2 Kings 17
1 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah began to reign in Samaria over Israel for nine years.
Hoshea, son of Elah, became king of Israel, in the twelfth year of the reign of King Ahaz of Judah. He reigned in Samaria for nine years.
2 He did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, yet not as the kings of Israel who were before him.
He did what was evil in the Lord's sight, but not in the same way the kings of Israel who were before him.
3 Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria; and Hoshea became his servant, and brought him tribute.
Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, came and attacked him, and Hoshea submitted to him and paid him tribute.
4 The king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year: therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison.
But then the king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was being disloyal. Hoshea had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, asking for help, and he also had stopped sending annual tribute to the king of Assyria as he had done previously. So the king of Assyria arrested Hoshea and put him in prison.
5 Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years.
Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole country, and attacked Samaria, besieging it for three years.
6 In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
In the ninth year of the reign of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River, and in the towns of the Medes.
7 It was so, because the children of Israel 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, and had feared other gods,
All this happened because the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, the one who had led them out of Egypt, saving them from the power of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. They had worshiped other gods,
8 and walked in the statutes of the nations, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they made.
adopting the ways of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites, and the pagan practices introduced by the kings of Israel.
9 The children of Israel did secretly things that were not right against the LORD their God: and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city;
Secretly the Israelites did things that were not right against the Lord their God. They built high places in all their towns, from watchtowers to fortified cities.
10 and they set them up pillars and Asherim on every high hill, and under every green tree;
They set up pagan stone pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.
11 and there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the nations whom the LORD carried away before them; and they worked wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger;
They offered sacrifices on all the high places, just like the nations the Lord drove out before them. They did evil things, angering the Lord.
12 and they served idols, of which the LORD had said to them, "You shall not do this thing."
They worshiped idols, even though the Lord had told them, “You are not to do this.”
13 Yet the LORD testified to Israel, and to Judah, by every prophet, and every seer, saying, "Turn from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets."
Yet the Lord had warned Israel and Judah repeatedly through all his prophets and seers, saying, “Leave your wicked ways and keep my commandments and instructions. Follow the whole law that I ordered your forefathers to obey, and gave to you through my servants the prophets.”
14 Notwithstanding, they would not listen, but hardened their neck, like the neck of their fathers, who did not believe in the LORD their God.
But they refused listen, and they were as stubborn as their forefathers who did not trust the Lord their God.
15 They rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified to them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the LORD had commanded them that they should not do like them.
They gave up on his regulations and the covenant he had made with their forefathers, as well as the decrees he had given them. They followed pointless idols and they became pointless themselves, copying the nations around them that the Lord ordered them not to copy.
16 They forsook all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah, and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.
They ignored all the commandments of the Lord their God, and they made themselves two metal idols of calves and an Asherah pole. They bowed down in worship to the sun, moon, and stars and served Baal.
17 They caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, practiced divination and sorcery, and sold themselves to do that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
They sacrificed their sons and daughters as pagan burnt offerings, and practiced fortune-telling and witchcraft. They gave themselves over to doing what was evil in the Lord's sight, making him angry.
18 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.
So the Lord was extremely angry with Israel, and he banished them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left,
19 Also Judah did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.
but even Judah did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God, but followed the idolatry that Israel had introduced.
20 The LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of plunderers, until he had cast them out of his sight.
The Lord gave up on all the descendants of Israel. He punished them and handed them over to their enemies, until he had banished them from his presence.
21 For he tore Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drove Israel from following the LORD, and made them sin a great sin.
When the Lord ripped Israel away from the house of David, they made Jeroboam, son of Nebat, their king. Jeroboam led Israel away from the Lord and made them commit terrible sins.
22 The children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them;
The Israelites continued to practice all the sins that Jeroboam committed. They did not stop doing them,
23 until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he spoke by all his servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away out of their own land to Assyria to this day.
so the Lord eventually expelled them from his presence, just as he had said he would through all his servants, the prophets. So the Israelites were deported from their land and taken to Assyria, where they are to this day.
