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2 Kings 17
New American Standard Bible

Hoshea Reigns over Israel

17 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, (A)Hoshea the son of Elah became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned for nine years. 2 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, only not as the kings of Israel who preceded him. 3 (B)Shalmaneser the king of Assyria marched (C)against him, and Hoshea became his servant and paid him tribute. 4 But the king of Assyria uncovered a conspiracy by Hoshea, who had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and had then brought no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year; so the king of Assyria arrested him and confined him in prison.

5 Then the king of Assyria invaded the entire land, and went up to (D)Samaria and besieged it for three years.

Israel Captive

6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, (E)the king of Assyria captured Samaria and (F)led the people of Israel into exile to Assyria, and (G)settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of (H)Gozan, and (I)in the cities of the Medes.

Why Israel Fell

7 Now (J)this came about because the sons of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, (K)who had brought them up from the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; (L)and they had [a]feared other gods. 8 They also [b](M)followed the [c]customs of the nations whom the Lord had driven out from the sons of Israel, and in the customs (N)of the kings of Israel which they had [d]introduced. 9 And the sons of Israel [e]did things secretly against the Lord their God which were not right. Moreover, they built for themselves high places in all their towns, from (O)watchtower to fortified city. 10 And (P)they set up for themselves memorial stones and [f](Q)Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, 11 and there they burned incense on all the high places as the nations did that the Lord had taken into exile before them; and they did evil things, provoking the Lord. 12 They served idols, (R)concerning which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.” 13 Yet the (S)Lord warned Israel and Judah [g](T)through all His prophets and (U)every seer, saying, “(V)Turn back from your evil ways and keep My commandments and My statutes in accordance with all the Law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you [h]through My servants the prophets.” 14 However, they did not listen, but (W)stiffened their neck [i]like their fathers, who did not believe in the Lord their God. 15 (X)They rejected His statutes and (Y)His covenant which He made with their fathers, and His warnings which He [j]gave them. And (Z)they followed [k]idols and (AA)became empty, and followed the nations that surrounded them, about which the (AB)Lord had commanded them not to do as they did. 16 And they abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God and made for themselves cast metal images: (AC)two calves. And they (AD)made an [l]Asherah, and (AE)worshiped all the heavenly [m]lights, and (AF)served Baal. 17 Then (AG)they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and they (AH)practiced divination and interpreting omens, and (AI)gave themselves over to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him. 18 So the Lord was very angry with Israel, and He (AJ)removed them from His [n]sight; (AK)no one was left except the tribe of Judah.

19 (AL)Judah did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God either, but they [o](AM)followed the [p]customs [q]which Israel had [r]introduced. 20 So the Lord rejected all the [s]descendants of Israel and afflicted them and (AN)handed them over to plunderers, until He had cast them [t]out of His sight.

21 When (AO)He had torn Israel from the house of David, (AP)they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then (AQ)Jeroboam drove Israel away from following the Lord and misled them into a great sin. 22 And the sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he committed; they did not desist from them 23 (AR)until the Lord removed Israel from His sight, (AS)just as He had spoken through all His servants the prophets. (AT)So Israel went into exile from their own land to Assyria until this day.

Cities of Israel Filled with Strangers

24 (AU)Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, [u](AV)Avva, (AW)Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the sons of Israel. So they took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities. 25 And at the beginning of their living there, they (AX)did not fear the Lord; therefore the Lord sent lions among them that were killing some of them. 26 So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations whom you have taken into exile and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know the custom of the God of the land; so He has sent lions among them, and behold, they are killing them because they do not know the custom of the God of the land.”

27 Then the king of Assyria issued commands, saying, “Take one of the priests there whom you led into [v]exile, and have [w]him go and live there; and have him teach them the custom of the God of the land.” 28 So one of the priests whom they had led into exile from Samaria came and lived in Bethel, and taught them how they were to fear the Lord.

29 But every nation was still making gods of its own, and they put them (AY)in the houses of the high places which the people of Samaria had made, every nation in their cities in which they lived. 30 (AZ)The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, 31 and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and (BA)the Sepharvites were burning their children in the fire to (BB)Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of (BC)Sepharvaim. 32 (BD)They also feared the Lord and [x](BE)appointed from their entire population priests of the high places, who acted for them in the houses of the high places. 33 They feared the Lord, yet they were serving their own gods in accordance with the custom of the nations from among whom they had been taken into exile.

34 To this day they act in accordance with the earlier customs: they do not fear the Lord, nor do they [y]follow their statutes, their ordinances, the Law, or the commandments which the Lord commanded the sons of Jacob, (BF)whom He named Israel. 35 The Lord made a covenant with them and commanded them, saying, “(BG)You shall not fear other gods, nor (BH)bow down to them, nor (BI)serve them, nor sacrifice to them. 36 But the Lord, (BJ)who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and with (BK)an outstretched arm, (BL)Him you shall fear, and to Him you shall bow down, and to Him you shall sacrifice. 37 And the statutes, the ordinances, the Law, and the commandment which He wrote for you, (BM)you shall take care to do always; and you shall not fear other gods. 38 The covenant that I have made with you, (BN)you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods. 39 But you shall fear the Lord your God; and He will save you from the hand of all your enemies.” 40 However, they did not listen, but they kept acting in accordance with their earlier custom. 41 (BO)So while these nations feared the Lord, they also served their [z]idols; their children likewise and their grandchildren, just as their fathers did, they do to this day.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 17:7 Or revered, and so throughout the ch
  2. 2 Kings 17:8 Lit walked in
  3. 2 Kings 17:8 Lit statutes
  4. 2 Kings 17:8 Lit made
  5. 2 Kings 17:9 Or ascribed words to
  6. 2 Kings 17:10 I.e., wooden symbols of a female deity (Asherah)
  7. 2 Kings 17:13 Lit by the hand of
  8. 2 Kings 17:13 Lit by the hand of
  9. 2 Kings 17:14 Lit like the neck of
  10. 2 Kings 17:15 Lit warned
  11. 2 Kings 17:15 Lit the non-existent
  12. 2 Kings 17:16 I.e., a wooden symbol of a female deity
  13. 2 Kings 17:16 Lit host
  14. 2 Kings 17:18 Lit face
  15. 2 Kings 17:19 Lit walked in
  16. 2 Kings 17:19 Lit statutes
  17. 2 Kings 17:19 Lit of Israel which they
  18. 2 Kings 17:19 Lit made
  19. 2 Kings 17:20 Lit seed
  20. 2 Kings 17:20 Lit from His face
  21. 2 Kings 17:24 In 2 Kin 18:34; 19:13; Is 37:13, Ivvah
  22. 2 Kings 17:27 Lit exile from there
  23. 2 Kings 17:27 Lit them
  24. 2 Kings 17:32 Lit made for themselves
  25. 2 Kings 17:34 Lit do according to
  26. 2 Kings 17:41 Or carved images
Close NLT

2 Kings 17
New Living Translation

Hoshea Rules in Israel

17 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 Egypt[a] 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,[b] 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.[c] 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 Lord[d] 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.

Footnotes

  1. 17:4 Or by asking the king of Egypt at Sais.
  2. 17:12 The Hebrew term (literally round things) probably alludes to dung.
  3. 17:17 Or They even made their sons and daughters pass through the fire.
  4. 17:21 Hebrew he; compare 1 Kgs 11:31-32.
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