17 It was in the twelfth year of Achaz king of Y’hudah that Hoshea the son of Elah began his reign over Isra’el in Shomron; he ruled for nine years. ² He did what was evil from Adonai’s perspective, although he wasn’t as bad as the kings of Isra’el who had preceded him.

³ Shalman’eser king of Ashur advanced against Hoshea, and Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute. ⁴ But the king of Ashur found that Hoshea was conspiring [against him] — he had sent messengers to So the king of Egypt and not paid his tribute to the king of Ashur, as he had previously done every year. For this the king of Ashur imprisoned him, putting him in chains. ⁵ Then the king of Ashur invaded all the land, advanced on Shomron and put it under siege for three years. ⁶ In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Ashur captured Shomron. He carried Isra’el away captive to Ashur, resettling them in Halach, in Havor on the Gozan River and in the cities of the Medes.

⁷ This came about because the people of Isra’el had sinned against Adonai their God, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, out from under the domination of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They feared other gods ⁸ and lived by the customs of the nations that Adonai had expelled ahead of the people of Isra’el and by those of the kings of Isra’el. ⁹ The people of Isra’el secretly did things that were not right, according to Adonai their God. They built high places for themselves wherever they lived, from the watchtower to the fortified city. ¹⁰ They set up standing-stones and sacred poles for themselves on any high hill and under any green tree. ¹¹ Then they would make offerings on all the high places, like the nations Adonai had expelled ahead of them, and would do wicked things to provoke the anger of Adonai; ¹² moreover, they served idols, something Adonai had expressly told them not to do. ¹³ Adonai had warned Isra’el and Y’hudah in advance through every prophet and seer, “Turn from your evil ways; and obey my mitzvot and regulations, in accordance with the entire Torah which I ordered your ancestors to keep and which I sent to you through my servants the prophets.” ¹⁴ Nevertheless, they refused to listen but made themselves as stubborn as their ancestors, who did not put their trust in Adonai their God. ¹⁵ Thus they rejected his laws; his covenant, which he had made with their ancestors; and the solemn warnings he had given them. Instead they pursued worthless things and became worthless themselves, imitating the nations around them, whom Adonai had ordered them not to emulate. ¹⁶ They abandoned all the mitzvot of Adonai their God. They made cast metal images for themselves, two calves. They made an asherah. They worshipped the whole army of heaven. They served Ba‘al. ¹⁷ They had their sons and daughters pass through fire [as a sacrifice]. They used divination and magic spells. And they gave themselves over to do what was evil from Adonai’s perspective, thereby provoking him; ¹⁸ so that Adonai, by now very angry with Isra’el, removed them from his sight. None was left except the tribe of Y’hudah alone. ¹⁹ (However, neither did Y’hudah obey the mitzvot of Adonai their God; rather they lived according to the customs of Isra’el.)

²⁰ Yes, Adonai came to despise all the descendants of Isra’el. He caused them trouble and handed them over to plunderers, until finally he threw them out of his sight. ²¹ He tore Isra’el away from the house of David. They made Yarov‘am the son of N’vat king; and Yarov‘am drew Isra’el away from following Adonai and made them commit a great sin. ²² The people of Isra’el followed the example of all the sins that Yarov‘am had committed and did not turn away from them, ²³ until Adonai removed Isra’el out of his sight, as he had said he would through all his servants the prophets. Thus Isra’el was carried away captive from their own land to Ashur, and it remains so to this day.

²⁴ The king of Ashur brought people from Bavel, Kutah, ‘Ava, Hamat and S’farvayim and settled them in the cities of Shomron in place of the people of Isra’el; they took possession of Shomron and lived in its cities. ²⁵ When they first came to live there, they did not fear Adonai. Therefore Adonai sent lions among them, which killed some of them. ²⁶ So they said to the king of Ashur, “The nations you carried away and settled in the cities of Shomron are not familiar with the rules for worshipping the God of the land. Therefore he has sent lions among them; and they are there, killing them; because they’re not familiar with the rules for worshipping the God of the land.” ²⁷ In response, the king of Ashur gave this order: “Take back one of the cohanim you brought from there. Have him go and live there, and have him teach them the rules for worshipping the God of the land.” ²⁸ So one of the cohanim they had carried away captive from Shomron came and lived in Beit-El, and he taught them how they should fear Adonai.

