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2 Kings 17
Legacy 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 nine years. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, only not as the kings of Israel who were before him. 3 (B)Shalmaneser king of Assyria went up (C)against him, and Hoshea became his servant and paid him tribute. 4 But the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea, who had sent messengers to So king of Egypt and had offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year; therefore the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison.

5 Then the king of Assyria went up against the whole land and he went up to (D)Samaria and besieged it three years.

Israel Exiled to Assyria

6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, (E)the king of Assyria captured Samaria and (F)took Israel away 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.

Israel Rejects Yahweh

7 Now (J)this happened because the sons of Israel had sinned against Yahweh 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 and (M)walked in the statutes of the nations whom Yahweh had dispossessed from before the sons of Israel, and in the statutes (N)of the kings of Israel which they had made. 9 And the sons of Israel [b]did things secretly which were not right against Yahweh their God. Moreover, they built for themselves high places in all their cities, from (O)watchtower to fortified city. 10 (P)And they set for themselves sacred pillars and [c](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 which Yahweh had taken away into exile before them; and they did evil things provoking Yahweh to anger. 12 And they served idols, (R)concerning which Yahweh had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.” 13 Yet (S)Yahweh warned Israel and Judah (T)by the hand of all His prophets and (U)every seer, saying, “(V)Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments, My statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by the hand of My slaves the prophets.” 14 However, they did not listen, but (W)stiffened their neck [d]like their fathers, who did not believe in Yahweh their God. 15 (X)They also rejected His statutes and (Y)His covenant which He cut with their fathers and His warnings with which He warned them. And (Z)they followed vanity and (AA)became vain, and went after the nations which surrounded them, concerning which (AB)Yahweh had commanded them not to do like them. 16 And they forsook all the commandments of Yahweh their God and made for themselves molten images, even (AC)two calves, and (AD)made an [e]Asherah and (AE)worshiped all the host of heaven and (AF)served Baal. 17 Then (AG)they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and (AH)practiced divination and omens, and (AI)sold themselves to do what is evil in the sight of Yahweh, provoking Him to anger. 18 So Yahweh was very angry with Israel and (AJ)caused them to depart from His [f]presence; (AK)none was left except the tribe of Judah alone.

19 Also (AL)Judah did not keep the commandments of Yahweh their God, but (AM)walked in the statutes [g]which Israel had made. 20 So Yahweh rejected all the seed of Israel and afflicted them and (AN)gave them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them [h]from His presence.

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 Yahweh and made them sin a great sin. 22 And the sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them 23 (AR)until Yahweh caused Israel to depart from His presence, (AS)as He spoke through all His slaves the prophets. (AT)So Israel went into exile from their own land to Assyria until this day.

Exiled Men in the Cities of Samaria

24 (AU)And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon and from Cuthah and from [i](AV)Avva and from (AW)Hamath and Sepharvaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the sons of Israel. So they possessed Samaria and lived in its cities. 25 Now it happened at the beginning of their settlement there, that they (AX)did not fear Yahweh; therefore Yahweh sent lions among them which were killing them. 26 So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations whom you have taken away 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 putting them to death because they do not know the custom of the god of the land.”

27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, “Take there one of the priests whom you took away into [j]exile and let [k]him go and live there; and let him instruct them the custom of the god of the land.” 28 So one of the priests whom they had taken away into exile from Samaria came and settled at Bethel, and instructed them how they should fear Yahweh.

29 But each nation was still making gods of its own and put them (AY)in the houses of the high places which the people of Samaria had made, each nation in their cities in which they lived. 30 (AZ)And 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 burned their children in the fire to (BB)Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of the (BC)Sepharvaim. 32 (BD)They were also fearing Yahweh and [l](BE)appointed from among all of themselves priests of the high places, and they were acting for them in the houses of the high places. 33 They were fearing Yahweh and serving their own gods according to the custom of the nations from among whom they had been taken away into exile.

34 To this day they are acting according to the earlier customs: they are not fearing Yahweh; they are not acting according to their statutes or their judgments or the law, or the commandment which Yahweh commanded the sons of Jacob, (BF)whom He named Israel; 35 with whom Yahweh cut a covenant and commanded them, saying, “(BG)You shall not fear other gods, nor (BH)worship them nor (BI)serve them nor sacrifice to them. 36 But Yahweh, (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 worship, and to Him you shall sacrifice. 37 And the statutes and the judgments and the law and the commandment which He wrote for you, (BM)you shall be careful to do forever; and you shall not fear other gods. 38 And the covenant that I have cut with you, (BN)you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods. 39 But Yahweh your God you shall fear; and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.” 40 However, they did not listen, but they were acting according to their earlier custom. 41 (BO)So while these nations were fearing Yahweh, they also were serving their graven images; their children likewise and their grandchildren, as their fathers acted, so they are acting this way to this day.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 17:7 Or reverenced, so in ch
  2. 2 Kings 17:9 Or uttered words which
  3. 2 Kings 17:10 Wooden symbols of a female deity
  4. 2 Kings 17:14 Lit like the neck of
  5. 2 Kings 17:16 A wooden symbol of a female deity
  6. 2 Kings 17:18 Lit face
  7. 2 Kings 17:19 Lit of Israel which they
  8. 2 Kings 17:20 Lit from His face
  9. 2 Kings 17:24 In 2 Kin 18:34, Ivvah
  10. 2 Kings 17:27 Lit exile from there
  11. 2 Kings 17:27 Lit them
  12. 2 Kings 17:32 Lit appointed from one extremity of themselves
Close CEB

2 Kings 17
Common English Bible

Hoshea rules Israel

17 Hoshea, Elah’s son, became king in Samaria in the twelfth year of Judah’s king Ahaz. He ruled over Israel for nine years. 2 He did what was evil in the Lord’s eyes, but he wasn’t as bad as the Israelite kings who preceded him. 3 Assyria’s King Shalmaneser marched against Hoshea, and Hoshea became Shalmaneser’s servant, paying him tribute. 4 But the Assyrian king discovered that Hoshea was a traitor, because Hoshea sent messengers to Egypt’s King So. Hoshea stopped paying tribute to the Assyrian king as he had in previous years, so the Assyrian king arrested him and put him in prison. 5 Then the Assyrian king invaded the whole country. He marched against Samaria and attacked it for three years. 6 In Hoshea’s ninth year, the Assyrian king captured Samaria. He sent Israel into exile to Assyria, resettling them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes.

