2 Kings 17:24-41

International Standard Version

Assyria Supplants the Northern Kingdom

²⁴ Because the king of Assyria brought captives^[a] from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sephar-vaim and settled them in the cities of Samaria to replace the Israelis, the settlers^[b] possessed Samaria and lived in its cities. ²⁵ When they first began to live there, the settlers^[c] did not fear the Lord, so he sent lions among them, and they killed a few of them. ²⁶ As a result, they reported to the king of Assyria, “Because the nations whom you exiled to live in the cities of Samaria don’t know the law^[d] of the god of the land, he has sent lions among them. Look how the lions^[e] are killing them, because they don’t know the law of the god of the land!”

²⁷ So the king of Assyria^[f] issued this order: “Take one of the priests whom you carried away and let him go back and live there. Let him teach them the law of the god of the land.” ²⁸ So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria went to live in Bethel to teach them how they ought to fear the Lord.

Assyrian Settlers Create Lasting Corruption

²⁹ Nevertheless, each nation continued to craft their own gods and install them in the temples on the high places that the people of Samaria had constructed—every nation in their own cities where they continued to live. ³⁰ Settlers^[g] from Babylon built Succoth-benoth, settlers^[h] from Cuth built Nergal, settlers^[i] from Hamath built Ashima, ³¹ and settlers^[j] from Avva built Nibhaz and Tartak. The residents of Sephar-vaim burned their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sephar-vaim.

³² Because they feared the Lord, they also appointed from among themselves priests for the high places who acted on their behalf in the temples on the high places. ³³ While they continued to fear the Lord, they served their own gods, following the custom of the nations whom they had carried away from there. ³⁴ To this very day, they still follow the former customs: they don’t fear the Lord and they don’t live in accordance with the statutes, ordinances, laws, or commandments that the Lord had given to the descendants of Jacob—whom he renamed Israel— ³⁵ and with whom the Lord had made a covenant when he gave these^[k] orders to them:

⁴⁰ But they wouldn’t listen. Instead, they did what they had been doing before. ⁴¹ These nations feared the Lord and also served their carved images. Their descendants did the same thing, as did their grandchildren. Just as their ancestors had done, they also do the same thing to this day.