耶和華亦未嘗聽其服從者、

從他上帝而崇奉之、然他上帝彼所未識、耶和華亦未嘗姑聽其服事、

往奉事叩拜異邦之神、即素所不識之神、主未嘗命彼奉事者、

They went off and worshiped other gods and bowed down to them, gods they did not know, gods he had not given them.

They went off and worshiped other gods. They bowed down to them. They hadn’t known anything about those gods before. The Lord hadn’t given those gods to them.

and went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they had not known and whom he had not allotted to them.

They began to serve other gods, bowing in worship to gods they had not known— gods that the LORD had not permitted them to worship.

And they went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods that they have not known and whom He had not assigned to them.

for they went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods that they did not know and that He had not given to them.

and went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods that they knew not, and that he had not given unto them:

They began to worship other gods, bowing down to gods they had not known— gods that the Lord had not permitted them to worship.

For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and[ whom] he had not given unto them:

They went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods they did not know and that he did not permit them to worship.

and went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods that they didn’t know and that he had not given to them.

Say to them,‘ Listen to this message from the Lord, you kings of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem! This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will bring a terrible disaster on this place, and the ears of those who hear about it will ring!“‘ For Israel has forsaken me and turned this valley into a place of wickedness. The people burn incense to foreign gods— idols never before acknowledged by this generation, by their ancestors, or by the kings of Judah. And they have filled this place with the blood of innocent children.They have built pagan shrines to Baal, and there they burn their sons as sacrifices to Baal. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing!So beware, for the time is coming, says the Lord, when this garbage dump will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.“‘ For I will upset the careful plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will allow the people to be slaughtered by invading armies, and I will leave their dead bodies as food for the vultures and wild animals.I will reduce Jerusalem to ruins, making it a monument to their stupidity. All who pass by will be astonished and will gasp at the destruction they see there.I will see to it that your enemies lay siege to the city until all the food is gone. Then those trapped inside will eat their own sons and daughters and friends. They will be driven to utter despair.’“ As these men watch you, Jeremiah, smash the jar you brought.Then say to them,‘ This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: As this jar lies shattered, so I will shatter the people of Judah and Jerusalem beyond all hope of repair. They will bury the bodies here in Topheth, the garbage dump, until there is no more room for them.This is what I will do to this place and its people, says the Lord. I will cause this city to become defiled like Topheth.Yes, all the houses in Jerusalem, including the palace of Judah’s kings, will become like Topheth— all the houses where you burned incense on the rooftops to your star gods, and where liquid offerings were poured out to your idols.’”

They abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. And they angered the Lord.They abandoned the Lord to serve Baal and the images of Ashtoreth.

When Israel chose new gods, war erupted at the city gates. Yet not a shield or spear could be seen among forty thousand warriors in Israel!

“ This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: You saw the calamity I brought on Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. They now lie deserted and in ruins.They provoked my anger with all their wickedness. They burned incense and worshiped other gods— gods that neither they nor you nor any of your ancestors had ever even known.“ Again and again I sent my servants, the prophets, to plead with them,‘ Don’t do these horrible things that I hate so much.’But my people would not listen or turn back from their wicked ways. They kept on burning incense to these gods.And so my fury boiled over and fell like fire on the towns of Judah and into the streets of Jerusalem, and they are still a desolate ruin today.

This disaster came upon the people of Israel because they worshiped other gods. They sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them safely out of Egypt and had rescued them from the power of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.They had followed the practices of the pagan nations the Lord had driven from the land ahead of them, as well as the practices the kings of Israel had introduced.The people of Israel had also secretly done many things that were not pleasing to the Lord their God. They built pagan shrines for themselves in all their towns, from the smallest outpost to the largest walled city.They set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles at the top of every hill and under every green tree.They offered sacrifices on all the hilltops, just like the nations the Lord had driven from the land ahead of them. So the people of Israel had done many evil things, arousing the Lord’s anger.Yes, they worshiped idols, despite the Lord’s specific and repeated warnings.Again and again the Lord had sent his prophets and seers to warn both Israel and Judah:“ Turn from all your evil ways. Obey my commands and decrees— the entire law that I commanded your ancestors to obey, and that I gave you through my servants the prophets.”But the Israelites would not listen. They were as stubborn as their ancestors who had refused to believe in the Lord their God.They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and they despised all his warnings. They worshiped worthless idols, so they became worthless themselves. They followed the example of the nations around them, disobeying the Lord’s command not to imitate them.They rejected all the commands of the Lord their God and made two calves from metal. They set up an Asherah pole and worshiped Baal and all the forces of heaven.They even sacrificed their own sons and daughters in the fire. They consulted fortune tellers and practiced sorcery and sold themselves to evil, arousing the Lord’s anger.Because the Lord was very angry with Israel, he swept them away from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained in the land.

For the Lord will scatter you among all the nations from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship foreign gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods made of wood and stone!

But Zedekiah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and he refused to humble himself when the prophet Jeremiah spoke to him directly from the Lord.He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, even though he had taken an oath of loyalty in God’s name. Zedekiah was a hard and stubborn man, refusing to turn to the Lord, the God of Israel.Likewise, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful. They followed all the pagan practices of the surrounding nations, desecrating the Temple of the Lord that had been consecrated in Jerusalem.The Lord, the God of their ancestors, repeatedly sent his prophets to warn them, for he had compassion on his people and his Temple.But the people mocked these messengers of God and despised their words. They scoffed at the prophets until the Lord’s anger could no longer be restrained and nothing could be done.So the Lord brought the king of Babylon against them. The Babylonians killed Judah’s young men, even chasing after them into the Temple. They had no pity on the people, killing both young men and young women, the old and the infirm. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar.