2 Kings 17:1-4

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.