24 The king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Avva, and from Hamath and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and they possessed Samaria, and lived in the cities of it.
The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Kuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in the towns of Samaria instead of the Israelites. They took over ownership of Samaria and lived in its towns.
25 So it was, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they did not fear the LORD: therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them.
When they first started living there they did not worship the Lord, so he sent lions there among them, killing some of them.
26 Therefore they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, "The nations which you have carried away, and placed in the cities of Samaria, do not know the law of the god of the land. Therefore he has sent lions among them, and look, they kill them, because they do not know the law of the god of the land."
The king of Assyria was told, “The peoples that you brought and settled in the towns of Samaria they don't not know the rules of the God of the land. As a result, he has sent lions among them, which are killing them off because they don't know what the God of the land requires.”
27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, "Carry there one of the priests whom you brought from there; and let him go and live there, and let him teach them the law of the god of the land."
The king of Assyria gave the order: “Send back one of the priests you deported from Samaria, and let him go back and live there and teach the rules of the God of the land.”
28 So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and lived in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD.
So one of the priests who had been deported from Samaria returned to live in Bethel, and taught them how to worship the Lord.
29 However every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities in which they lived.
But the people of the different nations went on making their own gods in the towns where they had settled, and they placed them in the shrines of the high places that the people of Samaria had made.
30 The men of Babylon made Succoth Benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima,
Those from Babylon made Sukkoth Benoth, those from Kuthah made Nergal, and those from Hamath made Ashima.
31 and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burnt their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
The Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites sacrificed their children as burnt offerings to their gods Adrammelech and Anammelech.
32 And they worshiped the LORD, yet they established their abominations in the houses of the high places which they made in Samaria, each nation in the city in which they dwelt. And they worshiped the LORD, yet appointed from among themselves priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places.
While they worshiped the Lord, they also appointed priests from all kinds of their own people to offer sacrifices for them in the shrines of the high places.
33 And they worshiped the LORD, yet served their own gods, after the ways of the nations from among whom they had been carried away.
So even though they worshiped the Lord, they also worshiped their own gods following the practices of the nations they had come from.
34 To this day they do what they did before: they do not fear the LORD, neither do they follow their statutes, or their ordinances, or the law or the commandment which the LORD commanded the descendants of Jacob, whom he named Israel;
Even to this day they are still following their former practices. None of them truly worship the Lord or observe the regulations, requirements, laws, and commandments that the Lord gave to the descendants of Jacob, the one he named Israel.
35 with whom the LORD had made a covenant, and commanded them, saying, "You shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them;
For the Lord had made an agreement with the Israelites, ordering them, “Don't worship other gods or bow down to them; don't serve them or offer sacrifices to them.
36 but you shall fear the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm, and you shall bow yourselves to him, and you shall sacrifice to him.
You must worship only the Lord, who led you out of Egypt, helping you with his great power and strong arm. Only bow down to him; only offer sacrifices to him.
37 The statutes and the ordinances, and the law and the commandment, which he wrote for you, you shall observe to do forevermore. You shall not fear other gods.
Always pay attention to observe the regulations, requirements, laws, and commandments he gave you in writing, and don't worship other gods.
38 You shall not forget the covenant that I have made with you; neither shall you fear other gods.
Don't forget the agreement I have made with you, and don't worship other gods.
39 But you shall fear the LORD your God; and he will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies."
You must worship only the Lord your God, and he will save you from all your enemies.”
40 However they did not listen, but they did what they did before.
But they refused to listen, and continued their former idolatrous practices.
41 So these nations feared the LORD, and served their engraved images. Their children likewise, and their children's children, as their fathers did, so they do to this day.
Even while these people from different nations were worshiping the Lord, they were actually worshiping their idols. Their children and grandchildren continue to do as their forefathers did to this day.
