baal

¹³And I have seen the foolishness of the prophets of Samaria. They have prophesied in Baal, and they have deceived my people Israel.

⁴But what is the Divine response to him? “I have retained for myself seven thousand men, who have not bent their knees before Baal.”

¹⁶And they abandoned all the precepts of the Lord, their God. And they made for themselves two molten calves and sacred groves. And they adored the entire celestial army. And they served Baal.

⁸And she did not know that I gave her grain and wine and oil, and that I increased her silver and gold, which they made into Baal.

²¹Then Elijah, drawing near to all the people, said: “How long will you waver between two sides? If the Lord is God, follow him. But if Baal is, then follow him.” And the people did not respond a word to him.

¹⁸Then Jehu gathered together the entire people. And he said to them: “Ahab worshipped Baal a little, but I will worship him even more. ¹⁹Now therefore, summon to me all the prophets of Baal, and all his servants, and all his priests. Let no one be permitted not to come, for great is the sacrifice from me to Baal. Whoever will fail to come, he shall not live.” Now Jehu was doing this treacherously, so that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal. ²⁰And he said: “Sanctify a day of solemnity for Baal.” And he summoned ²¹and sent into all the borders of Israel. And all the servants of Baal came. There was left behind not even one who did not arrive. And they entered into the temple of Baal. And the house of Baal was filled, all the way from end to end. ²²And he said to those who were over the vestments, “Bring forth vestments for all the servants of Baal.” And they brought forth vestments for them. ²³And Jehu, upon entering the temple of Baal with Jehonadab, the son of Rechab, said to the worshippers of Baal, “Inquire and see that there is no one with you from the servants of the Lord, but only from the servants of Baal.”

⁵And they have built the exalted places of Baal, in order to burn their children with fire as a holocaust to Baal, something that I did not instruct or speak of, nor did it enter into my heart.

³¹But he responded to them: “Could you be the avengers of Baal, so that you fight on his behalf? Whoever is his adversary, let him die before the light arrives tomorrow; if he is a god, let him vindicate himself against him who has overturned his altar.”

³¹And it was not enough for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. In addition, he took as a wife Jezebel, the daughter of Eth-baal, the king of the Sidonians. And he went astray, and he served Baal, and adored him. ³²And he set up an altar for Baal, in the temple of Baal, which he had built at Samaria.

¹While Ephraim was speaking, a horror entered Israel, and he offended by Baal, and he died.

⁵³And he did evil in the sight of the Lord. And he walked in the way of his father and his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin.

²⁵that night, the Lord said to him: “Take a bull of your father’s, and another bull of seven years, and you shall destroy the altar of Baal, which is your father’s. And you shall cut down the sacred grove which is around the altar. ²⁶And you shall build an altar to the Lord your God, at the summit of this rock, on which you placed the sacrifice before. And you shall take the second bull, and you shall offer a holocaust upon a pile of the wood, which you shall cut down from the grove.” ²⁷Therefore, Gideon, taking ten men from his servants, did just as the Lord had instructed him. But fearing his father’s household, and the men of that city, he was not willing to do it by day. Instead, he completed everything by night. ²⁸And when the men of that town had risen up in the morning, they saw the altar of Baal destroyed, and the sacred grove cut down, and the second bull set upon the altar, which then had been built. ²⁹And they said one to another, “Who has done this?” And when they inquired everywhere as to the author of the deed, it was said, “Gideon, the son of Joash, did all these things.” ³⁰And they said to Joash: “Bring forward your son here, so that he may die. For he has destroyed the altar of Baal, and he has cut down the sacred grove.”

²And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, but not as his father and mother did. For he took away the statues of Baal, which his father had made.

⁸The priests have not said: ‘Where is the Lord?’ And those who held the law did not know me. And the pastors betrayed me. And the prophets prophesied in Baal and followed idols.

¹¹And the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they served the Baals. ¹²And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had led them away from the land of Egypt. And they followed foreign gods and the gods of the peoples who were living around them, and they adored them. And they provoked the Lord to wrath, ¹³forsaking him, and serving Baal and Ashtaroth.

⁴⁰And Elijah said to them, “Apprehend the prophets of Baal, and do not let even one of them escape.” And when they had apprehended them, Elijah led them down to the torrent Kishon, and he put them to death there.

⁹so as to steal, to murder, to commit adultery, to swear falsely, to offer libations to Baal, and to go after strange gods, which you do not know.

⁴¹Then, when morning arrived, he led him to the heights of Baal, and he gazed upon the most distant portions of the population.