2 Kings 17

Chapter 17

Hoshea Rules in Israel

1 Hoshea son of Elah began to rule over Israel in the twelfth year of King Ahaz’s reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria nine years.

2 He did what was evil in the LORD’s sight, but not to the same extent as the kings of Israel who ruled before him.
3 King Shalmaneser of Assyria attacked King Hoshea, so Hoshea was forced to pay heavy tribute to Assyria.

4 But Hoshea stopped paying the annual tribute and conspired against the king of Assyria by asking King So of Egyptt to help him shake free of Assyria’s power. When the king of Assyria discovered this treachery, he seized Hoshea and put him in prison.

Samaria Falls to Assyria

5 Then the king of Assyria invaded the entire land, and for three years he besieged the city of Samaria.

6 Finally, in the ninth year of King Hoshea’s reign, Samaria fell, and the people of Israel were exiled to Assyria. They were settled in colonies in Halah, along the banks of the Habor River in Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
7 This disaster came upon the people of Israel because they worshiped other gods. They sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them safely out of Egypt and had rescued them from the power of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.8 They had followed the practices of the pagan nations the LORD had driven from the land ahead of them, as well as the practices the kings of Israel had introduced.9 The people of Israel had also secretly done many things that were not pleasing to the LORD their God. They built pagan shrines for themselves in all their towns, from the smallest outpost to the largest walled city.10 They set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles at the top of every hill and under every green tree.11 They offered sacrifices on all the hilltops, just like the nations the LORD had driven from the land ahead of them. So the people of Israel had done many evil things, arousing the LORD’s anger.

12 Yes, they worshiped idols,t despite the LORD’s specific and repeated warnings.

13 Again and again the LORD had sent his prophets and seers to warn both Israel and Judah: “Turn from all your evil ways. Obey my commands and decrees—the entire law that I commanded your ancestors to obey, and that I gave you through my servants the prophets.”
14 But the Israelites would not listen. They were as stubborn as their ancestors who had refused to believe in the LORD their God.

15 They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and they despised all his warnings. They worshiped worthless idols, so they became worthless themselves. They followed the example of the nations around them, disobeying the LORD’s command not to imitate them.
16 They rejected all the commands of the LORD their God and made two calves from metal. They set up an Asherah pole and worshiped Baal and all the forces of heaven.

17 They even sacrificed their own sons and daughters in the fire.t They consulted fortune-tellers and practiced sorcery and sold themselves to evil, arousing the LORD’s anger.
18 Because the LORD was very angry with Israel, he swept them away from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained in the land.19 But even the people of Judah refused to obey the commands of the LORD their God, for they followed the evil practices that Israel had introduced.

20 The LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel. He punished them by handing them over to their attackers until he had banished Israel from his presence.
21 For when the LORDt tore Israel away from the kingdom of David, they chose Jeroboam son of Nebat as their king. But Jeroboam drew Israel away from following the LORD and made them commit a great sin.22 And the people of Israel persisted in all the evil ways of Jeroboam. They did not turn from these sins

23 until the LORD finally swept them away from his presence, just as all his prophets had warned. So Israel was exiled from their land to Assyria, where they remain to this day.

Foreigners Settle in Israel

24 The king of Assyria transported groups of people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and resettled them in the towns of Samaria, replacing the people of Israel. They took possession of Samaria and lived in its towns.

25 But since these foreign settlers did not worship the LORD when they first arrived, the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them.

26 So a message was sent to the king of Assyria: “The people you have sent to live in the towns of Samaria do not know the religious customs of the God of the land. He has sent lions among them to destroy them because they have not worshiped him correctly.”
27 The king of Assyria then commanded, “Send one of the exiled priests back to Samaria. Let him live there and teach the new residents the religious customs of the God of the land.”

28 So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria returned to Bethel and taught the new residents how to worship the LORD.
29 But these various groups of foreigners also continued to worship their own gods. In town after town where they lived, they placed their idols at the pagan shrines that the people of Samaria had built.30 Those from Babylon worshiped idols of their god Succoth-benoth. Those from Cuthah worshiped their god Nergal. And those from Hamath worshiped Ashima.

31 The Avvites worshiped their gods Nibhaz and Tartak. And the people from Sepharvaim even burned their own children as sacrifices to their gods Adrammelech and Anammelech.
32 These new residents worshiped the LORD, but they also appointed from among themselves all sorts of people as priests to offer sacrifices at their places of worship.33 And though they worshiped the LORD, they continued to follow their own gods according to the religious customs of the nations from which they came.

34 And this is still going on today. They continue to follow their former practices instead of truly worshiping the LORD and obeying the decrees, regulations, instructions, and commands he gave the descendants of Jacob, whose name he changed to Israel.
35 For the LORD had made a covenant with the descendants of Jacob and commanded them: “Do not worship any other gods or bow before them or serve them or offer sacrifices to them.36 But worship only the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt with great strength and a powerful arm. Bow down to him alone, and offer sacrifices only to him.37 Be careful at all times to obey the decrees, regulations, instructions, and commands that 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 You must worship only the LORD your God. He is the one who will rescue you from all your enemies.”
40 But the people would not listen and continued to follow their former practices.

41 So while these new residents worshiped the LORD, they also worshiped their idols. And to this day their descendants do the same.

