2 Kings 17 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
In the twelfth year of king of Judah, son of Elah became king of Israel in and he ruled for nine years.
He did what was in but not as badly as the kings of Israel who came before him.
king of Assyria marched against him, and Hoshea became his and paid him
But the of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was Hoshea had sent messengers to So, of and had stopped paying the annual tribute to the of Assyria. So the of Assyria arrested and threw in prison.
Then the king of Assyria invaded the entire land. He marched on Samaria and it for three years.
In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in along the in and in the cities of the
All this happened because the Israelites had been to Yahweh their God, who had them up out of — out from under the power of Pharaoh king of They had other instead
and followed the of the that Yahweh had out before them, as well as the that the kings of Israel had introduced.
The Israelites did against Yahweh their God that were not right. They built in every one of their towns, from the smallest watchtower to the largest fortified city.
They set up and on every high hill and under every green tree.
They at all these worship shrines, just like the nations had deported before them. They did that to
They served even though Yahweh had told them, "You must not do this."
Yahweh had Israel and Judah through every prophet and every from your Keep my commands and my instructions — the entire law I gave your ancestors, the one I delivered to you through my servants the prophets."
But they would not listen. They were as as their ancestors who did not Yahweh their God.
They rejected his instructions and the he had made with their ancestors, along with the warnings he had given them. They chased after and They copied the nations around them — the very thing Yahweh had commanded them not to do.
They abandoned every command of Yahweh their God. They made for themselves. They made a wooden god-pole. They down to all the in the sky. They served
They made their sons and daughters They practiced and They to do what was wrong in Yahweh's eyes, provoking him to anger.
So Yahweh was furious with Israel and them from Only the of was left.
But even Judah didn't keep the commands of Yahweh their God. They followed the same practices that Israel had adopted.
So Yahweh all the of He afflicted them and handed them over to raiders, until he had finally them out of
When Yahweh from the of they made Jeroboam son of Nebat their king. Jeroboam drove from following Yahweh and led them into
The Israelites persisted in all the that Jeroboam had practiced. They never turned away from them,
until Yahweh finally from just as he had warned through all servants the prophets. So was deported from their land to Assyria, where they remain to this
The king of Assyria brought people from Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in the cities of Samaria to replace the Israelites. They of Samaria and lived in its cities.
When they first settled there, they did not worship Yahweh. So Yahweh sent among them, which killed some of them.
They reported to the king of Assyria: "The nations you deported and settled in the cities of Samaria don't know the requirements of the of that So he has sent lions among them, and the lions are killing them because the people don't know what he requires."
So the king of Assyria gave this order: "Send back one of the priests you deported from there. Have him go and live there, and let him teach the people the requirements of the god of that land."
So one of the priests who had been deported from Samaria came and settled in and began teaching the people how to worship Yahweh.
But each national group also made its own gods and set them up in the that the people of Samaria had built on the hilltops. Every group did this in the cities where they lived.
The people from Babylon made The people from Cuthah made The people from Hamath made
The Avvites made and The Sepharvites their in as sacrifices to and the gods of Sepharvaim.
They worshipped Yahweh too, but they also all of their own as for the hilltop shrines, and these offered sacrifices on their behalf.
They worshipped Yahweh, but they also served their own gods according to the customs of the nations they had been deported from.
To this day they continue their old practices. They don't truly worship Yahweh, and they don't follow the rules, the instructions, the law, or the commands that Yahweh gave to the descendants of — the one he
Yahweh had made a covenant with them and commanded them: "Do not worship other gods. Do not down to them, serve them, or sacrifice to them.
Instead, worship Yahweh, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with and an Bow down to him and sacrifice to him alone.
"The the the and the he wrote for you — you must be careful to follow them always. Do not worship other gods.
"Do not forget the covenant I made with you. And do not worship other gods.
"Instead, worship Yahweh your God, and he will you from the power of all your enemies."
But they would not listen. They just kept following their old practices.
So these nations worshipped Yahweh but also served their Their children and their children's children continue to do exactly what their ancestors did, down to this