2 Kings 17
1 Yn the tweluethe yeer of Achaz, kyng of Juda, Osee, sone of Hela, regnyde in Samarie on Israel nyne yeer.
Elah’s son Hoshea began to rule Israel after King Ahaz had ruled Judah for twelve years. Hoshea ruled in Samaria for nine years.
2 And he dide yuel bifor the Lord, but not as the kyngis of Israel, that weren bifor hym.
He did many things that Yahweh considered to be evil, but he did not do as many evil things as the previous kings of Israel had done.
3 Salmanasar, kyng of Assiriens, stiede ayens this Osee, and Osee was maad seruaunt to hym, and yildide tributis to hym.
[The army of] King Shalmaneser of Assyria attacked and defeated [the army of] King Hoshea. As a result, the Israelis were forced to pay a lot of tribute/taxes to Assyria each year.
4 And whanne the kyng of Assiriens hadde perseyued, that Osee he enforside to be rebelle, and hadde sent messangeris to Sua, kyng of Egipt, that he schulde not yyue tributis to the kyng of Assiriens, as he was wont bi alle yeeris, `the kyng of Assiriens bisegide hym, and sente him boundun in to prisoun.
But several years later, Hoshea secretly planned to rebel against the rulers of Assyria. He sent messengers to So/Osorkon, the king of Egypt, [asking if his army could help the Israelis fight against the army of Assyria]. Hoshea also stopped paying the tribute/taxes that he had been paying to Assyria every year. But the king of Assyria found out about those things, so he told his officers to put Hoshea in prison.
5 And he yede thoruy al the lond, and he stiede to Samarie, and bisegide it bi thre yeer.
Then he [brought the army of] Assyria to Israel, and they attacked everywhere in that land. His army surrounded Samaria [city] for three years.
6 Forsothe in the nynthe yeer of Osee, the kyng of Assiriens took Samarie, and translatide Israel in to Assiriens; and he puttide hem in Hela, and in Thabor, bisidis the flood Gozam, in the citee of Medeis.
Finally, after King Hoshea had been ruling Israel for nine years, the army of Assyria [MTY] [forcefully entered] the city [and] captured [the people]. They took the Israeli people to Assyria and forced some of them to live in Halah [town]. They forced others to live near the Habor River in Gozan district. They forced others to live in the towns where the Mede people-group lived.
7 Forsothe it was don, whanne the sones of Israel hadden synned bifor her Lord God, that ledde hem out of the lond of Egipt, fro the hond of Farao, kyng of Egipt, thei worschipeden alien goddis;
Those things happened because the Israeli people had sinned against Yahweh their God. He had rescued their [ancestors] from the power [MTY] of the king of Egypt and brought them [safely] out of Egypt, but later they began to worship other gods.
8 and yeden bi the custom of hethene men, whiche the Lord hadde wastid in the siyt of the sones of Israel, and of the kyngis of Israel, for thei hadden do in lijk maner.
They imitated the things that the heathen/pagan people-groups did. Those were the groups that Yahweh had expelled as the Israelis occupied their land. The Israeli people also did the evil things that the kings of Israel (introduced/showed to them).
9 And the sones of Israel offendiden her Lord God bi wordis not riytful, and thei bildiden to hem silf hiy thingis in alle her citees, fro the tour of keperis `til to a strengthid citee.
The Israeli people also secretly did many things that were not pleasing to Yahweh their God. They built shrines [to worship idols] in all their cities, including small towns and big cities with walls around them.
10 And thei maden to hem ymagis, and wodis, in ech hiy hil, and vndur ech tree ful of bowis;
They set up stone pillars [to honor gods], and poles [to worship the goddess] Asherah at the top of every high hill and under every [big] tree.
11 and thei brenten there encence on the auteris bi the custom of hethene men, whiche the Lord hadde translatid fro the face of hem. And thei diden werste wordis, and thei wraththiden the Lord;
The Israelis burned incense in every place where they worshiped those gods, just like the people-groups who lived there previously had done—the groups that Yahweh had expelled from the land. The Israelis did many wicked things that caused Yahweh to become angry.
12 and worschipiden vnclenesses, of whiche the Lord comaundide to hem, that thei schulden not do this word.
Yahweh warned them many times that they should not worship idols, but they did it anyway.
13 And the Lord witnesside in Israel and in Juda, bi the hond of alle prophetis and seeris, and seide, Turne ye ayen fro youre werste weies, and kepe ye my comaundementis, and ceremonyes, bi al the lawe whiche Y comaundide to youre fadris, and as Y sente to you in the hond of my seruauntis prophetis.
Yahweh frequently sent his prophets and (seers/those who saw visions from Yahweh) to warn the people of Israel and the people of Judah. The message that Yahweh gave them was, “Turn away from all your evil behavior. Obey my commands and my laws, the laws that I told your ancestors [to obey] and which I told the prophets who served me to tell to you [again].”