The northern kingdom falls

7 All this happened because the Israelites sinned against the Lord their God, who brought them up from the land of Egypt, out from under the power of Pharaoh, Egypt’s king. They worshipped other gods. 8 They followed the practices of the nations that the Lord had removed before the Israelites, as well as the practices that the Israelite kings had done.[a] 9 The Israelites secretly did things against the Lord their God that weren’t right. They built shrines in all their towns, from watchtowers to fortified cities. 10 They set up sacred pillars and sacred poles[b] on every high hill and beneath every green tree. 11 At every shrine they burned incense, just as the nations did that the Lord sent into exile before them. They did evil things that made the Lord angry. 12 They worshipped images about which the Lord had said, Don’t do such things! 13 The Lord warned Israel and Judah through all the prophets and seers, telling them, Turn from your evil ways. Keep my commandments and my regulations in agreement with the entire Instruction that I commanded your ancestors and sent through my servants the prophets.

14 But they wouldn’t listen. They were stubborn like their ancestors who didn’t trust the Lord their God. 15 They rejected his regulations and the covenant he had made with their ancestors, along with the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless images so that they too became worthless. And they imitated the neighboring nations that the Lord had forbidden them to imitate. 16 They deserted all the commandments of the Lord their God. They made themselves two metal idols cast in the shape of calves and made a sacred pole.[c] They bowed down to all the heavenly bodies. They served Baal. 17 They burned their sons and daughters alive. They practiced divination and sought omens. They gave themselves over to doing what was evil in the Lord’s eyes and made him angry.

18 So the Lord was very angry at Israel. He removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah was spared. 19 But Judah didn’t keep the commands of the Lord their God either. They followed the practices of Israel. 20 So the Lord rejected all of Israel’s descendants. He punished them, and he handed them over to enemies who plundered them until he finally threw them out of his sight.

21 When Israel broke away[d] from David’s dynasty, they made Nebat’s son Jeroboam the king. Jeroboam drove Israel away from the Lord. He caused them to commit great sin. 22 And the Israelites continued walking in all the sins that Jeroboam did. They didn’t deviate from them, 23 and the Lord finally removed Israel from his presence. That was exactly what he had warned through all his servants the prophets. So Israel was exiled from its land to Assyria. And that’s still how it is today.

New settlers in Samaria

24 The Assyrian king brought people from Babylon, Cuth, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, resettling them in the cities of Samaria in place of the Israelites. These people took control of Samaria and settled in its cities. 25 But when they began to live there, they didn’t worship the Lord, so the Lord sent lions against them, and the lions began to kill them. 26 Assyria’s king was told about this: “The nations you sent into exile and resettled in the cities of Samaria don’t know the religious practices of the local god. He’s sent lions against them, and the lions are killing them because none of them know the religious practices of the local god.”

27 So Assyria’s king commanded, “Return one of the priests that you exiled from there. He[e] should go back and live there. He should teach them the religious practices of the local god.” 28 So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria went back. He lived in Bethel and taught the people how to worship the Lord.

29 But each nationality still made its own gods. They set them up in the houses that the people of Samaria had made at the shrines. Each nationality did this in whichever cities they lived. 30 The Babylonian people made the god Succoth-benoth, the Cuthean people made Nergal, and the people from Hamath made Ashima. 31 The Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak. The Sepharvites burned their children alive as a sacrifice to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the Sepharvite gods. 32 They also worshipped the Lord, but they appointed priests for the shrines from their whole population. These priests worked in the houses at the shrines. 33 So they worshipped the Lord, but they also served their own gods according to the religious practices of the nations from which they had been exiled.

34 They are still following their former religious practices to this very day. They don’t really worship the Lord. Nor do they follow the regulations, the case laws, the Instruction, or the commandment that the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, whom he renamed Israel. 35 The Lord had made a covenant with them, commanding them, Don’t worship other gods. Don’t bow down to them or serve them. Don’t sacrifice to them. 36 Instead, worship only the Lord. He’s the one who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great strength and an outstretched arm. Bow down to him! Sacrifice to him! 37 You must carefully keep the regulations and case laws, the Instruction, and the commandment that he wrote for you. Don’t worship other gods. 38 Don’t forget the covenant that I made with you. Don’t worship other gods. 39 Instead, worship only the Lord your God. He will rescue you from your enemies’ power.

40 But they wouldn’t listen. Instead, they continued doing their former religious practices. 41 So these nations worship the Lord, but they also serve their idols. The children and the grandchildren are doing the very same thing their parents did. And that’s how things still are today.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 17:8 Heb uncertain
  2. 2 Kings 17:10 Heb asherim, perhaps objects devoted to the goddess Asherah
  3. 2 Kings 17:16 Heb asherah, perhaps an object devoted to the goddess Asherah
  4. 2 Kings 17:21 Or When he (God) tore Israel away
  5. 2 Kings 17:27 LXX, Vulg, Syr; MT They
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