2 Kings 17
1 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah has reigned over Israel in Samaria, nine years,
In the twelfth year of Ahaz, king of Judah, Hoshea, the son of Elah, became king over Israel in Samaria, ruling for nine years.
2 and he does evil in the eyes of YHWH, only, not as the kings of Israel who were before him;
He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, though not like the kings of Israel before him.
3 Shalmaneser king of Asshur came up against him, and Hoshea is a servant to him, and renders a present to him.
Against him came up Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, and Hoshea became his servant and sent him offerings.
4 And the king of Asshur finds in Hoshea a conspiracy, in that he has sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and has not caused a present to go up to the king of Asshur, as year by year, and the king of Asshur restrains him, and binds him in a house of restraint.
But Hoshea's broken faith became clear to the king of Assyria because he had sent representatives to So, king of Egypt, and did not send his offering to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year: so the king of Assyria had him shut up in prison and put in chains.
5 And the king of Asshur goes up into all the land, and he goes up to Samaria, and lays siege against it [for] three years;
Then the king of Assyria went through all the land and came up to Samaria, shutting it in with his forces for three years.
6 in the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Asshur has captured Samaria, and removes Israel to Asshur, and causes them to dwell in Halah, and in Habor, [by] the river Gozan, and [in] the cities of the Medes.
In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria, and took Israel away to Assyria, placing them in Halah and in Habor on the river Gozan, and in the towns of the Medes.
7 And it comes to pass, because the sons of Israel have sinned against their God YHWH—who brings them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt—and fear other gods,
And the wrath of the Lord came on Israel because they had done evil against the Lord their God, who took them out of the land of Egypt from under the yoke of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and had become worshippers of other gods,
8 and walk in the statutes of the nations that YHWH dispossessed from the presence of the sons of Israel, and of the kings of Israel that they made;
Living by the rules of the nations whom the Lord had sent out from before the children of Israel.
9 and the sons of Israel covertly do things that [are] not right against their God YHWH, and build high places for themselves in all their cities, from a tower of the watchers to the fortified city,
And the children of Israel did secretly against the Lord their God things which were not right, building high places for themselves in all their towns, from the tower of the watchmen to the walled town.
10 and set up standing-pillars and Asherim for themselves on every high height, and under every green tree,
They put up pillars of stone and wood on every high hill and under every green tree:
11 and make incense there in all high places, like the nations that YHWH removed from their presence, and do evil things to provoke YHWH,
Burning their offerings in all the high places, as those nations did whom the Lord sent away from before them; they did evil things, moving the Lord to wrath;
12 and serve the idols, of which YHWH said to them, “You do not do this thing.”
And they made themselves servants of disgusting things, though the Lord had said, You are not to do this.
13 And YHWH testifies against Israel, and against Judah, by the hand of every prophet, and every seer, saying, “Turn back from your evil ways, and keep My commands, My statutes, according to all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by the hand of My servants the prophets”;
And he gave witness to Israel and Judah, by every prophet and seer, saying, Come back from your evil ways, and do my orders and keep my rules, and be guided by the law which I gave to your fathers and sent to you by my servants the prophets.
14 and they have not listened, and harden their neck, like the neck of their fathers, who did not remain steadfast in their God YHWH,
And they did not give ear, but became stiff-necked, like their fathers who had no faith in the Lord their God.
15 and reject His statutes and His covenant that He made with their fathers, and His testimonies that He testified against them, and go after the vain thing, and become vain, and after the nations that are around them, of whom YHWH commanded them not to do like them.
And they went against his rules, and the agreement which he made with their fathers, and his laws which he gave them; they gave themselves up to things without sense or value, and became foolish like the nations round them, of whom the Lord had said, Do not as they do.
16 And they forsake all the commands of their God YHWH, and make a molten image for themselves—two calves, and make an Asherah, and bow themselves to all the host of the heavens, and serve Ba‘al,
And turning their backs on all the orders which the Lord had given them, they made for themselves images of metal, and the image of Asherah, worshipping all the stars of heaven and becoming servants to Baal.
17 and cause their sons and their daughters to pass over through fire, and divine divinations, and use enchantments, and sell themselves to do evil in the eyes of YHWH, to provoke Him.
And they made their sons and their daughters go through the fire, and they made use of secret arts and unnatural powers, and gave themselves up to doing evil in the eyes of the Lord, till he was moved to wrath.
18 And YHWH shows Himself very angry against Israel, and turns them aside from His presence; none has been left, only the tribe of Judah by itself.
So the Lord was very angry with Israel, and his face was turned away from them: only the tribe of Judah kept its place.
19 Also Judah has not kept the commands of their God YHWH, and they walk in the statutes of Israel that they had made.
(But even Judah did not keep the orders of the Lord their God, but were guided by the rules which Israel had made.
20 And YHWH kicks against all the seed of Israel, and afflicts them, and gives them into the hand of spoilers, until He has cast them out of His presence,
So the Lord would have nothing to do with all the offspring of Israel, and sent trouble on them, and gave them up into the hands of their attackers, till he had sent them away from before his face.)
