1 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, A2 Kin 15:30Hoshea the son of Elah became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned nine years. 2 He did evil in the sight of the Loʀᴅ, only not as the kings of Israel who were before him. 3 AHos 10:14Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up B2 Kin 18:9-12against him, and Hoshea became his servant and paid him tribute. 4 But the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea, who had sent messengers to So king of Egypt and had offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year; so the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison.

5 Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land and went up to AHos 13:16Samaria and besieged it three years.

6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, AHos 13:16the king of Assyria captured Samaria and BDeut 28:64; 29:27, 28carried Israel away into exile to Assyria, and C2 Kin 18:11; 1 Chr 5:26settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of DIs 37:12Gozan, and EIs 13:17; 21:2in the cities of the Medes.

7 Now AJosh 23:16this came about because the sons of Israel had sinned against the Loʀᴅ their God, BEx 14:15-30who had brought them up from the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, CJudg 6:10and they had 1Lit revered, and so throughout the chfeared other gods 8 and ALev 18:3; Deut 18:9walked in the 1Lit statutescustoms of the nations whom the Loʀᴅ had driven out before the sons of Israel, and in the customs B2 Kin 16:3; 17:19of the kings of Israel which they had 2Lit madeintroduced. 9 The sons of Israel 1Or uttered words whichdid things secretly which were not right against the Loʀᴅ their God. Moreover, they built for themselves high places in all their towns, from A2 Kin 18:8watchtower to fortified city. 10 AEx 34:12-14They set for themselves sacred pillars and 1I.e. wooden symbols of a female deityB1 Kin 14:23; Mic 5:14Asherim 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 the Loʀᴅ had carried away to exile before them; and they did evil things provoking the Loʀᴅ. 12 They served idols, AEx 20:4concerning which the Loʀᴅ had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.” 13 Yet the ANeh 9:29, 30Loʀᴅ warned Israel and Judah B2 Kin 17:23through all His prophets and C1 Sam 9:9every seer, saying, “DJer 7:3-7; 18:11; Ezek 18:31Turn 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 through My servants the prophets.” 14 However, they did not listen, but AEx 32:9; 33:3; Acts 7:51stiffened their neck 1Lit like the neck oflike their fathers, who did not believe in the Loʀᴅ their God. 15 AJer 8:9They rejected His statutes and BEx 24:6-8; Deut 29:25His covenant which He made with their fathers and His warnings with which He warned them. And CDeut 32:21they followed vanity and DJer 2:5; Rom 1:21-23became vain, and went after the nations which surrounded them, concerning which the EDeut 12:30, 31Loʀᴅ had commanded them not to do like them. 16 They forsook all the commandments of the Loʀᴅ their God and made for themselves molten images, even A1 Kin 12:28two calves, and B1 Kin 14:15, 23made an 1I.e. a wooden symbol of a female deityAsherah and CDeut 4:19; 2 Kin 21:3worshiped all the host of heaven and D1 Kin 16:31served Baal. 17 Then A2 Kin 16:3they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and BLev 19:26; Deut 18:10-12practiced divination and enchantments, and C1 Kin 21:20sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Loʀᴅ, provoking Him. 18 So the Loʀᴅ was very angry with Israel and A2 Kin 17:6removed them from His 1Lit facesight; B1 Kin 11:13, 32, 36none was left except the tribe of Judah.

19 Also A1 Kin 14:22, 23Judah did not keep the commandments of the Loʀᴅ their God, but B2 Kin 16:3walked in the 1Lit statutescustoms 2Lit of Israel which theywhich Israel had 3Lit madeintroduced. 20 The Loʀᴅ rejected all the 1Lit seeddescendants of Israel and afflicted them and A2 Kin 15:29gave them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them 2Lit from His faceout of His sight.

21 When A1 Kin 11:11, 31He had torn Israel from the house of David, B1 Kin 12:20they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then C1 Kin 12:28-33Jeroboam drove Israel away from following the Loʀᴅ and made them 1Lit sincommit a great sin. 22 The sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them 23 A2 Kin 17:6until the Loʀᴅ removed Israel from His sight, B2 Kin 17:13as He spoke through all His servants the prophets. A2 Kin 17:6So Israel was carried away into exile from their own land to Assyria until this day.

24 AEzra 4:2, 10The king of Assyria brought men from Babylon and from Cuthah and from 1In 2 Kin 18:34, IvvahB2 Kin 18:34Avva and from C1 Kin 8:65Hamath and Sepharvaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the sons of Israel. So they possessed Samaria and lived in its cities. 25 At the beginning of their living there, they A2 Kin 17:32-41did not fear the Loʀᴅ; therefore the Loʀᴅ sent lions among them which killed some of them. 26 So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations whom you have carried away into exile in the cities of Samaria do not know the custom of the god of the land; so he has sent lions among them, and behold, they kill them because they do not know the custom of the god of the land.”

27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, “Take there one of the priests whom you carried away into 1Lit exile from thereexile and let 2Lit themhim go and live there; and let him teach them the custom of the god of the land.” 28 So one of the priests whom they had carried away into exile from Samaria came and lived at Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the Loʀᴅ.

29 But every nation still made gods of its own and put them A1 Kin 12:31; 13:32in the houses of the high places which the people of Samaria had made, every nation in their cities in which they lived. 30 A2 Kin 17:24The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, 31 and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and A2 Kin 17:17the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to B2 Kin 19:37Adrammelech and Anammelech the gods of C2 Kin 17:24Sepharvaim. 32 AZeph 1:5They also feared the Loʀᴅ and 1Lit made for themselves from amongB1 Kin 12:31appointed from among themselves priests of the high places, who acted for them in the houses of the high places. 33 They feared the Loʀᴅ and served their own gods according to the custom of the nations from among whom they had been carried away into exile.

34 To this day they do according to the earlier customs: they do not fear the Loʀᴅ, nor do they 1Lit do according tofollow their statutes or their ordinances or the law, or the commandments which the Loʀᴅ commanded the sons of Jacob, AGen 32:28; 35:10whom He named Israel; 35 with whom the Loʀᴅ made a covenant and commanded them, saying, “AJudg 6:10You shall not fear other gods, nor BEx 20:5bow down yourselves to them nor CDeut 5:9serve them nor sacrifice to them. 36  “But the Loʀᴅ, AEx 14:15-30who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and with BEx 6:6; 9:15an outstretched arm, CLev 19:32; Deut 6:13Him you shall fear, and to Him you shall bow yourselves down, and to Him you shall sacrifice. 37  “The statutes and the ordinances and the law and the commandment which He wrote for you, ADeut 5:32you shall observe to do forever; and you shall not fear other gods. 38  “The covenant that I have made with you, ADeut 4:23; 6:12you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods. 39  “But the Loʀᴅ your God you shall fear; and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.” 40 However, they did not listen, but they did according to their earlier custom. 41 AZeph 1:5; Matt 6:24So while these nations feared the Loʀᴅ, they also served their 1Or graven imagesidols; their children likewise and their grandchildren, as their fathers did, so they do to this day.