14 Whiche herden not, but maden hard her nol bi the nol of her fadris, that nolden obeie to her Lord God.
But the Israeli people would not pay attention. They were stubborn [IDM] just like their ancestors were. Just like their ancestors did, they refused to believe in Yahweh their God.
15 And thei castiden, awei the lawful thingis of hym, and the couenaunt which he couenauntide with her fadris, and the witnessyngis bi whiche he witnesside to hem; and thei sueden vanytees, `that is, idols, and diden veynli; and sueden hethene men, that weren `bi the cumpas of hem; of whiche vanytees the Lord comaundide to hem, that thei schulden not do as also tho hethene men diden.
They rejected Yahweh’s laws and the agreement that he had made with their ancestors. They ignored Yahweh’s warnings. They worshiped worthless idols and as a result they themselves became worthless. Although Yahweh had commanded them not to imitate the evil behavior of the people-groups that lived near them, they disobeyed that command.
16 And thei forsoken alle the comaundementis of her Lord God, and thei maden to hem twei yotun calues, and wodis, and worschipiden al the knyythod of heuene; and thei seruyden Baal, and halewiden to hym her sones,
The Israeli people disobeyed all of Yahweh’s commands. They made two metal calves [to worship]. They set up two poles [to worship the goddess] Asherah, and they worshiped [the god] Baal, and the sun, the moon, and the stars.
17 and her douytris thoruy fier, and thei seruyden to fals dyuynyng, and to dyuynyng bi chiterynge of briddis; and thei yauen hem silf to do yuel bifor the Lord, and thei wraththiden hym.
They also burned their own sons and daughters to be sacrifices [to those gods]. They went to fortune-tellers and they practiced sorcery. They continually chose [MET] to do [all kinds of] evil things that caused Yahweh to become angry.
18 And the Lord was wrooth greetli to Israel; and he took awei hem fro his siyt, and noon lefte, no but the lynage of Juda oneli.
So, because Yahweh was very angry with the Israeli people, he allowed [their enemies] to take them away [from their country]. Only the people of the tribe of Judah were left [in the land].
19 But nether Juda hym silf kepte the heestis of `his Lord God, netheles he erride, and yede in the errour of Israel, whiche it wrouyte.
But even the people of Judah did not obey the commands of Yahweh their God. They imitated the evil customs that the Israelis had introduced.
20 And the Lord castide awei al the seed of Israel, and turmentide hem, and bitook hem in the hond of rauynouris; til he castide awei hem fro his face,
So Yahweh rejected all the people of Israel and of Judah. He punished them by allowing the armies of other nations to defeat them [and take them away]. He got rid of all of them.
21 fro that tyme in which Israel was departid fro the hous of Dauid, and maden to hem a kyng, Jeroboam, sone of Nabath. For Jeroboam departide Israel fro the Lord, and made hem to do a greet synne.
Earlier, when Yahweh allowed the people of Israel to separate/break away from the area [MTY] that King David [had estabished], they chose Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, to be their king. Then Jeroboam enticed the people of Israel to stop worshiping Yahweh [and to worship idols instead]. He led them to commit great sins.
22 And the sones of Israel yeden in alle the synnes of Jeroboam, whiche he hadde do; and thei departiden not fro tho synnes,
And the Israeli people continued to do the evil things that Jeroboam introduced. They did not turn away from those sins,
23 til the Lord dide awei Israel fro his face, as he spak in the hond of alle hise seruauntis prophetis; and Israel was translatid fro his lond in to Assiriens til in to this dai.
until finally Yahweh got rid of them. That was just what his prophets had warned would happen. The Israeli people were taken away to the land of Assyria, and they still remain there.
24 Forsothe the kyng of Assiriens brouyte puple fro Babiloyne, and fro Cutha, and fro Hailath, and fro Emath, and fro Sepharuaym, and settide hem in the citees of Samarie for the sones of Israel; whiche hadden in possessioun Samarie, and dwelliden in the citees therof.
The king of Assyria [ordered his soldiers to] take [groups of] people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim [cities] to [the] Samaria [region], and to resettle them in the towns there, to take the place of the Israelis [who lived there previously]. Those people took control over [the whole] Samaria [region] and lived in the towns there.
25 And whanne thei bigunnen to dwelle there, thei dredden not the Lord; and the Lord sente to hem liouns, that killiden hem.
But those people [who came from other countries] did not worship Yahweh when they first arrived in Samaria. So Yahweh sent lions to kill some of them.
26 And it was teld to the kyng of Assiriens, and was seid, The folkis whiche thou translatidist, and madist to dwelle in the citees of Samarie, kunnen not the lawful thingis of God of the lond; and the Lord sente liouns in to hem, and lo! liouns sleen hem; for thei kunnen not the custom of God of the lond.
