2 Kings 17:6-23

New American Standard Bible 1995

Israel Captive

⁶ In the ninth year of Hoshea, ^(A)the king of Assyria captured Samaria and ^(B)carried Israel away into exile to Assyria, and ^(C)settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of ^(D)Gozan, and ^(E)in the cities of the Medes.

Why Israel Fell

⁷ Now ^(F)this came about because the sons of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, ^(G)who had brought them up from the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, ^(H)and they had ^[a]feared other gods ⁸ and ^(I)walked in the ^[b]customs of the nations whom the Lord had driven out before the sons of Israel, and in the customs ^(J)of the kings of Israel which they had ^[c]introduced. ⁹ The sons of Israel ^[d]did things secretly which were not right against the Lord their God. Moreover, they built for themselves high places in all their towns, from ^(K)watchtower to fortified city. ^10 (L)They set for themselves sacred pillars and ^[e](M)Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, ¹¹ and there they burned incense on all the high places as the nations did which the Lord had carried away to exile before them; and they did evil things provoking the Lord. ¹² They served idols, ^(N)concerning which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.” ¹³ Yet the ^(O)Lord warned Israel and Judah ^(P)through all His prophets and ^(Q)every seer, saying, “^(R)Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments, My statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you through My servants the prophets.” ¹⁴ However, they did not listen, but ^(S)stiffened their neck ^[f]like their fathers, who did not believe in the Lord their God. ^15 (T)They rejected His statutes and ^(U)His covenant which He made with their fathers and His warnings with which He warned them. And ^(V)they followed vanity and ^(W)became vain, and went after the nations which surrounded them, concerning which the ^(X)Lord had commanded them not to do like them. ¹⁶ They forsook all the commandments of the Lord their God and made for themselves molten images, even ^(Y)two calves, and ^(Z)made an ^[g]Asherah and ^(AA)worshiped all the host of heaven and ^(AB)served Baal. ¹⁷ Then ^(AC)they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and ^(AD)practiced divination and enchantments, and ^(AE)sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him. ¹⁸ So the Lord was very angry with Israel and ^(AF)removed them from His ^[h]sight; ^(AG)none was left except the tribe of Judah.

¹⁹ Also ^(AH)Judah did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God, but ^(AI)walked in the ^[i]customs ^[j]which Israel had ^[k]introduced. ²⁰ The Lord rejected all the ^[l]descendants of Israel and afflicted them and ^(AJ)gave them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them ^[m]out of His sight.

²¹ When ^(AK)He had torn Israel from the house of David, ^(AL)they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then ^(AM)Jeroboam drove Israel away from following the Lord and made them ^[n]commit a great sin. ²² The sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them ^23 (AN)until the Lord removed Israel from His sight, ^(AO)as He spoke through all His servants the prophets. ^(AP)So Israel was carried away into exile from their own land to Assyria until this day.