Hoshea, Israel's Last King
Samaria falls after a three-year siege and Israel is deported. The writer stops the story to say why: they served idols despite every prophet's warning. Foreigners resettled in the land are taught to fear our Father while still serving their own gods, and their children still do.
17 1In Ahaz king of Judah's twelfth year, Hoshea son of Elah became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years. 2He did evil in our Father's sight, though not like the kings of Israel before him. 3Shalmaneser king of Assyria marched up against him, and Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute. 4But Assyria's king discovered that Hoshea was plotting treachery: he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt and stopped paying Assyria's king the yearly tribute. So Assyria's king seized and bound him in prison. 5The king of Assyria invaded the whole land, marched up to Samaria, and besieged it three years.
Samaria Falls to Assyria
6In Hoshea's ninth year Assyria's king took Samaria, exiled Israel to Assyria, settling them in Halah, on the Habor, Gozan's river, and in Media's cities.
7All this happened because Israel sinned against our Father, who brought them up from Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and they worshiped other gods, 8and followed the customs of the nations our Father drove out before them, and those Israel's kings introduced. 9Israel secretly did wrong against our Father, building high places in all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city. 10They set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. 11At every high place they burned incense, like the nations our Father drove out before them. They did evil that provoked our Father to anger.
12They served idols, though our Father had told them, "You must not do this." 13Our Father warned Israel and Judah through every prophet and seer: "Turn from your evil ways and keep my commands and decrees—the whole law I gave your ancestors and sent you through my servants the prophets."
14But they would not listen. They stiffened their necks like their ancestors, who did not trust our Father. 15They rejected his decrees, the covenant with their ancestors, and his warnings. They chased worthless idols and became worthless, imitating the surrounding nations our Father forbade them to copy. 16They abandoned all our Father's commandments, made two cast calf idols and an Asherah pole, bowed to all heaven's starry host, and served Baal. 17They burned their sons and daughters as sacrifices, practiced fortune-telling and witchcraft, sold themselves to do evil before our Father, provoking his anger. 18So our Father, furious with Israel, removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained, 19Judah too did not keep the commands of our Father, but followed Israel's practices. 20So our Father rejected all Israel's descendants, brought suffering on them, and handed them to raiders until he cast them from his presence. 21When our Father tore Israel from the house of David, they crowned Jeroboam son of Nebat their king. Jeroboam drove Israel from following our Father and led them into great sin. 22Israel persisted in all the sins Jeroboam committed; they did not turn from them, 23until our Father removed Israel from his presence, as he said through all his servant prophets. So Israel was exiled from their land to Assyria, remaining there to this day.
Strangers Settle the Land
24Assyria's king brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, settling them in Samaria's towns to replace Israel. They took over Samaria and lived in its towns. 25When they first lived there, they didn't worship our Father; so he sent lions among them that killed some of them. 26They told Assyria's king: "The nations you deported to Samaria's towns don't know what the god of the land requires. So he sent lions among them, killing them, because they don't know what the land's god requires."
27Assyria's king ordered: "Send back one priest you exiled from Samaria. Let him live there and teach the people what the land's god requires."
28So one of the priests deported from Samaria settled in Bethel and taught them how to worship our Father.
29But each nation made its own gods and set them in the high-place shrines the Samaritans built, each nation in the towns where it lived. 30The people from Babylon made Succoth-benoth, those from Cuth made Nergal, those from Hamath made Ashima, 31the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire as sacrifices to Adrammelech and Anammelech, gods of Sepharvaim. 32They worshiped our Father yet appointed from among themselves all sorts of priests for the high places, who sacrificed for them at the shrines. 33They worshiped our Father, yet served their own gods by the customs of the nations they were deported from. 34To this day they keep their former customs. They do not worship our Father, nor do they follow statutes, rules, law, and commandment our Father gave Jacob's children, whom he named Israel.
35When our Father made a covenant with them, he commanded them: "Don't worship, bow to, serve, or sacrifice to other gods. 36But your Father brought you out of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm—worship him. Bow to him; offer sacrifices to him. 37Always be careful to keep the statutes, rules, law, and commandment he wrote for you. Do not worship other gods. 38Do not forget the covenant I made with you, and do not worship other gods. 39But worship your Father, and he will rescue you from the hand of all your enemies."
40They would not listen, however, but persisted in their former customs. 41These nations worshiped our Father yet served their idols. Their children and grandchildren do as their ancestors did, to this day.
