³ Shalmaneser^(A) king of Assyria came up to attack Hoshea, who had been Shalmaneser’s vassal and had paid him tribute.^{(B) 4} But the king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was a traitor, for he had sent envoys to So^[a] king of Egypt,^(C) and he no longer paid tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore Shalmaneser seized him and put him in prison.^{(D) 5} The king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched against Samaria and laid siege^(E) to it for three years. ⁶ In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria^(F) captured Samaria^(G) and deported^(H) the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan^(I) on the Habor River and in the towns of the Medes.

Samaria Resettled

²⁴ The king of Assyria^(A) brought people from Babylon, Kuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim^(B) and settled them in the towns of Samaria to replace the Israelites. They took over Samaria and lived in its towns. ²⁵ When they first lived there, they did not worship the Lord; so he sent lions^(C) among them and they killed some of the people. ²⁶ It was reported to the king of Assyria: “The people you deported and resettled in the towns of Samaria do not know what the god of that country requires. He has sent lions among them, which are killing them off, because the people do not know what he requires.”

²⁷ Then the king of Assyria gave this order: “Have one of the priests you took captive from Samaria go back to live there and teach the people what the god of the land requires.”

⁹ In King Hezekiah’s fourth year,^(A) which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria marched against Samaria and laid siege to it. ¹⁰ At the end of three years the Assyrians took it. So Samaria was captured in Hezekiah’s sixth year, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel. ¹¹ The king^(B) of Assyria deported Israel to Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in towns of the Medes.^{(C) 12} This happened because they had not obeyed the Lord their God, but had violated his covenant^(D)—all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded.^(E) They neither listened to the commands^(F) nor carried them out.