²⁹ Nevertheless, every nation made gods of their own and put them in the temples on the high places which the Shomronim had made, every nation in the cities where they lived. ³⁰ Thus the people from Bavel made Sukkot-B’not, those from Kutah made Nergal, those from Hamat made Ashima, ³¹ the ‘Avim made Nivchaz and Tartak, and the S’farvim burned up their children in the fire as sacrifices to Adramelekh and ‘Anamelekh the gods of S’farvayim. ³² So they feared Adonai, while at the same time they appointed for themselves priests from among themselves to preside at the high places, and they would sacrifice for them in the temples on the high places. ³³ They both feared Adonai and served their own gods in the manner customary among the nations from which they had been taken away. ³⁴ To this day they continue to follow their former [pagan] customs. They do not fear Adonai. They do not follow the regulations, rulings, Torah or mitzvah which Adonai ordered the descendants of Ya‘akov, to whom he gave the name Isra’el, ³⁵ with whom Adonai had made a covenant and charged them, “Do not fear other gods or bow down to them, serve them or sacrifice to them. ³⁶ On the contrary, you are to fear Adonai, who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm. Worship him, and sacrifice to him. ³⁷ You are to observe forever the laws, rulings, Torah and mitzvah which he wrote for you. You are not to fear other gods, ³⁸ and you are not to forget the covenant I made with you. No, you must not fear other gods ³⁹ but must fear Adonai your God; then he will rescue you from the power of all your enemies.” ⁴⁰ However, they didn’t listen, but followed their old [pagan] practices. ⁴¹ So these nations mixed fearing Adonai with serving their carved idols; likewise their children; and to this day, their descendants do the same as their ancestors did.

28 Achaz was twenty years old when he began his reign, and he ruled sixteen years in Yerushalayim. But he did not do what was right from the perspective of Adonai, as David his ancestor had done. ² Rather, he lived in the manner of the kings of Isra’el and made cast metal images for the ba‘alim. ³ Moreover, he made offerings in the Ben-Hinnom Valley and even burned up his own children as sacrifices, in keeping with the horrible practices of the pagans, whom Adonai had thrown out ahead of the people of Isra’el. ⁴ He also sacrificed and offered on the high places, on the hills and under any green tree.

⁵ Because of this, Adonai his God handed him over to the king of Aram; they attacked him and carried off from his people a great number of captives, bringing them to Dammesek.

In addition, he was handed over to the king of Isra’el, who inflicted on him a great massacre. ⁶ For Pekach the son of Remalyah killed in Y’hudah 120,000 men in one day, all of them brave men, because they had abandoned Adonai, the God of their ancestors. ⁷ And Zikhri, a champion from Efrayim, killed Ma‘aseiyah the king’s son, ‘Azrikam the administrator of the household and Elkanah, who was second only to the king. ⁸ The people of Isra’el took captive from their kinsmen 200,000 wives, sons and daughters; they also captured from them much spoil, which they brought to Shomron.

⁹ But a prophet of Adonai named ‘Oded was there; he went out to meet the army coming to Shomron and said to them, “Look, it’s because Adonai the God of your fathers was angry with Y’hudah that he has handed them over to you, and you have slaughtered them in a fury that has reached up to heaven. ¹⁰ Now you intend to force the people from Y’hudah and Yerushalayim into subjection as your slaves; but haven’t you guilty deeds of your own that you committed against Adonai your God? ¹¹ Therefore listen to me now; and send the captives back, the people you have taken captive from your kinsmen; because the fierce anger of Adonai is on you.”

¹² At this, some of the leaders of the people of Efrayim — ‘Azaryahu the son of Y’hochanan, Berekhyahu the son of Meshilemot, Y’chizkiyah the son of Shalum and ‘Amasa the son of Hadlai — protested against those who were returning from the war, ¹³ saying to them, “Don’t bring the captives here, because you intend to do something that will bring guilt on us against Adonai. It will only add to our sins and guilt, for our guilt is great, and there is fierce anger against Isra’el.”

¹⁴ So the armed soldiers left the captives and the spoil there with the leaders and the whole community; ¹⁵ while the men named above took charge of the captives and from the spoil clothed those among them who were inadequately clothed, giving them garments and shoes, providing them food and drink and anointing them with oil. After placing all the weak among them on donkeys, they brought them to Yericho, the City of Date-Palms, to their kinsmen; only then did they return to Shomron.

¹⁶ It was at that time that King Achaz sent to the kings of Ashur to help him. ¹⁷ For again the people from Edom had come, attacking Y’hudah and carrying off captives. ¹⁸ The P’lishtim too had invaded the cities in the Sh’felah and in the Negev of Y’hudah; they had captured Beit-Shemesh, Ayalon, G’derot, Sokho with its villages, Timnah with its villages and Gimzo with its villages; and they settled there. ¹⁹ For Adonai brought Y’hudah low because of Achaz king of Isra’el, since he had caused disturbances in Y’hudah and acted very treacherously against Adonai.

²⁰ Tilgat-Piln’eser king of Ashur attacked and besieged Achaz instead of strengthening him — ²¹ even though Achaz had stripped the house of Adonai and the palaces of the king and princes and had given the plunder to the king of Ashur, it didn’t help him at all.

²² During his time of distress this same King Achaz added to his treachery against Adonai ²³ by sacrificing to the gods of Dammesek, who had attacked him, reasoning, “The gods of the kings of Aram helped them, so I will sacrifice to them, and then they’ll help me.” But they became the ruin of him and of all Isra’el. ²⁴ Achaz collected the equipment from the house of God, broke to pieces the equipment from the house of God and sealed the doors of the house of Adonai; then he made himself altars in every corner of Yerushalayim. ²⁵ In every city of Y’hudah he made high places for offering to other gods, thus provoking Adonai the God of his ancestors.

²⁶ Other activities of Achaz and his ways [of doing things], from beginning to end, are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Y’hudah and Isra’el. ²⁷ Achaz slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in the city, in Yerushalayim; because they did not bring him to the tombs of the kings of Isra’el. Then Hizkiyahu his son took his place as king.

3 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, since you know that we will be judged more severely. ² For we all stumble in many ways; if someone does not stumble in what he says, he is a mature man who can bridle his whole body. ³ If we put a bit into a horse’s mouth to make it obey us, we control its whole body as well. ⁴ And think of a ship — although it is huge and is driven by strong winds, yet the pilot can steer it wherever he wants with just a small rudder. ⁵ So too the tongue is a tiny part of the body, yet it boasts great things. See how a little fire sets a whole forest ablaze! ⁶ Yes, the tongue is a fire, a world of wickedness. The tongue is so placed in our body that it defiles every part of it, setting ablaze the whole of our life; and it is set on fire by Gei-Hinnom itself. ⁷ For people have tamed and continue to tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures; ⁸ but the tongue no one can tame — it is an unstable and evil thing, full of death-dealing poison! ⁹ With it we bless Adonai, the Father; and with it we curse people, who were made in the image of God.^{[a] 10} Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing! Brothers, it isn’t right for things to be this way. ¹¹ A spring doesn’t send both fresh and bitter water from the same opening, does it? ¹² Can a fig tree yield olives, my brothers? or a grapevine, figs? Neither does salt water produce fresh.

¹³ Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him demonstrate it by his good way of life, by actions done in the humility that grows out of wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you harbor in your hearts bitter jealousy and selfish ambition, don’t boast and attack the truth with lies! ¹⁵ This wisdom is not the kind that comes down from above; on the contrary, it is worldly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶ For where there are jealousy and selfish ambition, there will be disharmony and every foul practice. ¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is, first of all, pure, then peaceful, kind, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. ¹⁸ And peacemakers who sow seed in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.