2 Kings 17:24-33

New American Standard Bible

Cities of Israel Filled with Strangers

²⁴^(A)Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, ^[a]^(B)Avva, ^(C)Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the sons of Israel. So they took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities. ²⁵And at the beginning of their living there, they ^(D)did not fear the Lord; therefore the Lord sent lions among them that were killing some of them. ²⁶So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations whom you have taken 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 killing them because they do not know the custom of the God of the land.”

²⁷Then the king of Assyria issued commands, saying, “Take one of the priests there whom you led into ^[b]exile, and have ^[c]him go and live there; and have him teach them the custom of the God of the land.” ²⁸So one of the priests whom they had led into exile from Samaria came and lived in Bethel, and taught them how they were to fear the Lord.

²⁹But every nation was still making gods of its own, and they put them ^(E)in the houses of the high places which the people of Samaria had made, every nation in their cities in which they lived. ³⁰^(F)The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, ³¹and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and ^(G)the Sepharvites were burning their children in the fire to ^(H)Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of ^(I)Sepharvaim. ³²^(J)They also feared the Lord and ^[d]^(K)appointed from their entire population priests of the high places, who acted for them in the houses of the high places. ³³They feared the Lord, yet they were serving their own gods in accordance with the custom of the nations from among whom they had been taken into exile.