 1 In the twelfth year of King Ahaz of Judah Hoshea the son of Elah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, nine years. 2 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, but not like the kings of Israel who were before him. 3 King Shalmaneser of Assyria came up against him and Hoshea became his servant and gave him taxes. 4 The king of Assyria found treachery in Hoshea, for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and had brought no taxes to the king of Assyria, as before, year by year. So the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison. 5 The king of Assyria went into all the land and then went to Samaria and besieged it for three years. 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away into Assyria. He placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river Gozan and in the cities of the Medes. 7 This happened because the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt and they had feared other gods, 8 and walked in the statutes of the nations whom the Lord cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel that the nations had made. 9 The children of Israel secretly did things that were not right against the Lord their God. They built high places in all their cities for themselves, from the Watch Tower to the fortified city. 10 They set up images and Asherahs for themselves in every high hill, and under every green tree. 11 They burned incense in all the high places, like the nations whom the Lord had removed from before them. And did evil things to provoke the Lord to anger. 12 For they served the idols, about which the Lord had said to them, You shall not do this. 13 The Lord testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, by all the seers saying, Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments, my statutes, according to all the law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets. 14 But they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like the neck of their fathers who did not believe in the Lord their God. 15 They rejected His statutes and His covenant that He made with their fathers and His testimonies that He testified against them. They went after the vain thing and became vain like the nations around them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them not to do like them. 16 They left all the commandments of the Lord their God and made molten images of two calves for themselves. They made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal. 17 They caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire. They used divination and incantations and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord to provoke Him to anger. 18 So the Lord was very angry with Israel, and turned them away from His face. Not one was left, only the tribe of Judah by itself. 19 Also Judah did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God, but walked in the statutes that Israel made. 20 The Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel and afflicted them and delivered them into the hand of spoilers until He had cast them out of His sight. 21 He tore Israel from the house of David. Then they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Jeroboam drove Israel away from following the Lord and made them sin a great sin. 22 For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam. They did not depart from them 23 until the Lord turned away His face from Israel as He had said by all His servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away out of their own land to Assyria until this day. 24 The king of Assyria brought men from Babylon and from Cuthah and from Ava and from Hamath and from Sepharvaim and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel. They possessed Samaria and lived in its cities. 25 At the beginning of their dwelling there, that they did not fear the Lord. And the Lord sent lions among them, who killed them. 26 They spoke to the king of Assyria saying, The nations that you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the manner of the God of the land. And He has sent lions among them, and, behold, they kill them because they do not know the way of the God of the land. 27 The king of Assyria commanded saying, Cause one of the priests whom you removed from there to go there. They shall go and live there and he shall teach them the way of the God of the land. 28 One of the priests they had removed from Samaria came and lived in Bethel and taught them how they should fear the Lord. 29 Every nation made gods of their own and put them in the houses of the high places that the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities in which they lived. 30 The men of Babylon made Succothbenoth and the men of Cuth made Nergal and the men of Hamath made Ashima. 31 The Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak and the Sepharvites burned their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech the gods of Sepharvaim. 32 So they feared the Lord and made for themselves, even from the lowest of them, priests for their high places to sacrifice for them in the houses of the high places. 33 They feared the Lord and served their own gods according to the custom of the nations whom they removed from there. 34 Until this day they do according to their former ways. They do not fear the Lord, neither do they do according to their statutes, or according to their ordinances, or according to the law and commandment that the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, whom He named Israel. 35 The Lord had made a covenant and charged them saying, You shall not fear other gods nor bow to them nor serve them nor sacrifice to them. 36 But the Lord, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, you shall fear Him and you shall worship Him and you shall sacrifice to Him. 37 The statutes and ordinances and the law and the commandment that He wrote for you, you shall be careful to do forever. You shall not fear other gods. 38 The covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget, and you shall not fear other gods. 39 You shall fear the Lord your God and He will deliver you from all your enemies. 40 But they did not listen. They followed their former way. 41 These nations feared the Lord and served their graven images, both their childen and their children's children as their fathers did, they do until this day.
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