2 KINGS 17

King Hoshea of Israel

1 Hoshea son of Elah became king of Israel in the twelfth year of Ahaz's rule in Judah, and he ruled nine years from Samaria.

2 Hoshea disobeyed the [Lord] and sinned, but not as much as the earlier Israelite kings had done.
3 During Hoshea's rule, King Shalmaneser of Assyriat invaded Israel; he took control of the country and made Hoshea pay taxes.

4 But later, Hoshea refused to pay the taxes and asked King So of Egypt to help him rebel. When Shalmaneser found out, he arrested Hoshea and put him in prison.

Samaria Is Destroyed //and the Israelites //Are Taken to Assyria

6 before capturing it in the ninth year of Hoshea's rule. The Assyrian kingt took the Israelites away to Assyria as prisoners. He forced some of them to live in the town of Halah, others to live near the Habor River in the territory of Gozan, and still others to live in towns where the Median people lived.
7 All of this happened because the people of Israel had sinned against the [Lord] their God, who had rescued them from Egypt, where they had been slaves. They worshiped foreign gods, 8 followed the customs of the nations that the [Lord] had forced out of Israel, and were just as sinful as the Israelite kings. 9 Even worse, the Israelites tried to hide their sins from the [Lord] their God. They built their own local shrines everywhere in Israel—from small towns to large, walled cities. 10 t They also built stone images of foreign gods and set up sacred polest for the worship of Asherah on every hill and under every shady tree.

11 They offered sacrifices at the shrines, t just as the foreign nations had done before the [Lord] forced them out of Israel. They did sinful things that made the [Lord] very angry.
12 Even though the [Lord] had commanded the Israelites not to worship idols, t they did it anyway.

13 So the [Lord] made sure that every prophet warned Israel and Judah with these words: “I, the [Lord], command you to stop doing sinful things and start obeying my laws and teachings! I gave them to your ancestors, and I told my servants the prophets to repeat them to you.”
14 But the Israelites would not listen; they were as stubborn as their ancestors who had refused to worship the [Lord] their God.

15 They ignored the [Lord]'s warnings and commands, and they rejected the solemn agreement he had made with their ancestors. They worshiped worthless idols and became worthless themselves. The [Lord] had told the Israelites not to do the things that the foreign nations around them were doing, but Israel became just like them.
16  t The people of Israel disobeyed all the commands of the [Lord] their God. They made two gold statues of calves and set up a sacred pole for Asherah; they also worshiped the stars and the god Baal. 17 t They used magic and witchcraft and even sacrificed their own children. The Israelites were determined to do whatever the [Lord] hated.

18 The [Lord] became so furious with the people of Israel that he allowed them to be carried away as prisoners.
Only the people living in Judah were left, 19 but they also disobeyed the [Lord]'s commands and acted like the Israelites.

20 So the [Lord] turned his back on everyone in Israel and let them be punished and defeated until no one was left.
21 Earlier, when the [Lord] took the northern tribes away from David's family, t the people living in northern Israel chose Jeroboam son of Nebat as their king. Jeroboam caused the Israelites to sin and to stop worshiping the [Lord]. 22 The people kept on sinning like Jeroboam,

23 until the [Lord] got rid of them, just as he had warned his servants the prophets.
That's why the people of Israel were taken away as prisoners to Assyria, and that's where they remained.

Foreigners Are Resettled //in Israel

24 The king of Assyria took people who were living in the cities of Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and forced them to move to Israel. They took over the towns where the Israelites had lived, including the capital city of Samaria.
25 At first these people did not worship the [Lord], so he sent lions to attack them, and the lions killed some of them.

26 A messenger told the king of Assyria, “The people you moved to Israel don't know how to worship the god of that country. So he sent lions that have attacked and killed some of them.”
27 The king replied, “Get one of the Israelite priests we brought here and send him back to Israel. He can live there and teach them about the god of that country.”

28 One of the Israelite priests was chosen to go back to Israel. He lived in Bethel and taught the people how to worship the [Lord].
29 But in towns all over Israel, the different groups of people made statues of their own gods, then they placed these idols in local Israelitet shrines. 30 The people from Babylonia made the god Succoth-Benoth; those from Cuthah made the god Nergal; those from Hamath made Ashima; 31 those from Avva made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the people from Sepharvaim sacrificed their children to their own gods Adrammelech and Anammelech. 32-33 They worshiped their own gods, just as they had before they were taken away to Israel. They also worshiped the [Lord], but they chose their own people to be priests at the shrines. 34 t Everyone followed their old customs. None of them worshiped only the [Lord], and they refused to obey the laws and commands that the [Lord] had given to the descendants of Jacob, the man he named Israel.

35 t At the time when the [Lord] had made his solemn agreement with the people of Israel, he told them:
Do not worship any other gods! Do not bow down to them or offer them a sacrifice. 36 t Worship only me! I am the one who rescued you from Egypt with my mighty power. Bow down to me and offer sacrifices. 37 Never worship any other god, always obey my laws and teachings,

38 and remember the solemn agreement between us.
I will say it again: Do not worship any god

39 except me. I am the [Lord] your God, and I will rescue you from all your enemies.
40 But the people living in Israel ignored that command and kept on following their old customs. 41 They did worship the [Lord], but they also worshiped their own idols. Their descendants did the same thing.