It could be that the people of Judah mistakenly ascribed to Baal the fertility and prosperity that actually came from the Lord. They mistook Baal as their covenant lord and husband (Hosea 2:4–15) and were thus deceived by Satan (1 Corinthians 10:20).1 Alternatively (and this seems to be the consensus of modern scholars), the people of Judah are condemned not for following false gods but listening to false prophets. The Hebrew literally reads, Their lies led them astray.
Rather than following the Lord’s instructions as conveyed by his prophets (2 Kings 17:23), they followed the lies of the prophets who led them astray like shepherds leading their sheep into the jaws of ravenous wolves (Jeremiah 23:30–32; Ezekiel 13:1–23).2
4 Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have rejected the law of the LORD, and have not kept his statutes, but their lies have led them astray, those after which their fathers walked.