The abomination of idolatry: 'Do you not see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough to make cakes for the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to arouse my anger.' This verse catalogs idolatrous practices: the worship of the 'Queen of Heaven' (probably the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar or the Canaanite Astarte) with family participation and the pouring of drink offerings to 'other gods.' The detail about family involvement ('children...fathers...women') emphasizes that idolatry is comprehensive and intergenerational. The phrase 'to arouse my anger' (intentionally or through effect) indicates that such worship provokes God's wrath. Theologically, this verse depicts systematic, conscious idolatry involving the entire social structure; the apostasy is not inadvertent but deliberate.

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