2 Kings 17:5-24

5Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land and went up to 1Samaria and besieged it three years. 6In the ninth year of Hoshea, 2the king of Assyria captured Samaria and 3carried Israel away into exile to Assyria, and 4settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of 5Gozan, and 6in the cities of the Medes.

7Now 7this came about because the sons of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, 8who had brought them up from the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, 9and they had 10feared other gods 8and 11walked in the 12customs of the nations whom the Lord had driven out before the sons of Israel, and in the customs 13of the kings of Israel which they had 14introduced. 9The sons of Israel 15did things secretly which were not right against the Lord their God. Moreover, they built for themselves high places in all their towns, from 16watchtower to fortified city. 1017They set for themselves sacred pillars and 1819Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, 11and there they burned incense on all the high places as the nations did which the Lord had carried away to exile before them; and they did evil things provoking the Lord. 12They served idols, 20concerning which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.” 13Yet the 21Lord warned Israel and Judah 22through all His prophets and 23every seer, saying, “24Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments, My statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you through My servants the prophets.” 14However, they did not listen, but 25stiffened their neck 26like their fathers, who did not believe in the Lord their God. 1527They rejected His statutes and 28His covenant which He made with their fathers and His warnings with which He warned them. And 29they followed vanity and 30became vain, and went after the nations which surrounded them, concerning which the 31Lord had commanded them not to do like them. 16They forsook all the commandments of the Lord their God and made for themselves molten images, even 32two calves, and 33made an 34Asherah and 35worshiped all the host of heaven and 36served Baal. 17Then 37they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and 38practiced divination and enchantments, and 39sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him. 18So the Lord was very angry with Israel and 40removed them from His 41sight; 42none was left except the tribe of Judah.

19Also 43Judah did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God, but 44walked in the 45customs 46which Israel had 47introduced. 20The Lord rejected all the 48descendants of Israel and afflicted them and 49gave them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them 50out of His sight.

21When 51He had torn Israel from the house of David, 52they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then 53Jeroboam drove Israel away from following the Lord and made them 54commit a great sin. 22The sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them 2355until the Lord removed Israel from His sight, 56as He spoke through all His servants the prophets. 57So Israel was carried away into exile from their own land to Assyria until this day.

2458The king of Assyria brought men from Babylon and from Cuthah and from 5960Avva and from 61Hamath 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.