This change occasioned a turn in the tide of opinion; a relapse set in. The nation, including the more enlightened amongst them, began to doubt the power of God, who had not fulfilled, or could not fulfil, the promises He had made to them. They cherished the delusion that by resuming the foreign idolatrous practices which had existed during so long a period under Manasseh, they would better their fortunes. They therefore returned to their evil ways, erected altars and high places on every hill and under every green tree. In Judah there were as many gods as there were towns. They paid special homage to the Egyptian goddess Neïth, the Queen of Heaven, who was most zealously adored in Sais, the capital of King Necho; for had not this goddess assisted the Egyptian king in the victory he had obtained? Images of gold and silver, of wood and stone, were again erected in the houses. The Temple itself was, as in Manasseh's time, once more desecrated by hideous idols. The most disgraceful feature of the change was that the sacrifice of children again prevailed, as in the days of Ahaz and Manasseh. In the beautiful Valley of Hinnom an altar was again erected, and moaning children were ruthlessly offered up to Moloch, the first-born especially being selected for the sacrifice. These idolatrous and immoral practices were accompanied by the vices and crimes of debauchery, adultery, oppression of strangers, widows and orphans, by corruption of justice, untruth, dishonesty, usury and cruelty towards impecunious debtors, and murder. There was certainly a class which upheld the law, and which regretted the horrors of these crimes. But amongst the masses who gave themselves up to the aberrations of idolatry and immorality, it was difficult for those who desired better things to give practical effect to their views. False prophets advocated wrong-doing and crime. King Jehoiakim, although he did not actually encourage the revival of idolatry, permitted it, and either from weakness, or from sympathy with them, did nothing to check the moral decadence. The stern warnings of the prophets were unheeded by the king, his monitors being persecuted or slain. The prophets of God had a heavy task in this time of degeneracy; they had to be prepared for persecution and ill-treatment. But they paid little heed to the dangers they incurred; they felt impelled to oppose fearlessly the moral and religious ruin which was impending. At no period did there arise so many prophets as in the last two decades before the destruction of the Jewish kingdom. They addressed the nation, the princes, and the king almost daily, at every opportunity; they warned, roused and threatened them, and prophesied their destruction, if the prevailing wickedness did not cease. The names of only four of these prophets have been preserved: Jeremiah, Uriah, Habakkuk, and Ezekiel. But the prophecies of others, who fought the battle against idolatry, have remained, though their names have not been recorded.