21 for He has torn Israel from the house of David, and they make Jeroboam son of Nebat king, and Jeroboam drives Israel from after YHWH, and has caused them to sin a great sin,
For Israel was broken off from the family of David, and they made Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, king, who, driving them away from the laws of the Lord, made them do a great sin.
22 and the sons of Israel walk in all the sins of Jeroboam that he did, they have not turned aside from them,
And the children of Israel went on with all the sins which Jeroboam did; they did not keep themselves from them;
23 until YHWH has turned Israel aside from His presence, as He spoke by the hand of all His servants the prophets, and Israel is removed from off its land to Asshur, to this day.
Till the Lord put Israel away from before his face, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So Israel was taken away from their land to Assyria, to this day.
24 And the king of Asshur brings in [people] from Babylon and from Cutha, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and causes [them] to dwell in the cities of Samaria instead of the sons of Israel, and they possess Samaria, and dwell in its cities;
Then the king of Assyria took men from Babylon and from Cuthah and Avva and Hamath and Sepharvaim, and put them in the towns of Samaria in place of the children of Israel; so they got Samaria for their heritage, living in its towns.
25 and it comes to pass, at the commencement of their dwelling there, they have not feared YHWH, and YHWH sends the lions among them, and they are destroying among them.
Now when first they were living there they did not give worship to the Lord. So the Lord sent lions among them, causing the death of some of them.
26 And they speak to the king of Asshur, saying, “The nations that you have removed and place in the cities of Samaria have not known the custom of the God of the land, and He sends the lions among them, and behold, they are destroying them, as they do not know the custom of the God of the land.”
So they said to the king of Assyria, The nations whom you have taken as prisoners and put in the towns of Samaria, have no knowledge of the way of the god of the land: so he has sent lions among them, causing their death, because they have no knowledge of his way.
27 And the king of Asshur commands, saying, “Cause one of the priests to go there whom you removed from there, and they go and dwell there, and he teaches them the custom of the God of the land.”
Then the king of Assyria gave orders, saying, Send there one of the priests whom you took away, and let him be living there and teaching the people the way of the god of the land.
28 And one of the priests whom they removed from Samaria comes in, and dwells in Beth-El, and he is teaching them how they fear YHWH,
So one of the priests whom they had taken away as a prisoner from Samaria came back, and, living in Beth-el, became their teacher in the worship of the Lord.
29 and each nation is making its gods, and they place [them] in the houses of the high places that the Samaritans have made—each nation in their cities where they are dwelling.
And every nation made gods for themselves, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in the towns where they were living.
30 And the men of Babylon have made Succoth-Benoth, and the men of Cuth have made Nergal, and the men of Hamath have made Ashima,
The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima,
31 and the Avites have made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites are burning their sons with fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, gods of Sepharvim.
The Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites gave their children to be burned in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
32 And they are fearing YHWH, and make for themselves from their extremities priests of high places, and they are working for them in the house of the high places.
So they went on worshipping the Lord, and made for themselves, from among all the people, priests for the high places, to make offerings for them in the houses of the high places.
33 They are fearing YHWH, and they are serving their gods, according to the custom of the nations from where they removed them.
They gave worship to the Lord, but they gave honour to their gods like the nations did from whom they had been taken as prisoners.
34 To this day they are doing according to the former customs—they are not fearing YHWH, and are not doing according to their statutes, and according to their ordinances, and according to the Law, and according to the command, that YHWH commanded the sons of Jacob whose name He made Israel,
So to this day they go on in their old ways, not worshipping the Lord or keeping his orders or his ways or the law and the rule which the Lord gave to the children of Jacob, to whom he gave the name Israel;
35 and YHWH makes a covenant with them and charges them, saying, “You do not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them,
And the Lord made an agreement with them and gave them orders, saying, You are to have no other gods; you are not to give worship to them or be their servants or make them offerings:
36 but YHWH who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with an outstretched arm, Him you fear, and to Him you bow yourselves, and to Him you sacrifice;
But the Lord, who took you out of the land of Egypt with his great power and his outstretched arm, he is your God, to whom you are to give worship and make offerings:
37 and the statutes, and the judgments, and the Law, and the command, that He wrote for you, you observe to do all the days, and you do not fear other gods;
And the rules and the orders and the law which he put in writing for you, you are to keep and do for ever; you are to have no other gods.
38 and you do not forget the covenant that I have made with you, and you do not fear other gods;
And you are to keep in memory the agreement which I have made with you; and you are to have no other gods.
39 but you fear your God YHWH, and He delivers you out of the hand of all your enemies”;
And you are to give worship to the Lord your God; for it is he who will give you salvation from the hands of all who are against you.
40 and they have not listened, but they are doing according to their former custom,
But they gave no attention, but went on in their old way.
41 and these nations are fearing YHWH, and they have served their carved images, both their sons and their sons’ sons; as their fathers did, they are doing to this day.
So these nations, worshipping the Lord, still were servants to the images they had made; their children and their children's children did the same; as their fathers did, so do they, to this day.
