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2 Kings 17 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

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Hoshea Rules in Israel
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:1 - Hoshea son of Elah began to rule over Israel in the twelfth year of King Ahaz’s reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria nine years.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:2 - He did what was evil in the LORD’s sight, but not to the same extent as the kings of Israel who ruled before him.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:3 - King Shalmaneser of Assyria attacked King Hoshea, so Hoshea was forced to pay heavy tribute to Assyria.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:4 - But Hoshea stopped paying the annual tribute and conspired against the king of Assyria by asking King So of Egypt[fn] to help him shake free of Assyria’s power. When the king of Assyria discovered this treachery, he seized Hoshea and put him in prison.
Samaria Falls to Assyria
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:5 - Then the king of Assyria invaded the entire land, and for three years he besieged the city of Samaria.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:6 - Finally, in the ninth year of King Hoshea’s reign, Samaria fell, and the people of Israel were exiled to Assyria. They were settled in colonies in Halah, along the banks of the Habor River in Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:7 - This disaster came upon the people of Israel because they worshiped other gods. They sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them safely out of Egypt and had rescued them from the power of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:8 - They had followed the practices of the pagan nations the LORD had driven from the land ahead of them, as well as the practices the kings of Israel had introduced.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:9 - The people of Israel had also secretly done many things that were not pleasing to the LORD their God. They built pagan shrines for themselves in all their towns, from the smallest outpost to the largest walled city.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:10 - They set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles at the top of every hill and under every green tree.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:11 - They offered sacrifices on all the hilltops, just like the nations the LORD had driven from the land ahead of them. So the people of Israel had done many evil things, arousing the LORD’s anger.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:12 - Yes, they worshiped idols,[fn] despite the LORD’s specific and repeated warnings.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:13 - Again and again the LORD had sent his prophets and seers to warn both Israel and Judah: “Turn from all your evil ways. Obey my commands and decrees—the entire law that I commanded your ancestors to obey, and that I gave you through my servants the prophets.”
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:14 - But the Israelites would not listen. They were as stubborn as their ancestors who had refused to believe in the LORD their God.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:15 - They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and they despised all his warnings. They worshiped worthless idols, so they became worthless themselves. They followed the example of the nations around them, disobeying the LORD’s command not to imitate them.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:16 - They rejected all the commands of the LORD their God and made two calves from metal. They set up an Asherah pole and worshiped Baal and all the forces of heaven.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:17 - They even sacrificed their own sons and daughters in the fire.[fn] They consulted fortune-tellers and practiced sorcery and sold themselves to evil, arousing the LORD’s anger.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:18 - Because the LORD was very angry with Israel, he swept them away from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained in the land.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:19 - But even the people of Judah refused to obey the commands of the LORD their God, for they followed the evil practices that Israel had introduced.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:20 - The LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel. He punished them by handing them over to their attackers until he had banished Israel from his presence.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:21 - For when the LORD[fn] tore Israel away from the kingdom of David, they chose Jeroboam son of Nebat as their king. But Jeroboam drew Israel away from following the LORD and made them commit a great sin.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:22 - And the people of Israel persisted in all the evil ways of Jeroboam. They did not turn from these sins
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:23 - until the LORD finally swept them away from his presence, just as all his prophets had warned. So Israel was exiled from their land to Assyria, where they remain to this day.
Foreigners Settle in Israel
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:24 - The king of Assyria transported groups of people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and resettled them in the towns of Samaria, replacing the people of Israel. They took possession of Samaria and lived in its towns.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:25 - But since these foreign settlers did not worship the LORD when they first arrived, the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:26 - So a message was sent to the king of Assyria: “The people you have sent to live in the towns of Samaria do not know the religious customs of the God of the land. He has sent lions among them to destroy them because they have not worshiped him correctly.”
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:27 - The king of Assyria then commanded, “Send one of the exiled priests back to Samaria. Let him live there and teach the new residents the religious customs of the God of the land.”
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:28 - So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria returned to Bethel and taught the new residents how to worship the LORD.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:29 - But these various groups of foreigners also continued to worship their own gods. In town after town where they lived, they placed their idols at the pagan shrines that the people of Samaria had built.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:30 - Those from Babylon worshiped idols of their god Succoth-benoth. Those from Cuthah worshiped their god Nergal. And those from Hamath worshiped Ashima.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:31 - The Avvites worshiped their gods Nibhaz and Tartak. And the people from Sepharvaim even burned their own children as sacrifices to their gods Adrammelech and Anammelech.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:32 - These new residents worshiped the LORD, but they also appointed from among themselves all sorts of people as priests to offer sacrifices at their places of worship.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:33 - And though they worshiped the LORD, they continued to follow their own gods according to the religious customs of the nations from which they came.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:34 - And this is still going on today. They continue to follow their former practices instead of truly worshiping the LORD and obeying the decrees, regulations, instructions, and commands he gave the descendants of Jacob, whose name he changed to Israel.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:35 - For the LORD had made a covenant with the descendants of Jacob and commanded them: “Do not worship any other gods or bow before them or serve them or offer sacrifices to them.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:36 - But worship only the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt with great strength and a powerful arm. Bow down to him alone, and offer sacrifices only to him.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:37 - Be careful at all times to obey the decrees, regulations, instructions, and commands that he wrote for you. You must not worship other gods.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:38 - Do not forget the covenant I made with you, and do not worship other gods.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:39 - You must worship only the LORD your God. He is the one who will rescue you from all your enemies.”
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:40 - But the people would not listen and continued to follow their former practices.
Unchecked Copy Box2Ki 17:41 - So while these new residents worshiped the LORD, they also worshiped their idols. And to this day their descendants do the same.
NLT Footnotes
Or by asking the king of Egypt at Sais.
The Hebrew term (literally round things) probably alludes to dung.
Or They even made their sons and daughters pass through the fire.
Hebrew he; compare 1 Kgs 11:31-32.
NLT

Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.

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