²⁴ Do not bow in worship to their gods, and do not serve them. Do not imitate their practices. Instead, demolish them^[a] and smash their sacred pillars to pieces.^(A)

¹⁸ so that they won’t teach you to do all the detestable acts they do for their gods, and you sin against the Lord your God.^(A)

²⁴ there were even male cult prostitutes in the land.^(A) They imitated all the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had dispossessed before the Israelites.^(B)

¹⁵ They rejected his statutes and his covenant he had made with their ancestors^(A) and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves,^(B) following the surrounding nations the Lord had commanded them not to imitate.^(C)

⁴⁷ Didn’t you walk in their ways and do their detestable practices? It was only a short time before all your ways were more corrupt than theirs.^(A)