²⁴ Do not bow down before their gods or worship^(A) them or follow their practices.^(B) You must demolish^(C) them and break their sacred stones^(D) to pieces.

¹³ Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles.^[a](A)

⁵² drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish all their high places.^(A)

⁵ This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles^[a](A) and burn their idols in the fire.^(B)

²⁵ The images of their gods you are to burn^(A) in the fire. Do not covet^(B) the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared^(C) by it, for it is detestable^(D) to the Lord your God.

²⁶ Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction.^(A) Regard it as vile and utterly detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.

The One Place of Worship

12 These are the decrees^(A) and laws you must be careful to follow in the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you to possess—as long as you live in the land.^{(B) 2} Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains,^(C) on the hills and under every spreading tree,^(D) where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods. ³ Break down their altars, smash^(E) their sacred stones and burn^(F) their Asherah^(G) poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names^(H) from those places.

⁴ You must not worship the Lord your God in their way.^(I)