⁵ Then the king of Assyria went up against the whole land and he went up to ^(A)Samaria and besieged it three years.

Israel Exiled to Assyria

⁶ In the ninth year of Hoshea, ^(B)the king of Assyria captured Samaria and ^(C)took Israel away into exile to Assyria, and ^(D)settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of ^(E)Gozan, and ^(F)in the cities of the Medes.

Israel Rejects Yahweh

⁷ Now ^(G)this happened because the sons of Israel had sinned against Yahweh their God—^(H)who had brought them up from the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt—^(I)and they had ^[a]feared other gods ⁸ and ^(J)walked in the statutes of the nations whom Yahweh had dispossessed from before the sons of Israel, and in the statutes ^(K)of the kings of Israel which they had made. ⁹ And the sons of Israel ^[b]did things secretly which were not right against Yahweh their God. Moreover, they built for themselves high places in all their cities, from ^(L)watchtower to fortified city. ^10 (M)And they set for themselves sacred pillars and ^[c](N)Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, ¹¹ and there they burned incense on all the high places as the nations did which Yahweh had taken away into exile before them; and they did evil things provoking Yahweh to anger. ¹² And they served idols, ^(O)concerning which Yahweh had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.” ¹³ Yet ^(P)Yahweh warned Israel and Judah ^(Q)by the hand of all His prophets and ^(R)every seer, saying, “^(S)Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments, My statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by the hand of My slaves the prophets.” ¹⁴ However, they did not listen, but ^(T)stiffened their neck ^[d]like their fathers, who did not believe in Yahweh their God. ^15 (U)They also rejected His statutes and ^(V)His covenant which He cut with their fathers and His warnings with which He warned them. And ^(W)they followed vanity and ^(X)became vain, and went after the nations which surrounded them, concerning which ^(Y)Yahweh had commanded them not to do like them. ¹⁶ And they forsook all the commandments of Yahweh their God and made for themselves molten images, even ^(Z)two calves, and ^(AA)made an ^[e]Asherah and ^(AB)worshiped all the host of heaven and ^(AC)served Baal. ¹⁷ Then ^(AD)they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and ^(AE)practiced divination and omens, and ^(AF)sold themselves to do what is evil in the sight of Yahweh, provoking Him to anger. ¹⁸ So Yahweh was very angry with Israel and ^(AG)caused them to depart from His ^[f]presence; ^(AH)none was left except the tribe of Judah alone.

¹⁹ Also ^(AI)Judah did not keep the commandments of Yahweh their God, but ^(AJ)walked in the statutes ^[g]which Israel had made. ²⁰ So Yahweh rejected all the seed of Israel and afflicted them and ^(AK)gave them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them ^[h]from His presence.

²¹ When ^(AL)He had torn Israel from the house of David, ^(AM)they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then ^(AN)Jeroboam drove Israel away from following Yahweh and made them sin a great sin. ²² And the sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them ^23 (AO)until Yahweh caused Israel to depart from His presence, ^(AP)as He spoke through all His slaves the prophets. ^(AQ)So Israel went into exile from their own land to Assyria until this day.