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          DASV: 2 Kings 17    

1 Hoshea the son of Elah began to reign in Samaria over
Israel in the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah. He
reigned for nine years.
2 He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, yet not
as badly as the kings of Israel who were before him.
3 Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against him and
Hoshea became his vassal, and paid him tribute.
4 The king of Assyria found out that Hoshea was plotting
against him for Hoshea had sent messengers to So king of
Egypt, and did not pay his annual tribute to the king
of Assyria. Therefore the king of Assyria arrested him
and locked him up in prison.
5 Then the king of Assyria marched throughout all the
land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it for
three years.
6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria
took Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria.
He resettled them in Halah, and along the Habor River,
the river by Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

7 This happened because the Israelites had sinned
against the LORD their God, who brought them up out
of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh
king of Egypt, where they had worshipped other gods;
8 and walked in the customs of the nations whom the
LORD had driven out before the Israelites, and in
the practices the kings of Israel had introduced.
9 The Israelites secretly did things that were not
right against the LORD their God. They built high
places in all their towns, from the watchtower to
the fortified walled city.
10 They set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles on
every high hill and under every green tree.
11 There they burned incense on all the high places,
as did the nations whom the LORD carried away before
them. They did wicked things that provoked the LORD
to anger.
12 They served idols, although the LORD had told them,
"You must not do this."
13 Yet the LORD warned Israel and Judah through every
prophet and seer, saying, "Turn from your evil ways.
Obey my commandments and my statutes, according
to the entire law I commanded your forefathers
that I sent to you by my servants the prophets."
14 But they still would not listen, but were as
stubborn as their forefathers had been, who did
not believe in the LORD their God.
15 They rejected his statutes and his covenant
that he made with their forefathers, as well as
his warnings by which he warned them. They
pursued worthless idols, and became worthless
themselves by following the practices of the
nations that surrounded them, concerning whom
the LORD had ordered that they should not do
like them.
16 But they abandoned all the commandments of
the LORD their God, and made cast metal images
of two calves, an Asherah pole, and worshipped
all the hosts of heaven, and served Baal.
17 They caused their sons and their daughters
to pass through the fire, and used divination
and sorcery. They sold themselves to do what
was evil in the sight of the LORD provoking
him to anger.

18 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel,
and removed them out of his sight. The only tribe
left was Judah.
19 Judah also refused to keep the commandments
of the LORD their God, but walked in the
practices Israel had introduced.
20 So the LORD rejected all the descendants of
Israel, afflicted them and delivered them into
the hands of those who plundered them, until
he had thrown them out of his sight.
21 He tore Israel from the house of David.
They made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king and
Jeroboam drove Israel from following the LORD,
and made them commit a great sin.
22 The Israelites walked in all the sins that
Jeroboam committed. They did not depart from
them
23 until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight,
as he spoke by all his servants the prophets.
So Israel was exiled from their own land to
Assyria to this day.

24 The king of Assyria brought foreigners from
Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim,
and placed them in the cities of Samaria to replace
the Israelites. They took possession of Samaria
and lived in its towns.
25 So it was when they first settled there, that
they did not worship the LORD, therefore the LORD
sent lions among them, which killed some of them.
26 The king of Assyria was told, "The nations
you have carried away, and resettled in the towns
of Samaria, do not know the law of the god of
the land, so he has sent lions among them, and
they are killing them, because they do not know
the law of the god of the land.
27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, "Send back
one of the priests whom you have deported from
there and let them go and live there. Let him
teach them the law of the god of the land."
28 So one of the priests whom they had carried
away from Samaria came back and lived in Bethel;
and taught them how they should worship the LORD.

29 But the residents from every nation made gods
of their own, and put them in the shrines on
the high places that the Samaritans had made,
every national group did this in the towns where
they were resettled.
30 The people of Babylon made Succoth Benoth,
the people of Cuth made Nergal, the people of
Hamath made Ashima,
31 the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the
Sepharvites burned their children in the fire
to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of
Sepharvaim.
32 So they worshipped the LORD, and appointed
from among themselves priests for the high places,
who sacrificed for them in the shrines on the
high places.
33 They worshipped the LORD, and served their
own gods, after the manner of the nations among
whom they had been deported.
34 To this day they still practice their previous
religious rituals. They did not worship the
LORD nor did they obey the statutes, regulations,
law or the commandment that the LORD commanded
the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel.

35 The LORD had made a covenant, and commanded
them, "Do not worship other gods, bow down to
them, serve them or sacrifice to them.
36 But worship the LORD, who brought you up
out of the land of Egypt with great power
and with an outstretched arm. Bow down and
offer sacrifices to him.
37 Carefully observe forever all the statutes,
regulations, laws and the commandments,
he wrote for you. Do not worship other gods.
38 You must not forget the covenant that I
have made with you. Do not worship other gods.
39 But worship the LORD your God and he will
deliver you out of the hand of all your
enemies."
40 They refused to listen, but persisted
in their previous practices.
41 So these nations worshipped the LORD,
and served their carved idols. Their
children likewise, and their children's
children, as their fathers did, and this
is what they do to this day.

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