2 Kings 17:3-23

31Shalmaneser the king of Assyria marched 2against him, and Hoshea became his servant and paid him tribute. 4But the king of Assyria uncovered a conspiracy by Hoshea, who had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and had then brought no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year; so the king of Assyria arrested him and confined him in prison.

5Then the king of Assyria invaded the entire land, and went up to 3Samaria and besieged it for three years. 6In the ninth year of Hoshea, 4the king of Assyria captured Samaria and 5led the people of Israel into exile to Assyria, and 6settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of 7Gozan, and 8in the cities of the Medes.

7Now 9this came about because the sons of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, 10who had brought them up from the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; 11and they had 12feared other gods. 8They also 1314followed the 15customs of the nations whom the Lord had driven out from the sons of Israel, and in the customs 16of the kings of Israel which they had 17introduced. 9And the sons of Israel 18did things secretly against the Lord their God which were not right. Moreover, they built for themselves high places in all their towns, from 19watchtower to fortified city. 10And 20they set up for themselves memorial stones and 2122Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, 11and there they burned incense on all the high places as the nations did that the Lord had taken into exile before them; and they did evil things, provoking the Lord. 12They served idols, 23concerning which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.” 13Yet the 24Lord warned Israel and Judah 2526through all His prophets and 27every seer, saying, “28Turn back from your evil ways and keep My commandments and My statutes in accordance with all the Law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you 29through My servants the prophets.” 14However, they did not listen, but 30stiffened their neck 31like their fathers, who did not believe in the Lord their God. 1532They rejected His statutes and 33His covenant which He made with their fathers, and His warnings which He 34gave them. And 35they followed 36idols and 37became empty, and followed the nations that surrounded them, about which the 38Lord had commanded them not to do as they did. 16And they abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God and made for themselves cast metal images: 39two calves. And they 40made an 41Asherah, and 42worshiped all the heavenly 43lights, and 44served Baal. 17Then 45they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and they 46practiced divination and interpreting omens, and 47gave themselves over to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him. 18So the Lord was very angry with Israel, and He 48removed them from His 49sight; 50no one was left except the tribe of Judah.

1951Judah did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God either, but they 5253followed the 54customs 55which Israel had 56introduced. 20So the Lord rejected all the 57descendants of Israel and afflicted them and 58handed them over to plunderers, until He had cast them 59out of His sight.

21When 60He had torn Israel from the house of David, 61they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then 62Jeroboam drove Israel away from following the Lord and misled them into a great sin. 22And the sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he committed; they did not desist from them 2363until the Lord removed Israel from His sight, 64just as He had spoken through all His servants the prophets. 65So Israel went into exile from their own land to Assyria until this day.