2 Kings 17

17 ¹ In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years. ² He did what was evil in the sight of our Father, though not like the kings of Israel who came before him. ³ Shalmaneser king of Assyria marched up against him, and Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute. ⁴ But the king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was plotting treachery, for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt and had stopped paying the king of Assyria the yearly tribute. So the king of Assyria seized him and bound him in prison. ⁵ Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land, marched against Samaria, and laid siege to it for three years.

Samaria Falls to Assyria

⁶ In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria captured Samaria. He carried Israel away into exile in Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

Why Israel Was Carried Away

⁷ All this happened because the people of Israel had sinned against our Father, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They had worshiped other gods ⁸ and walked in the practices of the nations our Father had driven out before them, and in the practices the kings of Israel had introduced. ⁹ The people of Israel secretly did things that were not right against our Father. They built themselves high places in all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city. ¹⁰ They set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles for themselves on every high hill and under every spreading tree. ¹¹ At every high place they burned incense, as the nations our Father had driven out before them had done. They did wicked things that provoked our Father to anger. ¹² They served idols, though our Father had told them, "You must not do this."

¹³ Our Father warned Israel and Judah through every prophet and seer, saying, "Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my decrees, in keeping with the whole law that I commanded your ancestors and sent to you through my servants the prophets."

¹⁴ But they would not listen. They stiffened their necks like their ancestors, who did not trust in our Father. ¹⁵ They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves. They imitated the nations around them, though our Father had commanded them not to do as they did. ¹⁶ They abandoned all the commandments of our Father and made for themselves two cast idols in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry host of heaven, and they served Baal. ¹⁷ They sacrificed their sons and their daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sorcery and sold themselves to do what was evil in the sight of our Father, provoking him to anger. ¹⁸ So our Father became very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left, ¹⁹ and even Judah did not keep the commandments of our Father but followed the practices Israel had introduced. ²⁰ So our Father rejected all the descendants of Israel. He afflicted them and gave them into the hands of plunderers, until he had cast them out of his presence. ²¹ For when our Father tore Israel away from the house of David, they made Jeroboam son of Nebat their king. Jeroboam drove Israel away from following our Father and led them into great sin. ²² The people of Israel persisted in all the sins Jeroboam had committed and did not turn away from them, ²³ until our Father removed Israel from his presence, just as he had foretold through all his servants the prophets. So Israel was exiled from their own land to Assyria, where they remain to this day.

Strangers Settle the Land

²⁴ The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in the towns of Samaria in place of the people of Israel. They took possession of Samaria and lived in its towns. ²⁵ When they first lived there, they did not worship our Father; so he sent lions among them, which killed some of them. ²⁶ It was reported to the king of Assyria: "The peoples you have deported and resettled in the towns of Samaria do not know what the god of the land requires. So he has sent lions among them, which are killing them off, because the people do not know what the god of the land requires."

²⁷ Then the king of Assyria gave this order: "Send back one of the priests you carried away from Samaria. Let him go and live there and teach the people what the god of the land requires."

²⁸ So one of the priests who had been carried away from Samaria came to live in Bethel and taught them how to worship our Father.

²⁹ Nevertheless, each nation made its own gods and set them up in the shrines the people of Samaria had built at the high places—each nation in the towns where they lived. ³⁰ The people from Babylon made Succoth-benoth, those from Cuth made Nergal, those from Hamath made Ashima, ³¹ the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire as sacrifices to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. ³² They worshiped our Father, but they also appointed from among themselves all sorts of priests for the high places, who offered sacrifices for them in the shrines. ³³ They worshiped our Father, yet they also served their own gods, following the customs of the nations from which they had been brought. ³⁴ To this day they persist in their former customs. They do not worship our Father, nor do they follow the statutes and rules, the law and commandment that our Father gave the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel.

³⁵ When our Father made a covenant with them, he commanded them: "You must not worship other gods or bow down to them, serve them, or sacrifice to them." ³⁶ But your Father, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm—he is the one you must worship. To him you must bow down, and to him offer sacrifices. ³⁷ You must always be careful to keep the statutes and rules, the law and commandment he wrote for you. You must not worship other gods. ³⁸ Do not forget the covenant I made with you, and do not worship other gods. ³⁹ But you must worship your Father, and he will rescue you from the hand of all your enemies.

⁴⁰ They would not listen, however, but persisted in their former customs. ⁴¹ Even while these nations worshiped our Father, they also served their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their ancestors did.