2 Kings 17:1-41
17 ** In the year twelve of King Ahaz of Judah, Hosheaʽ the son of Elah became king over Israel for a reign of nine years at Samaria;
2 and he did what displeased Jehovah, yet not like the kings of Israel that had been before him.
3 * Against him King Shalmaneser of Assyria came up, and Hosheaʽ became his subject and paid him tribute.
4 But the king of Assyria detected Hosheaʽ in treason, in that he had sent envoys to King Seve of Egypt, and had not sent up tribute to the king of Assyria as he had annually done; and the king of Assyria arrested him and imprisoned him.
5 And the king of Assyria came up all over the country, and came to Samaria and besieged it three years.
6 * In the year nine of Hosheaʽ the king of Assyria took Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria, and settled them in Halah and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, in the cities of Media.
7 And because the sons of Israel had sinned against Jehovah, their God that had brought them up out of Egypt, from under the hand of the Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and had feared other gods
8 and gone by the usages of the nations Jehovah dispossessed before the sons of Israel, and those of the kings of Israel that they had originated;
9 * and the sons of Israel depraved themselves with doing against their God Jehovah things that were not right, and built themselves heights in all their cities, from watchmen’s tower to fortified city,
10 and set up obelisks and asherahs for themselves on every high hill and under every verdant tree,
11 * and made burnings there, like the nations Jehovah had removed before them,
12 and established religious prostitutes of both sexes, provoking Jehovah, and worshiped fetishes, the thing of which Jehovah had said to them “You shall not do this”;
13 and Jehovah warned Israel by every prophet and every seer, saying “Turn back from your evil courses and keep my commandments, my usages, in conformity with all the instructions which I prescribed to your fathers and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets”;
14 * but they did not listen, but stiffened their necks as had their fathers who had not believed in their God Jehovah,
15 and rejected his usages and his covenant which he had entered into with their fathers, and his lessons which he had inculcated upon them, and ran into superstitions and became slaves to them, and followed the nations around them, whom Jehovah had commanded them not to do like,
16 and left the commandments of their God Jehovah and made themselves statues, two calves, and made an asherah and did reverence to all the legions of the sky and worshiped the Baal;
17 and they sent their children over through the fire, and practiced soothsaying, and believed in signs, and sold themselves to do what displeased Jehovah, provoking him,—
18 Jehovah became very angry with Israel, and removed it from before his face: none at all were left but the tribe of Judah alone.
19 Neither did Judah keep the commandments of their God Jehovah, but went by the usages of the Israelites that they had originated;
20 and Jehovah condemned all the stock of Israel, and ground them down and gave them into the hands of pillagers, till he threw them aside;
21 because Jehovah had torn Israel off from the house of David and they had made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king, and Jeroboam had deluded Israel away from following Jehovah and had made them commit a great sin,
22 and the sons of Israel had walked in Jeroboam’s sin which he had originated and had not turned from it,
23 till Jehovah removed Israel from before his face, as he had threatened by all his servants the prophets, and deported Israel off their soil to Assyria to remain to this day.
24 ** And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon and Cuthah and ʽAvvah and Hamath and Sepharvaim and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the sons of Israel, and they took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities.
25 And in the beginning of their settlement they did not fear Jehovah, and he sent the lions upon them, and they went to killing among them;
26 and the king of Assyria was told “The nations you deported and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know the observances for the god of the country, and he has sent the lions upon them, and here they are killing them off, as they do not know the observances for the god of the country.”
27 ** And the king of Assyria gave orders “Send there one of the priests you deported from there, to go and live there and instruct them in the observances for the god of the country”;
28 and one of the priests they had deported from Samaria came and settled at Bethel and went to instructing them how they should fear Jehovah.
29 * And they went to making their various national gods and installing them in the height-houses the Samarians had made, each nation in their cities where they were living;
30 * and the men of Babylon made Succoth-Benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima,
31 *** and the ʽAvvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to Adrammelec and ʽAnammelec the gods of Sepharvaim;
32 * and they went to fearing Jehovah, and made out of the common people height-priests for themselves, who functioned for them in the height-houses.
33 They feared Jehovah, and worshiped their gods in accordance with the observances of the nations they had been deported from.
34 ** To this day they act as was their first fashion. They do not fear Jehovah and do not act in accordance with his usages and laws and with the instructions and commandments which Jehovah had enjoined upon the sons of Jacob, on whom he had bestowed the name Israel,
35 and Jehovah had made a covenant with them and given them orders, “You shall not fear other gods nor do them reverence nor sacrifice to them;
36 but Jehovah, who brought you up out of Egypt with great strength and outstretched arm, him you shall fear and to him you shall do reverence and to him you shall sacrifice,
37 and the usages and laws and instructions and commandments which he has written down for you you shall at all times be heedful to do, and not fear other gods.
38 And the covenant I have made with you you shall not forget, nor fear other gods;
39 but your God Jehovah you shall fear, and he will deliver you out of the hands of your enemies.”
40 * But they have not listened, but are acting as was their first fashion.
41 * And these nations went to fearing Jehovah while worshiping their carvings; their sons and grandsons too are to this day doing as their fathers did.
Footnotes
^ 17:1 Conj. eleven years
^ 17:1 Conj. year four
^ 17:3 Conj. Against him the king of Assyria
^ 17:6 Var. mountains of Media
^ 17:9 (depraved themselves) Unc.
^ 17:11 Codd. there on all heights, like
^ 17:14 Var. more than had their fathers
^ 17:24 Conj. to omit and ʽAvvah and Hamath
^ 17:24 Or and settled in its cities
^ 17:27 Var.* I deported
^ 17:27 Conj. some of the priests
^ 17:29 Or were making
^ 17:30 (Succoth-Benoth) Conj. Saccuth and Zarbanith
^ 17:31 (Adrammelec) Var.* Adarmelec Conj. Adad-Melec
^ 17:31 (ʽAnammelec) Conj. ʽAnumelec
^ 17:31 Var. the god of books (omitting and ʽAnammelec)
^ 17:32 Or were fearing Jehovah and making
^ 17:34 Or did not fear Jehovah and did not act
^ 17:34 Codd. their rules and laws
^ 17:40 Or had not listened, but were
^ 17:41 Or these heathens
