16 They turned away from all of the commands of the Lord their God. They made two statues of gods for themselves. The statues were shaped like calves. They made a pole that was used to worship the goddess Asherah. They bowed down to all of the stars. And they worshiped the god Baal.
17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced all kinds of evil magic. They gave themselves over to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord. All of those things made him very angry.
18 So the Lord was filled with anger against Israel. He removed them from his land. Only the tribe of Judah was left.
19 And even Judah didn't obey the commands of the Lord their God. They followed the practices Israel had started.
20 So the Lord turned his back on all of the people of Israel. He made them suffer. He handed them over to people who stole everything they had. And finally he threw them out of his land.
21 He tore Israel away from the royal house of David. The people of Israel made Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, their king. Jeroboam tried to get Israel to stop following the Lord. He caused them to commit a terrible sin.
22 The people of Israel were stubborn. They continued to commit all of the sins Jeroboam had committed. They didn't turn away from them.