“Then the cities of Judah,
The inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Both will go out.
They will cry out to the gods
To whom they make offerings.
But these gods will never save them
In the time of their troubles.
Your gods have become
As many as your towns.
O Judah!
Your gods have become
As many as the streets of Jerusalem.
These altars
That you have set up
Shame you.
These altars make offerings to Baal.”
Then Yahweh continues to call our Jerusalem and Judah for their behavior. They have cried out to their gods and made offerings to them. However, Yahweh reminds them that these gods will never save them in their times of trouble. They appear to have as many gods as there are towns in Judah. Each town seems to have its own god. The same is true of Jerusalem, where practically every street has its own god. These are the altars that shame them, since they made offerings to Baal, the Canaanite god, on these altars.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 