⁷ For ^(A)so it was that the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and they had ^(B)feared other gods, ⁸ and ^(C)had walked in the statutes of the nations whom the Lord had cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made. ⁹ Also the children of Israel secretly did against the Lord their God things that were not right, and they built for themselves ^[a]high places in all their cities, ^(D)from watchtower to fortified city. ^10 (E)They set up for themselves sacred pillars and ^(F)wooden images^{[b] (G)}on every high hill and under every green tree. ¹¹ There they burned incense on all the high places, like the nations whom the Lord had carried away before them; and they did wicked things to provoke the Lord to anger, ¹² for they served idols, ^(H)of which the Lord had said to them, ^(I)“You shall not do this thing.”

¹³ Yet the Lord testified against Israel and against Judah, by all of His ^(J)prophets, ^(K)every seer, saying, ^(L)“Turn from your evil ways, and keep My commandments and My statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by My servants the prophets.” ¹⁴ Nevertheless they would not hear, but ^(M)stiffened their necks, like the necks of their fathers, who ^(N)did not believe in the Lord their God. ¹⁵ And they ^(O)rejected His statutes ^(P)and His covenant that He had made with their fathers, and His testimonies which He had testified against them; they followed ^(Q)idols, ^(R)became idolaters, and went after the nations who were all around them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them that they should ^(S)not do like them. ¹⁶ So they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, ^(T)made for themselves a molded image and two calves, ^(U)made a wooden image and worshiped all the ^(V)host of heaven, ^(W)and served Baal. ^17 (X)And they caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire, ^(Y)practiced witchcraft and soothsaying, and ^(Z)sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. ¹⁸ Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them from His sight; there was none left ^(AA)but the tribe of Judah alone.

¹⁹ Also ^(AB)Judah did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. ²⁰ And the Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and ^(AC)delivered them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them from His ^(AD)sight. ²¹ For ^(AE)He tore Israel from the house of David, and ^(AF)they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then Jeroboam drove Israel from following the Lord, and made them commit a great sin. ²² For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them, ²³ until the Lord removed Israel out of His sight, ^(AG)as He had said by all His servants the prophets. ^(AH)So Israel was carried away from their own land to Assyria, as it is to this day.

^6 (A)Yet I have chosen Jerusalem, that My name may be there, and I ^(B)have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’ ⁷ Now ^(C)it was in the heart of my father David to build a ^[a]temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. ⁸ But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well in that it was in your heart. ⁹ Nevertheless you shall not build the temple, but your son who will come from your body, he shall build the temple for My ^(D)name.’ ¹⁰ So the Lord has fulfilled His word which He spoke, and I have filled the position of my father David, and ^(E)sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised; and I have built the temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. ¹¹ And there I have put the ark, ^(F)in which is the covenant of the Lord which He made with the children of Israel.”