⁹ secretly ·sinning [doing things that were not right] against the Lord their God. They ·built [set up] ·places to worship gods [^Lhigh places; 12:3] in all their cities, from the watchtower to the ·strong, walled [fortified] city. ¹⁰ They put up ·stone [sacred] pillars to gods and Asherah ·idols [poles; ^Ca sacred tree or pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah; 13:6; 1 Kin. 14:15] on every high hill and under every ·green [spreading] tree. ¹¹ The Israelites burned incense ·everywhere gods were worshiped [^Lon all the high places; 12:3], just as the nations who lived there before them had done, whom the Lord had ·forced [driven] out of the land. The Israelites did ·wicked [evil] things that ·made the Lord angry [aroused/provoked the Lord’s anger].