Then those people sent a message to the king of Assyria. They wrote, “We people who have resettled in the towns in Samaria do not know how to worship the God [that the Israelis worshiped] in this land. So he has sent lions among us to kill us, because we have not worshiped him correctly.”
27 Sotheli the kyng of Assiriens comaundide, and seide, Lede ye thidur oon of the preestis, whiche ye brouyten prisoneris fro thennus, that he go, and dwelle with hem, and teche hem the lawful thingis of God of the lond.
[When] the king of Assyria [read this letter, he] commanded [his officers], “You brought many priests here from Samaria. Send one of them back there. Tell him to teach the people who are now living there how to worship correctly the God whom the Israelis worshiped in that land.”
28 Therfor whanne oon of these preestis had come, that weren led prisoneris fro Samarie, he dwellide in Bethel, and tauyte hem, how thei schulden worschipe the Lord.
So [the officers did that]. They sent one of the Israeli priests back to Samaria. That priest went to live in Bethel [city], and he taught the people there how to worship Yahweh.
29 And ech folk made his god, and thei settiden tho goddis in the hiy templis, whiche the men of Samarie hadden maad, folk and folk in her citees, in whiche thei dwelliden.
But the people [who returned from Babylon and started to live in Samaria and] continued to make their own idols. They placed them in the shrines that the Israelis had built there. The people of each people-group made idols in the cities in which they were living.
30 For men of Babiloyne maden Socoth Benoth; forsothe men of Cutha maden Vergel; and men of Emath maden Asyma;
The people from Babylon made idols to represent their god Succoth-Benoth. The people from Cuthah made idols to represent their god Nergal. The people from Hamath made idols to represent their god Ashima.
31 forsothe Eueis maden Nabaath and Tharcha; sotheli thei that weren of Sepharuaym brenten her sones in fier to Adramelech and Anamelech, goddis of Sepharuaym.
The people of Avva made idols to represent their gods Nibhaz and Tartak. The people from Sepharvaim sacrificed their own children. They completely burned them [in pits where hot fires were kept burning, ] as offerings to their gods Adrammelech and Anammelech.
32 And netheles thei worschipiden the Lord; forsothe of the laste men thei maden preestis of the hiye thingis, and settiden hem in hiye templis.
But those people also worshiped Yahweh, and they appointed from among their own groups many people to be priests at the shrines on the tops of the hills, in order that those priests could offer sacrifices for them there.
33 And whanne thei worschipiden God, thei serueden also her goddis, bi the custom of hethene men, fro whiche thei weren translatid to Samarie;
So they revered Yahweh, but they also worshiped their own gods, just as the people living in the countries from which they had been taken to Samaria did.
34 `til in to present dai thei suen the eld custom; thei dredden not the Lord, nethir thei kepen hise cerymonyes, and domes, and lawe, and comaundement, which the Lord comaundide to the sones of Jacob, whom he nemyde Israel;
They still keep their old customs. They really do not worship Yahweh, and they do not obey all the laws and commands that Yahweh gave to the descendants of Jacob, to whom he gave the new name Israel.
35 and he smoot a couenaunt with hem, and comaundide to hem, and seide, Nyle ye drede alien goddis, and onoure ye not outwardli hem, nethir worschipe ye inwardli hem, and make ye not sacrifice to hem;
Yahweh had previously made an agreement with their ancestors, commanding them not to worship other gods or bow down to honor them or do other things to please them or offer sacrifices to them.
36 but youre Lord God, that ledde you out of the lond of Egipt in greet strengthe, and in arm holdun forth, drede ye hym, and worschipe ye hym, and make ye sacrifice to hym.
He had said to them, “You must have an awesome respect for me, Yahweh, the one who brought you out of Egypt with my very great power [DOU]. I am the one whom you must bow down to honor, and I am the one to whom you must offer sacrifices.
37 And kepe ye the cerymonyes, and domes, and the lawe, and comaundement, which he wroot to you, that ye do in alle daies; and drede ye not alien goddis.
You must always obey the laws and commands that I [told Moses to] write for you. You must not worship other gods.
38 And nyle ye foryete the couenaunt, which he smoot with you, nether worschipe ye alien goddis;
And you must not forget the agreement that I made with your ancestors. You must not revere other gods.
39 but drede ye youre Lord God, and he schal delyuere you fro the hond of alle youre enemyes.
Instead, you must revere me, Yahweh, your God. If you do that, I will rescue you from the power [MTY] of all your enemies.”
40 Forsothe thei herden not, but diden bi her formere custom.
But the people [from those foreign nations] would not heed what Yahweh said. Instead, they continued to adhere to their old customs.
41 Therfor these hethene men dredden sotheli God; but netheles thei serueden also her idols, for bothe her sones and the sones of sones doen so, til in to present dai, as her fadris diden.
So, they worshiped Yahweh, but they also worshiped their idols. And their descendants still do the same thing.
