⁵ Then the king of Assyria invaded the entire land, and went up to ^(A)Samaria and besieged it for three years.

Israel Captive

⁶ In the ninth year of Hoshea, ^(B)the king of Assyria captured Samaria and ^(C)led the people of Israel 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.

Why Israel Fell

⁷ Now ^(G)this came about because the sons of Israel had sinned against the Lord 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 They also ^[b](J)followed the ^[c]customs of the nations whom the Lord had driven out from the sons of Israel, and in the customs ^(K)of the kings of Israel which they had ^[d]introduced. ⁹ And the sons of Israel ^[e]did things secretly against the Lord their God which were not right. Moreover, they built for themselves high places in all their towns, from ^(L)watchtower to fortified city. ¹⁰ And ^(M)they set up for themselves memorial stones and ^[f](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 that the Lord had taken into exile before them; and they did evil things, provoking the Lord. ¹² They served idols, ^(O)concerning which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.” ¹³ Yet the ^(P)Lord warned Israel and Judah ^[g](Q)through all His prophets and ^(R)every seer, saying, “^(S)Turn back from your evil ways and keep My commandments and My statutes in accordance with all the Law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you ^[h]through My servants the prophets.” ¹⁴ However, they did not listen, but ^(T)stiffened their neck ^[i]like their fathers, who did not believe in the Lord their God. ^15 (U)They rejected His statutes and ^(V)His covenant which He made with their fathers, and His warnings which He ^[j]gave them. And ^(W)they followed ^[k]idols and ^(X)became empty, and followed the nations that surrounded them, about which the ^(Y)Lord had commanded them not to do as they did. ¹⁶ And they abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God and made for themselves cast metal images: ^(Z)two calves. And they ^(AA)made an ^[l]Asherah, and ^(AB)worshiped all the heavenly ^[m]lights, and ^(AC)served Baal. ¹⁷ Then ^(AD)they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and they ^(AE)practiced divination and interpreting omens, and ^(AF)gave themselves over to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him. ¹⁸ So the Lord was very angry with Israel, and He ^(AG)removed them from His ^[n]sight; ^(AH)no one was left except the tribe of Judah.

^19 (AI)Judah did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God either, but they ^[o](AJ)followed the ^[p]customs ^[q]which Israel had ^[r]introduced. ²⁰ So the Lord rejected all the ^[s]descendants of Israel and afflicted them and ^(AK)handed them over to plunderers, until He had cast them ^[t]out of His sight.

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 the Lord and misled them into a great sin. ²² And the sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he committed; they did not desist from them ^23 (AO)until the Lord removed Israel from His sight, ^(AP)just as He had spoken through all His servants the prophets. ^(AQ)So Israel went into exile from their own land to Assyria until this day.