Open English Translation 2KI Chapter 17

17 In the twelfth year of King Ahaz’s reign over Yehudah, Elah’s son Hoshea became king over Israel and he reigned from Shomron (Samaria) for nine years. 2 He did what Yahweh had said was evil, although nothing like the Israeli kings who’d preceded him. 3 Assyria’s King Shalmaneser attacked and defeated him, and Hoshea became his servant and paid tribute to him. 4 But the Assyrian king discovered that Hoshea was planning a revolt and had sent messengers to the Egyptian King So and hadn’t kept up the annual tribute payment. So the Assyrian king arrested Hoshea and imprisoned him.

5 Then the Assyrian king attacked the whole country, including besieging Shomron (Samaria) for three years. 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea’s reign, the Assyrian king captured Shomron. He exiled the Israelis to Assyria and settled them in Halah, and in Havor along the Gozan River, and in the cities of the Medes.

7 That happened because the Israelis had sinned against their God Yahweh who had rescued them from King Far-oh in Egypt. They had sinned by worshipping other gods 8 and imitating the customs of the people groups who Yahweh had driven out of the country ahead of them. They had also followed their kings in doing evil things. 9 The Israelis had done things secretly that their God Yahweh had said weren’t right, and they’d built hilltop shrines everywhere from the largest fortified cities to the smallest towns. 10 They had also erected stone pillars to honour gods and Asherah pole on every high hill and under every large tree,[ref] 11 and they had burnt incense there on all those hilltops just like the people groups that Yahweh had driven off the land ahead of them—doing those evil things had made Yahweh angry. 12 They had served idols even when Yahweh had forbidden them from doing that.

13 So Yahweh had warned Israel and Yehudah by the proclamations of all of his prophets who said, “Turn from your evil ways and obey my commands and statutes, following all of the instructions that I gave your ancestors and which I delivered to you through my servants, the prophets.” 14 However, they hadn’t listened and had hardened their attitudes just like their ancestors who wouldn’t put their trust in their God Yahweh. 15 They rejected his statutes and the agreement that he made with their ancestors, and the warning that he gave them. They chose to worship lifeless objects, and they became hollow and empty themselves, just like the people of the surrounding countries which Yahweh had commanded them not to imitate. 16 They disobeyed the instructions given to them by their God Yahweh by molding two metal calves for themselves and making an Asherah pole. Then they bowed down and worshipped the sun, moon, and stars, and they served Baal.[ref] 17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters, and used fortune-tellers and witchcraft—making themselves slaves to evil by doing what Yahweh had forbidden, and so making him angry.[ref] 18 So that’s why Yahweh had become very angry at the northern kingdom of Israel and caused them to be removed from the land. Only the southern kingdom of Yehudah remained, 19 but even they didn’t obey the commands of their God Yahweh, but copied much of the bad behaviour of the northern kingdom. 20 So Yahweh rejected all the Israelis and he caused them to suffer, including being plundered by enemy armies, until he banished them from his presence.

21 Firstly he’d torn the northern kingdom out from the leadership of David’s descendants and they’d made Nebat’s son Yarave’am king. Then Yarave’am had driven them away from following Yahweh, and had induced them into serious sin. 22 So the Israelis had followed Yarave’am into sin and then didn’t turn away from it, 23 and finally Yahweh had removed the people of the northern kingdom of Israel from his presence just like he’d warned he would through the messages of his servants, the prophets. So the people were deported to Assyria where they remain to this day.

24 Then the Assyrian king sent people from Babylon and from Kutah and from Avva and from Hamat and Sefarvayim, and he settled them in the cities of the northern kingdom in place of the Israelis. And they possessed Shomron (Samaria) and lived in its towns. 25 At first the new inhabitants living there didn’t respect Yahweh, however he sent lions among them and they started killing them. 26 They told the Assyrian king, “The people groups that you exiled from their own countries and settled in the towns around Shomron, don’t know the customs of the God of the land. So he’s sent lions against them, and look at them—killing them because they don’t know the customs of the God of the land.” 27 “Send one of the priests back that was brought from there,” the Assyrian king commanded. “He can go back there and settle there again, then he can teach them the customs of the God of that place.” 28 So they found one of the priests who had been exiled from Shomron and sent him back to Israel. He settled in Beyt-El and taught the people how Yahweh wanted to be served.

29 But each people group had made their own gods and put them in the hilltop shrines that the Israelis had made before being exiled. Each people group did that in the area where they’d been resettled. 30 Those from Babylon made their god Succot-Benot, those from Kutah made Nergal, those from Hamat made their god Ashima, 31 and the Avvites made Nivhaz and Tartak. The Sefarvites sacrificed their own sons in the fire to their gods Adrammelek and Anammelek. 32 At the same time, they tried placating Yahweh, but they also made their own priests to make sacrifices for them in their hilltop shrines. 33 So they were worshipping Yahweh along with their own gods—they’d brought those customs with them from the countries they’d been exiled from 34 and which they still follow to this day.[ref]

They’re not actually obeying Yahweh because they’re not obeying the statutes or laws, or instructions or behaviour that Yahweh commanded the descendants of Yakob (who he’d renamed to ‘Israel’). 35 Yahweh had made an agreement with them and had commanded them, “You all must not honour other gods or bow to them. You all must not serve them or sacrifice to them.[ref] 36 Only serve Yahweh who used his incredible power to rescue you all out of Egypt. Honour him, and only bow to him and sacrifice to him.[ref] 37 Always take care to obey the statutes and customs, and the law and the instructions that he wrote for you, and you all must not honour other gods. 38 Don’t forget the agreement that I made with you all, and don’t honour other gods— 39 only your God Yahweh, and then he himself will rescue you from all your enemies.” 40 However, they didn’t listen, preferring to follow the customs from their former places of residence.

41 So those people groups honoured Yahweh, but also served their idols. This continued through the generations with their descendants continuing the same behaviour.