²⁷ Then the king of Assyria commanded, “Send there one of the priests whom you carried away from there, and let him^[a] go and dwell there and teach them the law of the god of the land.” ²⁸ So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and lived in ^(A)Bethel and taught them how they should fear the Lord.

²⁹ But every nation still made gods of its own and put them ^(B)in the shrines of the high places that the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities in which they lived. ³⁰ The men of ^(C)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 the Sepharvites ^(D)burned their children in the fire to ^(E)Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of ^(F)Sepharvaim. ^32 (G)They also feared the Lord ^(H)and appointed from among themselves all sorts of people as priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of ^(I)the high places. ³³ So they feared the Lord but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away.

³⁴ To this day they do according to the former manner. They do not fear the Lord, and they do not follow the statutes or the rules or the law or the commandment that the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, ^(J)whom he named Israel. ³⁵ The Lord made a covenant with them and commanded them, ^(K)“You shall not fear other gods ^(L)or bow yourselves to them or serve them or sacrifice to them, ³⁶ but ^(M)you shall fear the Lord, ^(N)who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and ^(O)with an outstretched arm. You shall bow yourselves to him, and to him you shall sacrifice. ³⁷ And the statutes and the rules and the law and the commandment that he wrote for you, ^(P)you shall always be careful to do. ^(Q)You shall not fear other gods, ³⁸ and ^(R)you shall not forget the covenant that I have made with you. ^(S)You shall not fear other gods, ³⁹ but ^(T)you shall fear the Lord your God, and he will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.” ⁴⁰ However, they would not listen, but they did according to their former manner.

^41 (U)So these nations feared the Lord and also served their carved images. Their children did likewise, and their children's children—as their fathers did, so they do to this day.

Hezekiah Reigns in Judah

18 ^(V)In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, ^(W)Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. ² He was ^(X)twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was ^(Y)Abi the daughter of Zechariah. ^3 (Z)And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. ^4 (AA)He removed the high places and broke the ^(AB)pillars and cut down ^(AC)the Asherah. And he broke in pieces ^(AD)the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan).^{[b] 5 (AE)}He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, ^(AF)so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. ^6 (AG)For he held fast to the Lord. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses. ^7 (AH)And the Lord was with him; wherever he went out, ^(AI)he prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him. ^8 (AJ)He struck down the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, ^(AK)from watchtower to fortified city.

⁹ In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, ^(AL)Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it, ¹⁰ and at the end of three years he took it. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. ¹¹ The king of Assyria carried the Israelites away to Assyria and put them in ^(AM)Halah, and on the ^(AN)Habor, ^(AO)the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, ¹² because they did not obey the voice of the Lord their God but transgressed his covenant, even all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded. They neither listened nor obeyed.

Who Can Stand Before You?

To the choirmaster: with ^(A)stringed instruments. A Psalm of ^(B)Asaph. A Song.