1In the twelfth year of Ahaz’s reign as king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah began to reign in Samaria over Israel, and he reigned for nine years.
2He did what was evil in Yahweh’s sight, but not as much as the kings of Israel who came before him.
3Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, attacked him, and Hoshea became his servant and paid him tribute.
4The king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was conspiring against him. Hoshea had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and no longer sent the annual tribute to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria arrested him and put him in prison.
5Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land, went to Samaria, and surrounded it for three years.
6In the ninth year of Hoshea’s reign, the king of Assyria captured Samaria. He took the people of Israel to Assyria and settled them in Halah, along the Habor River in Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
7This happened because the people of Israel had sinned against Yahweh their God, who had brought them out of Egypt, away from the power of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. They had worshipped other gods,
8and followed the practices of the nations whom Yahweh had driven out before the people of Israel, and the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced.
9The people of Israel secretly did things that were wrong against Yahweh their God. They built high places for themselves in all their cities, from watchtowers to fortified cities,
10and they set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.
11There they burned incense at all the high places, just like the nations Yahweh had removed before them. They did evil things that made Yahweh angry,
12and they served idols, about which Yahweh had told them, “You must not do this.”
13Yet Yahweh warned both Israel and Judah through every prophet and seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and obey my commands and my laws, according to all the law I gave your ancestors and sent to you through my servants the prophets.”
14However, they would not listen. Instead, they were stubborn, just like their ancestors who did not believe in Yahweh their God.
15They rejected his laws and the covenant he made with their ancestors, as well as the warnings he gave them. They went after worthless idols and became worthless themselves. They followed the nations around them, even though Yahweh had commanded them not to be like them.
16They abandoned all the commands of Yahweh their God and made molten images of two calves. They also made an Asherah pole and worshipped all the stars and served Baal.
17They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire, practiced divination and sorcery, and sold themselves to do evil in Yahweh’s sight, making him angry.
18Because of this, Yahweh was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left.
19Judah also did not obey the commands of Yahweh their God, but followed the practices that Israel had created.
20Yahweh rejected all the descendants of Israel, punished them, and handed them over to raiders until he had cast them out of his sight.
21For he separated Israel from David's family, and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat their king. Jeroboam then led Israel away from following Yahweh and caused them to commit a great sin.
22The people of Israel continued all the sins that Jeroboam had committed; they did not turn away from them.
23This continued until Yahweh removed Israel from his sight, just as he had announced through all his servants, the prophets. So, Israel was taken from their own land to Assyria, where they remain to this day.
24The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the people of Israel. They took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities.
25At the beginning of their settlement there, they did not worship Yahweh. So, Yahweh sent lions among them, which killed some of them.
26Therefore, they sent a message to the king of Assyria, saying, "The nations you have moved and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know the customs of the god of the land. Because of this, he has sent lions among them, and look, they are killing them because they don't know the customs of the god of the land."
27Then the king of Assyria commanded, "Send back one of the priests you brought from there. Let him go and live there, and let him teach them the customs of the god of the land."
28So, one of the priests who had been taken from Samaria came and lived in Bethel, and he taught them how they should worship Yahweh.
29However, each nation also made their own gods and placed them in the shrines that the Samaritans had built, each nation in the cities where they lived.
30The people of Babylon made Succoth Benoth, the people of Cuth made Nergal, and the people of Hamath made Ashima.
31The Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire as sacrifices to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
32So, they both worshiped Yahweh and also appointed priests from among themselves for the shrines, who offered sacrifices for them in those shrines.
33They worshiped Yahweh, but at the same time, they served their own gods, following the practices of the nations from which they had been taken.
34To this day, they continue to do what they did before. They do not worship Yahweh, nor do they follow the rules, laws, or commands that Yahweh gave to the descendants of Jacob, whom he named Israel.
35Yahweh had made an agreement with them and commanded them, saying, "You must not worship other gods, or bow down to them, or serve them, or offer sacrifices to them.
36Instead, you must worship Yahweh, who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand. You must bow down to him and offer sacrifices to him.
37You must always be careful to obey the rules, laws, and commands that he wrote for you. You must not worship other gods."
38You must not forget the agreement I made with you. You must not worship other gods.
39Instead, you must worship Yahweh your God, and he will rescue you from all your enemies."
40However, they didn't listen; they continued doing what they had done before.
41So these nations both respected Yahweh and also served their carved idols. Their children and their grandchildren did the same as their fathers, and they still do it today.