Parallel Bible results for "2 kings 17"

2 Kings 17

New Century Version NCV

1 Hoshea son of Elah became king over Israel during Ahaz's twelfth year as king of Judah. Hoshea ruled in Samaria nine years.

2 He did what the Lord said was wrong, but he was not as bad as the kings of Israel who had ruled before him.

3 Shalmaneser king of Assyria came to attack Hoshea. Hoshea had been Shalmaneser's servant and had made the payments to Shalmaneser that he had demanded.

4 But the king of Assyria found out that Hoshea had made plans against him by sending messengers to So, the king of Egypt. Hoshea had also stopped giving Shalmaneser the payments, which he had paid every year in the past. For that, the king put Hoshea in prison.

5 Then the king of Assyria came and attacked all the land of Israel. He surrounded Samaria and attacked it for three years.

6 He defeated Samaria in the ninth year Hoshea was king, and he took the Israelites away to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes.

7 All these things happened because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God. He had brought them out of Egypt and had rescued them from the power of the king of Egypt, but the Israelites had honored other gods.

8 They lived like the nations the Lord had forced out of the land ahead of them. They lived as their evil kings had shown them,

9 secretly sinning against the Lord their God. They built places to worship gods in all their cities, from the watchtower to the strong, walled city.

10 They put up stone pillars to gods and Asherah idols on every high hill and under every green tree.

11 The Israelites burned incense everywhere gods were worshiped, just as the nations who lived there before them had done, whom the Lord had forced out of the land. The Israelites did wicked things that made the Lord angry.

12 They served idols when the Lord had said, "You must not do this."

13 The Lord used every prophet and seer to warn Israel and Judah. He said, "Stop your evil ways and obey my commands and laws. Follow all the teachings that I commanded your ancestors, the teachings that I gave you through my servants the prophets."

14 But the people would not listen. They were stubborn, just as their ancestors had been who did not believe in the Lord their God.

15 They rejected the Lord's laws and the agreement he had made with their ancestors. And they refused to listen to his warnings. They worshiped useless idols and became useless themselves. They did what the nations around them did, which the Lord had warned them not to do.

16 The people rejected all the commands of the Lord their God. They molded statues of two calves, and they made an Asherah idol. They worshiped all the stars of the sky and served Baal.

17 They made their sons and daughters pass through fire and tried to find out the future by magic and witchcraft. They always chose to do what the Lord said was wrong, which made him angry.

18 Because he was very angry with the people of Israel, he removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left.

19 But even Judah did not obey the commands of the Lord their God. They did what the Israelites had done,

20 so the Lord rejected all the people of Israel. He punished them and let others destroy them; he threw them out of his presence.

21 When the Lord separated them from the family of David, the Israelites made Jeroboam son of Nebat their king. Jeroboam led the Israelites away from the Lord and led them to sin greatly.

22 So they continued to do all the sins Jeroboam did. They did not stop doing these sins

23 until the Lord removed the Israelites from his presence, just as he had said through all his servants the prophets. So the Israelites were taken out of their land to Assyria, and they have been there to this day.

24 The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and put them in the cities of Samaria to replace the Israelites. These people took over Samaria and lived in the cities.

25 At first they did not worship the Lord, so he sent lions among them which killed some of them.

26 The king of Assyria was told, "You sent foreigners into the cities of Samaria who do not know the law of the god of the land. This is why he has sent lions among them. The lions are killing them because they don't know what the god wants."

27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, "Send back one of the priests you took away. Let him live there and teach the people what the god wants."

28 So one of the priests who had been carried away from Samaria returned to live in Bethel. And he taught the people how to honor the Lord.

29 But each nation made gods of its own and put them in the cities where they lived and in the temples where gods were worshiped. These temples had been built by the Samaritans.

30 The people from Babylon made Succoth Benoth their god. The people from Cuthah worshiped Nergal. The people of Hamath worshiped Ashima.

31 The Avvites worshiped Nibhaz and Tartak. The Sepharvites burned their children in the fire, sacrificing them to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.

32 They also honored the Lord, but they chose priests for the places where gods were worshiped. The priests were chosen from among themselves, and they made sacrifices for the people.

33 The people honored the Lord but also served their own gods, just as the nations did from which they had been brought.

34 Even today they do as they did in the past. They do not worship the Lord nor obey his rules and commands. They do not obey the teachings or the commands of the Lord, which he gave to the children of Jacob, whom he had named Israel.

35 The Lord had made an agreement with them and had commanded them, "Do not honor other gods. Do not bow down to them or worship them or offer sacrifices to them.

36 Worship the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and strength. Bow down to him and offer sacrifices to him.

37 Always obey the rules, orders, teachings, and commands he wrote for you. Do not honor other gods.

38 Do not forget the agreement I made with you, and do not honor other gods.

39 Instead worship the Lord your God, who will save you from all your enemies."

40 But the Israelites did not listen. They kept on doing the same things they had done before.

41 So these nations honored the Lord but also worshiped their idols, and their children and grandchildren still do as their ancestors did.

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.