They forsook all the commandments of the LORD their God: The Hebrew verb rendered forsook is the ordinary one meaning “to leave,” as when one person leaves another (for example, Ruth 1.16). The people of Israel and Judah had left God’s commandments. Some possible model translations for this verb are “rejected” (New Revised Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New Jerusalem Bible), “disregarded” (New American Bible), and “abandoned” (American Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible).
Made for themselves molten images of two calves: The rest of this verse and the next verse give a list of specific examples of how the people disregarded the straightforward laws of Yahweh. In this case they made idols for themselves in the likeness of calves. Regarding the meaning of molten images, see the comments on 1 Kgs 14.9; see also 1 Kgs 12.28. The mere mention of these images would have brought to the minds of the original readers and hearers the story of Jeroboam. He was the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel and he made two golden calves (1 Kgs 12). It may have also reminded them of Aaron and the people of Israel who gave up on Moses and contributed their gold for the building of an idol in the form of a calf (Exo 32). But that story speaks of only a single “molten calf.”
An Asherah: See verse 10 and the comments on 1 Kgs 16.33.
The host of heaven: Most commentators agree that this is a reference to the sun, the moon, and the stars in the heavens. And this is the interpretation that is made quite clear in the translations of Good News Translation, New International Version, and New Century Version. Although the biblical writers recognized the fact that the stars were created by God, they were also aware of the danger of human beings worshiping created things rather than the Creator. Worship of the host of heaven is forbidden in Deut 4.19 and 17.2-5.
Served Baal: The verb served has the same meaning as in verse 12 and is often better translated “honored.” In some languages it will be preferable to translate the two verbs worshiped and served by a single verb in the receptor language since the meanings are so similar. For the god Baal, see the comments at 1 Kgs 16.31.
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .