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

Israel Captive

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

Why Israel Fell

Now (G)this came about because the sons of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, (H)who had brought them up from the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; (I)and they had [a]feared other gods. They also [b](J)followed the [c]customs of the nations whom the Lord had driven out from the sons of Israel, and in the customs (K)of the kings of Israel which they had [d]introduced. 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 (L)watchtower to fortified city. 10 And (M)they set up for themselves memorial stones and [f](N)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, (O)concerning which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.” 13 Yet the (P)Lord warned Israel and Judah [g](Q)through all His prophets and (R)every seer, saying, “(S)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 (T)stiffened their neck [i]like their fathers, who did not believe in the Lord their God. 15 (U)They rejected His statutes and (V)His covenant which He made with their fathers, and His warnings which He [j]gave them. And (W)they followed [k]idols and (X)became empty, and followed the nations that surrounded them, about which the (Y)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: (Z)two calves. And they (AA)made an [l]Asherah, and (AB)worshiped all the heavenly [m]lights, and (AC)served Baal. 17 Then (AD)they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and they (AE)practiced divination and interpreting omens, and (AF)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 (AG)removed them from His [n]sight; (AH)no one was left except the tribe of Judah.

19 (AI)Judah did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God either, but they [o](AJ)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 (AK)handed them over to plunderers, until He had cast them [t]out of His sight.

21 When (AL)He had torn Israel from the house of David, (AM)they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then (AN)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 (AO)until the Lord removed Israel from His sight, (AP)just as He had spoken through all His servants the prophets. (AQ)So Israel went into exile from their own land to Assyria until this day.

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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

Samaria Falls to Assyria

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

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. 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. 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,[a] 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.[b] 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[c] 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.

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Footnotes

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