2 Kings 17

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1. 1Hoshea son of Elah became king of Israel in Samaria during the 12th year of King Ahaz of Judah's reign. He ruled for 9 years.
2. 2He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, but not like the kings of Israel who were before him.
3. 3King Shalmaneser of Assyria came against him, and Hoshea became his servant and gave him gifts.
4. 4But the king of Assyria discovered a conspiracy by Hoshea, who had sent messengers to King So of Egypt and stopped bringing the annual tribute to Assyria. So the king of Assyria arrested Hoshea and put him in prison.
5. 5Then the king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched on Samaria, and laid siege to it for 3 years.
6. 6In the 9th year of Hoshea's reign, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the people of Israel to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, along the Habor River in the region of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
7. 7All of this happened because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them out of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and they had feared other gods.
8. 8and they followed the customs of the nations the LORD had driven out before the children of Israel, and the practices established by the kings of Israel.
9. 9The people of Israel secretly did things that were not right against the LORD their God. They built high places in all their cities, from the watchtower to the fortified city.
10. 10They set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every hilltop and under every green tree.
11. 11At all these shrines they burned incense, just like the nations the LORD had driven out before them. They did wicked things that provoked the LORD to anger.
12. 12They worshiped idols, which the LORD had told them not to do.
13. 13The LORD had warned Israel and Judah through every prophet and every seer, saying, "Turn away from your evil ways. Keep my commandments and my statutes — the entire law I gave your ancestors and sent to you through my servants the prophets."
14. 14But they refused to listen. They were as stubborn as their ancestors had been — people who didn't believe in the LORD their God.
15. 15They rejected his statutes, the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and the warnings he had given them. They chased after worthless idols and became worthless themselves. They imitated the surrounding nations — the very thing the LORD had commanded them not to do.
16. 16They abandoned every commandment of the LORD their God. They cast two metal calves for themselves, set up an Asherah pole, worshiped the stars in the sky, and served Baal.
17. 17They caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire, practiced divination and sorcery, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger.
18. 18So the LORD was very angry with Israel and banished them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained.
19. 19Judah also did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God, but followed the statutes of Israel that they had made.
20. 20The LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and handed them over to plunderers, until he had cast them out of his sight.
21. 21For he tore Israel away from the house of David, and they made Jeroboam son of Nebat king. Jeroboam led Israel away from following the LORD and caused them to commit a great sin.
22. 22The people of Israel continued in every sin that Jeroboam had committed. They never turned away from them,
23. 23until the LORD finally removed Israel from his presence, just as he had warned through all his servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away from their homeland to Assyria, where they remain to this day.
24. 24The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in the cities of Samaria to replace the Israelites. These foreigners took possession of Samaria and lived in its towns.
25. 25When they first settled there, they did not fear the LORD. So the LORD sent lions among them, and the lions killed some of them.
26. 26A report was sent to the king of Assyria: "The people you deported and resettled in the cities of Samaria don't know the ways of the God of that land. So he has sent lions among them, and the lions are killing them because they don't know the ways of the God of the land."
27. 27The king of Assyria gave this order: "Send back one of the priests you brought from there. Have him go and live there and teach the people the requirements of the God of the land."
28. 28So one of the priests who had been deported from Samaria came and settled in Bethel, and he taught the people how to fear the LORD.
29. 29Even so, each national group continued making its own gods and setting them up in the shrine buildings the Samaritans had built. Every group did this in the towns where they lived.
30. 30The people from Babylon made Succoth Benoth, the people from Cuthah made Nergal, and the people from Hamath made Ashima.
31. 31The Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
32. 32They feared the LORD and appointed the lowest among them as priests for the high places, who offered sacrifices for them in the houses of the high places.
33. 33So they feared the LORD while also serving their own gods, following the customs of the nations they had come from.
34. 34To this day they continue their old practices. They do not fear the LORD, nor do they follow the statutes, ordinances, law, or commandments that the LORD gave to the descendants of Jacob, whom he named Israel.
35. 35The LORD had made a covenant with them and commanded them: "You must not fear other gods or bow down to them or serve them or sacrifice to them.
36. 36Instead, fear the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm. Worship him and offer your sacrifices to him.
37. 37Carefully obey the statutes, the ordinances, the law, and the commandments he wrote for you. Do this forever. Do not fear other gods.
38. 38Do not forget the covenant I made with you. Do not fear other gods.
39. 39Fear the LORD your God, and he will rescue you from the power of all your enemies."
40. 40But they wouldn't listen. They just kept doing what they had always done.
41. 41So these nations feared the LORD while also serving their carved idols. Their children and grandchildren did the same thing. To this day, they continue doing exactly what their ancestors did.