³²So the people of Samaria worshiped the Lord. But they also appointed all kinds of their own people to serve them as priests. The priests served in the small temples at the high places. ³³The people worshiped the Lord. But they also served their own gods. They followed the evil practices of the nations from which they had been brought.

³⁴They are still stubborn. They continue in their old practices to this very day. And now they don’t even worship the Lord. They don’t follow his directions and rules. They don’t obey his laws and commands. The Lord had given all of those laws to the family of Jacob. He gave the name Israel to Jacob.

³⁵The Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel. At that time he commanded them, “Do not worship any other gods. Do not bow down to them. Do not serve them or sacrifice to them. ³⁶I am the one you must worship. I brought you up out of Egypt by my great power. I saved you by reaching out my mighty arm. You must bow down to me. You must offer sacrifices to me. ³⁷You must always be careful to follow my directions and rules. You must obey the laws and commands I wrote for you. Do not worship other gods.

³⁸“Do not forget the covenant I made with you. And remember, you must not worship other gods. ³⁹Instead, worship me. I will save you from the powerful hand of all of your enemies. I am the Lord your God.”

⁴⁰But the people wouldn’t listen. Instead, they were stubborn. They continued in their old practices. ⁴¹They worshiped the Lord. But at the same time, they served the statues of their gods. And to this very day their children and grandchildren continue to do what their people before them did.

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