Parallel Bible results for "2 kings 17"

2 Kings 17

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.

Common English Bible CEB

1 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.

5 Then the Assyrian king invaded the whole country. He marched against Samaria and attacked it for three years.

6 In Hoshea's ninth year, the Assyrian king captured Samaria. He sent Israel into exile to Assyria, resettling them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes.

7 All this happened because the Israelites sinned against the LORD their God, who brought them up from the land of Egypt, out from under the power of Pharaoh, Egypt's king. They worshipped other gods.

8 They followed the practices of the nations that the LORD had removed before the Israelites, as well as the practices that the Israelite kings had done.

9 The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that weren't right. They built shrines in all their towns, from watchtowers to fortified cities.

10 They set up sacred pillars and sacred poles on every high hill and beneath every green tree.

11 At every shrine they burned incense, just as the nations did that the LORD sent into exile before them. They did evil things that made the LORD angry.

12 They worshipped images about which the LORD had said, Don't do such things!

13 The LORD warned Israel and Judah through all the prophets and seers, telling them, Turn from your evil ways. Keep my commandments and my regulations in agreement with the entire Instruction that I commanded your ancestors and sent through my servants the prophets.

14 But they wouldn't listen. They were stubborn like their ancestors who didn't trust the LORD their God.

15 They rejected his regulations and the covenant he had made with their ancestors, along with the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless images so that they too became worthless. And they imitated the neighboring nations that the LORD had forbidden them to imitate.

16 They deserted all the commandments of the LORD their God. They made themselves two metal idols cast in the shape of calves and made a sacred pole. They bowed down to all the heavenly bodies. They served Baal.

17 They burned their sons and daughters alive. They practiced divination and sought omens. They gave themselves over to doing what was evil in the LORD's eyes and made him angry.

18 So the LORD was very angry at Israel. He removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah was spared.

19 But Judah didn't keep the commands of the LORD their God either. They followed the practices of Israel.

20 So the LORD rejected all of Israel's descendants. He punished them, and he handed them over to enemies who plundered them until he finally threw them out of his sight.

21 When Israel broke away from David's dynasty, they made Nebat's son Jeroboam the king. Jeroboam drove Israel away from the LORD. He caused them to commit great sin.

22 And the Israelites continued walking in all the sins that Jeroboam did. They didn't deviate from them,

23 and the LORD finally removed Israel from his presence. That was exactly what he had warned through all his servants the prophets. So Israel was exiled from its land to Assyria. And that's still how it is today.

24 The Assyrian king brought people from Babylon, Cuth, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, resettling them in the cities of Samaria in place of the Israelites. These people took control of Samaria and settled in its cities.

25 But when they began to live there, they didn't worship the LORD, so the LORD sent lions against them, and the lions began to kill them.

26 Assyria's king was told about this: "The nations you sent into exile and resettled in the cities of Samaria don't know the religious practices of the local god. He's sent lions against them, and the lions are killing them because none of them know the religious practices of the local god."

27 So Assyria's king commanded, "Return one of the priests that you exiled from there. He should go back and live there. He should teach them the religious practices of the local god."

28 So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria went back. He lived in Bethel and taught the people how to worship the LORD.

29 But each nationality still made its own gods. They set them up in the houses that the people of Samaria had made at the shrines. Each nationality did this in whichever cities they lived.

30 The Babylonian people made the god Succoth-benoth, the Cuthean people made Nergal, and the people from Hamath made Ashima.

31 The Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak. The Sepharvites burned their children alive as a sacrifice to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the Sepharvite gods.

32 They also worshipped the LORD, but they appointed priests for the shrines from their whole population. These priests worked in the houses at the shrines.

33 So they worshipped the LORD, but they also served their own gods according to the religious practices of the nations from which they had been exiled.

34 They are still following their former religious practices to this very day. They don't really worship the LORD. Nor do they follow the regulations, the case laws, the Instruction, or the commandment that the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he renamed Israel.

35 The LORD had made a covenant with them, commanding them, Don't worship other gods. Don't bow down to them or serve them. Don't sacrifice to them.

36 Instead, worship only the LORD. He's the one who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great strength and an outstretched arm. Bow down to him! Sacrifice to him!

37 You must carefully keep the regulations and case laws, the Instruction, and the commandment that he wrote for you. Don't worship other gods.

38 Don't forget the covenant that I made with you. Don't worship other gods.

39 Instead, worship only the LORD your God. He will rescue you from your enemies' power.

40 But they wouldn't listen. Instead, they continued doing their former religious practices.

41 So these nations worship the LORD, but they also serve their idols. The children and the grandchildren are doing the very same thing their parents did. And that's how things still are today.