^12 (A)And he banished the ^[a]perverted persons from the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.

^46 (A)And the rest of the ^[a]perverted persons, who remained in the days of his father Asa, he banished from the land.

²³ For they also built for themselves ^(A)high^[a] places, ^(B)sacred pillars, and ^(C)wooden images on every high hill and ^(D)under every green tree. ^24 (E)And there were also ^[b]perverted persons in the land. They did according to all the ^(F)abominations of the nations which the Lord had cast out before the children of ^(G)Israel.

⁷ as ^(A)Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the ^[a]vengeance of eternal fire.

¹⁸ knowing that you were not redeemed with ^[a]corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,

²⁶ For this reason God gave them up to ^(A)vile passions. For even their ^[a]women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. ²⁷ Likewise also the ^[b]men, leaving the natural use of the ^[c]woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

Asa Reigns in Judah^(A)

² Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God, ³ for he removed the altars of the foreign gods and ^(B)the ^[a]high places, and ^(C)broke down the sacred pillars ^(D)and cut down the wooden images. ⁴ He commanded Judah to ^(E)seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandment. ⁵ He also removed the ^[b]high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom was quiet under him.

^7 (A)Then Solomon built a ^[a]high place for ^(B)Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on ^(C)the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon. ⁸ And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

² “The Lord has been very angry with your fathers. ³ Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Return ^(A)to Me,” says the Lord of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. ⁴ “Do not be like your fathers, ^(B)to whom the former prophets preached, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(C)“Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds.” ’ But they did not hear nor heed Me,” says the Lord.

“So they returned and said: