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2 Kings 17

The Complete Jewish Bible CJB

1 It was in the twelfth year of Achaz king of Y'hudah that Hoshea the son of Elah began his reign over Isra'el in Shomron; he ruled for nine years.

2 He did what was evil from ADONAI's perspective, although he wasn't as bad as the kings of Isra'el who had preceded him.

3 Shalman'eser king of Ashur advanced against Hoshea, and Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute.

4 But the king of Ashur found that Hoshea was conspiring [against him] - he had sent messengers to So the king of Egypt and not paid his tribute to the king of Ashur, as he had previously done every year. For this the king of Ashur imprisoned him, putting him in chains.

5 Then the king of Ashur invaded all the land, advanced on Shomron and put it under siege for three years.

6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Ashur captured Shomron. He carried Isra'el away captive to Ashur, resettling them in Halach, in Havor on the Gozan River and in the cities of the Medes.

7 This came about because the people of Isra'el had sinned against ADONAI their God, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, out from under the domination of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They feared other gods

8 and lived by the customs of the nations that ADONAI had expelled ahead of the people of Isra'el and by those of the kings of Isra'el.

9 The people of Isra'el secretly did things that were not right, according to ADONAI their God. They built high places for themselves wherever they lived, from the watchtower to the fortified city.

10 They set up standing-stones and sacred poles for themselves on any high hill and under any green tree.

11 Then they would make offerings on all the high places, like the nations ADONAI had expelled ahead of them, and would do wicked things to provoke the anger of ADONAI;

12 moreover, they served idols, something ADONAI had expressly told them not to do.

13 ADONAI had warned Isra'el and Y'hudah in advance through every prophet and seer, "Turn from your evil ways; and obey my mitzvot and regulations, in accordance with the entire Torah which I ordered your ancestors to keep and which I sent to you through my servants the prophets."

14 Nevertheless, they refused to listen but made themselves as stubborn as their ancestors, who did not put their trust in ADONAI their God.

15 Thus they rejected his laws; his covenant, which he had made with their ancestors; and the solemn warnings he had given them. Instead they pursued worthless things and became worthless themselves, imitating the nations around them, whom ADONAI had ordered them not to emulate.

16 They abandoned all the mitzvot of ADONAI their God. They made cast metal images for themselves, two calves. They made an asherah. They worshipped the whole army of heaven. They served Ba'al.

17 They had their sons and daughters pass through fire [as a sacrifice]. They used divination and magic spells. And they gave themselves over to do what was evil from ADONAI's perspective, thereby provoking him;

18 so that ADONAI, by now very angry with Isra'el, removed them from his sight. None was left except the tribe of Y'hudah alone.

19 (However, neither did Y'hudah obey the mitzvot of ADONAI their God; rather they lived according to the customs of Isra'el.)

20 Yes, ADONAI came to despise all the descendants of Isra'el. He caused them trouble and handed them over to plunderers, until finally he threw them out of his sight.

21 He tore Isra'el away from the house of David. They made Yarov'am the son of N'vat king; and Yarov'am drew Isra'el away from following ADONAI and made them commit a great sin.

22 The people of Isra'el followed the example of all the sins that Yarov'am had committed and did not turn away from them,

23 until ADONAI removed Isra'el out of his sight, as he had said he would through all his servants the prophets. Thus Isra'el was carried away captive from their own land to Ashur, and it remains so to this day.

24 The king of Ashur brought people from Bavel, Kutah, 'Ava, Hamat and S'farvayim and settled them in the cities of Shomron in place of the people of Isra'el; they took possession of Shomron and lived in its cities.

25 When they first came to live there, they did not fear ADONAI. Therefore ADONAI sent lions among them, which killed some of them.

26 So they said to the king of Ashur, "The nations you carried away and settled in the cities of Shomron are not familiar with the rules for worshipping the God of the land. Therefore he has sent lions among them; and they are there, killing them; because they're not familiar with the rules for worshipping the God of the land."

27 In response, the king of Ashur gave this order: "Take back one of the cohanim you brought from there. Have him go and live there, and have him teach them the rules for worshipping the God of the land."

28 So one of the cohanim they had carried away captive from Shomron came and lived in Beit-El, and he taught them how they should fear ADONAI.

29 Nevertheless, every nation made gods of their own and put them in the temples on the high places which the Shomronim had made, every nation in the cities where they lived.

30 Thus the people from Bavel made Sukkot-B'not, those from Kutah made Nergal, those from Hamat made Ashima,

31 the 'Avim made Nivchaz and Tartak, and the S'farvim burned up their children in the fire as sacrifices to Adramelekh and 'Anamelekh the gods of S'farvayim.

32 So they feared ADONAI, while at the same time they appointed for themselves priests from among themselves to preside at the high places, and they would sacrifice for them in the temples on the high places.

33 They both feared ADONAI and served their own gods in the manner customary among the nations from which they had been taken away.

34 To this day they continue to follow their former [pagan] customs. They do not fear ADONAI. They do not follow the regulations, rulings, Torah or mitzvah which ADONAI ordered the descendants of Ya'akov, to whom he gave the name Isra'el,

35 with whom ADONAI had made a covenant and charged them, "Do not fear other gods or bow down to them, serve them or sacrifice to them.

36 On the contrary, you are to fear ADONAI, who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm. Worship him, and sacrifice to him.

37 You are to observe forever the laws, rulings, Torah and mitzvah which he wrote for you. You are not to fear other gods,

38 and you are not to forget the covenant I made with you. No, you must not fear other gods

39 but must fear ADONAI your God; then he will rescue you from the power of all your enemies."

40 However, they didn't listen, but followed their old [pagan] practices.

41 So these nations mixed fearing ADONAI with serving their carved idols; likewise their children; and to this day, their descendants do the same as their ancestors did.

New Living Translation NLT

1 Hoshea son of Elah began to rule over Israel in the twelfth year of King Ahaz’s reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria nine years.

2 He did what was evil in the LORD ’s sight, but not to the same extent as the kings of Israel who ruled before him.

3 King Shalmaneser of Assyria attacked King Hoshea, so Hoshea was forced to pay heavy tribute to Assyria.

4 But Hoshea stopped paying the annual tribute and conspired against the king of Assyria by asking King So of Egypt to help him shake free of Assyria’s power. When the king of Assyria discovered this treachery, he seized Hoshea and put him in prison.

5 Then the king of Assyria invaded the entire land, and for three years he besieged the city of Samaria.

6 Finally, in the ninth year of King Hoshea’s reign, Samaria fell, and the people of Israel were exiled to Assyria. They were settled in colonies in Halah, along the banks of the Habor River in Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

7 This disaster came upon the people of Israel because they worshiped other gods. They sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them safely out of Egypt and had rescued them from the power of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.

8 They had followed the practices of the pagan nations the LORD had driven from the land ahead of them, as well as the practices the kings of Israel had introduced.

9 The people of Israel had also secretly done many things that were not pleasing to the LORD their God. They built pagan shrines for themselves in all their towns, from the smallest outpost to the largest walled city.

10 They set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles at the top of every hill and under every green tree.

11 They offered sacrifices on all the hilltops, just like the nations the LORD had driven from the land ahead of them. So the people of Israel had done many evil things, arousing the LORD ’s anger.

12 Yes, they worshiped idols, despite the LORD ’s specific and repeated warnings.

13 Again and again the LORD had sent his prophets and seers to warn both Israel and Judah: “Turn from all your evil ways. Obey my commands and decrees—the entire law that I commanded your ancestors to obey, and that I gave you through my servants the prophets.”

14 But the Israelites would not listen. They were as stubborn as their ancestors who had refused to believe in the LORD their God.

15 They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and they despised all his warnings. They worshiped worthless idols, so they became worthless themselves. They followed the example of the nations around them, disobeying the LORD ’s command not to imitate them.

16 They rejected all the commands of the LORD their God and made two calves from metal. They set up an Asherah pole and worshiped Baal and all the forces of heaven.

17 They even sacrificed their own sons and daughters in the fire. They consulted fortune-tellers and practiced sorcery and sold themselves to evil, arousing the LORD ’s anger.

18 Because the LORD was very angry with Israel, he swept them away from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained in the land.

19 But even the people of Judah refused to obey the commands of the LORD their God, for they followed the evil practices that Israel had introduced.

20 The LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel. He punished them by handing them over to their attackers until he had banished Israel from his presence.

21 For when the LORD tore Israel away from the kingdom of David, they chose Jeroboam son of Nebat as their king. But Jeroboam drew Israel away from following the LORD and made them commit a great sin.

22 And the people of Israel persisted in all the evil ways of Jeroboam. They did not turn from these sins

23 until the LORD finally swept them away from his presence, just as all his prophets had warned. So Israel was exiled from their land to Assyria, where they remain to this day.

24 The king of Assyria transported groups of people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and resettled them in the towns of Samaria, replacing the people of Israel. They took possession of Samaria and lived in its towns.

25 But since these foreign settlers did not worship the LORD when they first arrived, the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them.

26 So a message was sent to the king of Assyria: “The people you have sent to live in the towns of Samaria do not know the religious customs of the God of the land. He has sent lions among them to destroy them because they have not worshiped him correctly.”

27 The king of Assyria then commanded, “Send one of the exiled priests back to Samaria. Let him live there and teach the new residents the religious customs of the God of the land.”

28 So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria returned to Bethel and taught the new residents how to worship the LORD .

29 But these various groups of foreigners also continued to worship their own gods. In town after town where they lived, they placed their idols at the pagan shrines that the people of Samaria had built.

30 Those from Babylon worshiped idols of their god Succoth-benoth. Those from Cuthah worshiped their god Nergal. And those from Hamath worshiped Ashima.

31 The Avvites worshiped their gods Nibhaz and Tartak. And the people from Sepharvaim even burned their own children as sacrifices to their gods Adrammelech and Anammelech.

32 These new residents worshiped the LORD, but they also appointed from among themselves all sorts of people as priests to offer sacrifices at their places of worship.

33 And though they worshiped the LORD, they continued to follow their own gods according to the religious customs of the nations from which they came.

34 And this is still going on today. They continue to follow their former practices instead of truly worshiping the LORD and obeying the decrees, regulations, instructions, and commands he gave the descendants of Jacob, whose name he changed to Israel.

35 For the LORD had made a covenant with the descendants of Jacob and commanded them: “Do not worship any other gods or bow before them or serve them or offer sacrifices to them.

36 But worship only the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt with great strength and a powerful arm. Bow down to him alone, and offer sacrifices only to him.

37 Be careful at all times to obey the decrees, regulations, instructions, and commands that he wrote for you. You must not worship other gods.

38 Do not forget the covenant I made with you, and do not worship other gods.

39 You must worship only the LORD your God. He is the one who will rescue you from all your enemies.”

40 But the people would not listen and continued to follow their former practices.

41 So while these new residents worshiped the LORD, they also worshiped their idols. And to this day their descendants do the same.