He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he also erected altars to Baal and made an Asherah pole, as Ahab king of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them.He built altars in the temple of the Lord, of which the Lord had said,“ In Jerusalem I will put my Name.”In the two courts of the temple of the Lord, he built altars to all the starry hosts.He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced divination, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.He took the carved Asherah pole he had made and put it in the temple, of which the Lord had said to David and to his son Solomon,“ In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my Name forever.
He followed completely the ways of his father, worshiping the idols his father had worshiped, and bowing down to them.He forsook the Lord, the God of his ancestors, and did not walk in obedience to him.
