2 Kings 17:19-32

19Also 1Judah did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God, but 2walked in the 3customs 4which Israel had 5introduced. 20The Lord rejected all the 6descendants of Israel and afflicted them and 7gave them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them 8out of His sight.

21When 9He had torn Israel from the house of David, 10they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then 11Jeroboam drove Israel away from following the Lord and made them 12commit a great sin. 22The sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them 2313until the Lord removed Israel from His sight, 14as He spoke through all His servants the prophets. 15So Israel was carried away into exile from their own land to Assyria until this day.

2416The king of Assyria brought men from Babylon and from Cuthah and from 1718Avva and from 19Hamath and Sepharvaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the sons of Israel. So they possessed Samaria and lived in its cities. 25At the beginning of their living there, they 20did not fear the Lord; therefore the Lord sent lions among them which killed some of them. 26So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations whom you have carried away into exile in the cities of Samaria do not know the custom of the god of the land; so he has sent lions among them, and behold, they kill them because they do not know the custom of the god of the land.”

27Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, “Take there one of the priests whom you carried away into 21exile and let 22him go and live there; and let him teach them the custom of the god of the land.” 28So one of the priests whom they had carried away into exile from Samaria came and lived at Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the Lord.

29But every nation still made gods of its own and put them 23in the houses of the high places which the people of Samaria had made, every nation in their cities in which they lived. 3024The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, 31and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and 25the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to 26Adrammelech and Anammelech the gods of 27Sepharvaim. 3228They also feared the Lord and 2930appointed from among themselves priests of the high places, who acted for them in the houses of the high places.