2 KingsChapter 17

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¹Ahaz had been king of Judah for 12 years. That year Hoshea son of Elah became king of Israel. He ruled in Samaria for nine years. ²Hoshea did evil in the eyes of the LORD. But he was not as bad as the kings of Israel who came before him. ³Shalmaneser king of Assyria attacked him. So Hoshea became his servant king and paid him tribute money. ⁴But the king of Assyria found out that Hoshea had made a secret plan. Hoshea had sent messengers to So, the king of Egypt. He had also stopped paying tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done each year before. So the king of Assyria arrested Hoshea and put him in prison. ⁵Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land. He marched up to Samaria and surrounded it with his army for three years. ⁶In Hoshea's ninth year as king, the king of Assyria captured Samaria. He carried the Israelites away to Assyria. He made them live in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes. ⁷All this happened because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God. He was the one who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. He had set them free from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. But they had worshiped other gods. ⁸They followed the ways of the nations that the LORD had driven out ahead of the Israelites. They also followed the practices that the kings of Israel had started. ⁹The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right. They built high places in all their towns, from the smallest watchtower to the biggest walled city. ¹⁰They set up sacred stone pillars and Asherah poles for themselves. They put them on every high hill and under every green tree. ¹¹They burned incense on all the high places, just like the nations the LORD had driven out ahead of them. They did wicked things, and this made the LORD angry. ¹²They served idols, even though the LORD had told them, "You must not do this." ¹³Still, the LORD warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers. He said, "Turn away from your wicked ways. Keep my commands and my rules. Obey the whole Law that I commanded your ancestors. I gave it to you through my servants the prophets." ¹⁴But they would not listen. They were as stubborn as their ancestors, who did not believe the LORD their God. ¹⁵They rejected his rules. They rejected 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 copied the nations around them, even though the LORD had commanded them not to be like them. ¹⁶They turned away from all the commands of the LORD their God. They made two metal idols shaped like calves. They also made an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the stars in the sky, and they served Baal. ¹⁷They burned their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices. They tried to learn the future by magic and omens. They gave themselves over to doing evil in the eyes of the LORD, and this made him angry. ¹⁸So the LORD was very angry with Israel. He sent them away from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left. ¹⁹But even Judah did not keep the commands of the LORD their God. They lived by the customs that Israel had started. ²⁰So the LORD rejected all the people of Israel. He punished them and handed them over to robbers. In the end he threw them out of his presence. ²¹The LORD had torn Israel away from the family of David. Then the Israelites made Jeroboam son of Nebat their king. Jeroboam led Israel away from following the LORD. He caused them to commit a great sin. ²²The Israelites kept on doing all the sins that Jeroboam had done. They did not turn away from them. ²³At last the LORD sent Israel away from his presence. He had said he would do this through all his servants the prophets. So the people of Israel were taken from their own land as captives to Assyria. They are still there to this day. ²⁴Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim. He made them live in the towns of Samaria in place of the Israelites. They took over Samaria and lived in its towns. ²⁵When these people first lived there, they did not worship the LORD. So he sent lions among them, and the lions killed some of them. ²⁶So a message was sent to the king of Assyria. It said, "You moved some peoples and placed them in the towns of Samaria. But they don't know what the God of that land requires. Because of this, he has sent lions among them. The lions are killing them." ²⁷Then the king of Assyria gave an order. "Send back one of the priests you took away from Samaria. Let him go back and live there. Have him teach the people what the God of the land requires." ²⁸So one of the priests they had taken away came and lived in Bethel. He began to teach the people how they should worship the LORD. ²⁹But the people from each nation still made their own gods in the towns where they lived. They set them up in the shrines on the high places that the people of Samaria had built. ³⁰The men from Babylon made the god Succoth-benoth. The men from Cuth made Nergal. The men from Hamath made Ashima. ³¹The Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak. The Sepharvites burned their children in the fire as sacrifices to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. ³²So the new people worshiped the LORD. But they also chose all kinds of people from among themselves to be priests. These priests served in the shrines on the high places. ³³They worshiped the LORD. But they also served their own gods, following the customs of the nations they had been taken from. ³⁴To this day they still follow their old customs. None of them worship the LORD. They do not obey the rules, laws, teachings, and commands that the LORD gave to the children of Jacob. Jacob was the one whom the LORD gave the name Israel. ³⁵The LORD had made a covenant with the Israelites. He had commanded them, "Do not worship other gods or bow down to them. Do not serve them or offer sacrifices to them. ³⁶Instead, worship the LORD. He brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and a mighty arm. Bow down to him and offer sacrifices to him. ³⁷Always be careful to obey the rules, laws, teachings, and commands he wrote down for you. Do not worship other gods. ³⁸Do not forget the covenant I have made with you. Do not worship other gods. ³⁹Instead, worship the LORD your God. He will save you from the power of all your enemies." ⁴⁰But they would not listen. They kept on following their old customs. ⁴¹So these nations worshiped the LORD, but they also served their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren keep doing what their parents did.