They made Israel to sin: See the comments on this expression in 1 Kgs 14.16.

Provoking … to anger: See the comments on this phrase in 1 Kgs 14.9.

Their idols is literally “their vanities” (An American Translation), “their emptiness” (Anchor Bible), “their frivolous things” (Nouvelle Bible Segond), or “their things that do not exist.” The same term, which occurs several times in Deuteronomy and Jeremiah, is used also in verse 26 and in 2 Kgs 17.15, where Revised Standard Version translates it “false idols.” The word for idols in this context has been rendered “worthless idols” (New International Version, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New Century Version), “false gods” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), and “vain idols” (Moffatt). Compare the word for “idols” in 1 Kgs 15.12.

This verse may sound more natural in some languages if restructured in the following manner:

• Baasha and his son Elah sinned and caused the other Israelites to sin. They made the LORD very angry by worshiping idols.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .