2 Kings
Chapter 17
1 In the twelfth year of Ahaz, king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah started to rule as king in Samaria over Israel for nine years.
2 He did evil things that God did not like, but not as much as the earlier kings of Israel.
3 The king of Assyria, Shalmaneser, attacked him; Hoshea became his servant and gave him gifts.
4 The king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was plotting against him because Hoshea had sent messages to the king of Egypt, So, and had not given gifts to the king of Assyria like he did every year. So the king of Assyria arrested Hoshea and put him in jail.
5 The king of Assyria attacked all over the country, went to Samaria, and surrounded it for three years.
6 In Hoshea’s ninth year as king, the king of Assyria conquered Samaria, took the Israelites to Assyria, and settled them in Halah, near the Gozan river, and in the Medes’ cities.
7 The people of Israel sinned against God, who had freed them from Egypt and the rule of Pharaoh, and they worshipped other gods.
8 They followed the customs of the nations that God had driven out before the people of Israel and the idols that the kings of Israel had created.
9 The Israelites secretly did wrong things against God, and they built worship places in all their cities, from the lookout towers to the walled cities.
10 They put up statues and sacred gardens on every tall hill and under every green tree.
11 There they burned incense on all the high places, just like the nations who God had removed before them; and they did evil things that made God angry.
12 They worshipped false gods, even though God had told them not to do this.
13 God warned Israel and Judah through all the prophets and seers, telling them to stop their bad ways and follow my commands and rules, just as I told your ancestors and as I have sent to you through my prophets.
14 Despite this, they refused to listen and made their necks stiff, just like their ancestors who did not trust in God.
15 They turned away from his laws, the agreement he made with their ancestors, and the warnings he gave them. They chased after worthless things and became worthless, following the customs of the neighboring peoples, which God had told them not to imitate.
16 They abandoned all of God’s commands and made metal idols, including two calves, built a shrine, worshiped the stars, and followed Baal.
17 They made their sons and daughters go through fire, practiced magic and spells, and gave themselves up to do wrong in God’s eyes, making him angry.
18 So God was very angry with Israel and took them away from his presence; only the tribe of Judah remained.
19 Judah did not follow God’s commands but followed the rules Israel made.
20 God turned away from all the people of Israel, hurt them, and let enemies take them until he pushed them out of his presence.
21 He split Israel from David’s family; and they made Jeroboam, Nebat’s son, king: and Jeroboam turned Israel away from God, leading them to commit a big sin.
22 The Israelites followed all the bad things Jeroboam did; they did not stop doing them.
23 God took Israel away from their land, as he had warned through his prophets. So Israel was taken from their land to Assyria, where they remain to this day.
24 The king of Assyria moved people from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and Sepharvaim to live in the cities of Samaria, replacing the children of Israel; they settled in Samaria and lived in its cities.
25 When they first lived there, they did not fear God, so God sent lions that killed some of them.
26 So they told the king of Assyria, “The people you moved and settled in the towns of Samaria do not understand how to worship the God of this land, and now he has sent lions among them that are killing them because they don’t know how to worship the God of this land.”
27 The king of Assyria ordered, “Take one of the priests you brought from there, let him live there, and have him teach them how to worship the God of that land.”
28 A priest they had taken from Samaria came to live in Bethel and showed them how to respect God.
29 Every nation created their own gods and placed them in the worship places built by the Samaritans, in each city where they lived.
30 The men from Babylon created Succothbenoth, the men from Cuth created Nergal, and the men from Hamath created Ashima.
31 The Avites worshiped Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their children in fire to worship Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
32 They were afraid of God, and chose the least important among them to be priests at the shrines, who offered sacrifices for them at the worship sites.
33 They were afraid of God and worshiped their own gods, following the customs of the people they had taken from other places.
34 To this day, they still act in the old ways; they do not fear God, nor follow his laws, rules, or the commands he gave to Jacob’s descendants, whom he named Israel.
35 God made a promise with them and told them, “Do not be afraid of other gods, do not bow down to them, do not serve them, and do not offer sacrifices to them.”
36 God, who led you out of Egypt with strong power and a raised arm, you should fear, worship, and offer sacrifices to.
37 Keep the rules, laws, and commands God has written for you, and always follow them; don’t be afraid of other gods.
38 Remember the agreement I made with you and do not fear other gods.
39 But you should fear God, and he will save you from all your enemies.
40 However, they did not listen and continued acting as they did before.
41 These nations respected God but also worshiped their idols, as did their parents and their children still do today.