| Christian Standard Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1In the twelfth year of Judah's King Ahaz, Hoshea son of Elah became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years. | 1Hoshea son of Elah began to rule over Israel in the twelfth year of King Ahaz’s reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria nine years. |
| 2He did what was evil in the LORD's sight, but not like the kings of Israel who preceded him. | 2He did what was evil in the LORD’s sight, but not to the same extent as the kings of Israel who ruled before him. |
| 3King Shalmaneser of Assyria attacked him, and Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute. | 3King Shalmaneser of Assyria attacked King Hoshea, so Hoshea was forced to pay heavy tribute to Assyria. |
| 4But the king of Assyria caught Hoshea in a conspiracy: He had sent envoys to So king of Egypt and had not paid tribute to the king of Assyria as in previous years. Therefore the king of Assyria arrested him and put him in prison. | 4But Hoshea stopped paying the annual tribute and conspired against the king of Assyria by asking King So of Egypt to help him shake free of Assyria’s power. When the king of Assyria discovered this treachery, he seized Hoshea and put him in prison. Samaria Falls to Assyria |
| 5The king of Assyria invaded the whole land, marched up to Samaria, and besieged it for three years. | 5Then the king of Assyria invaded the entire land, and for three years he besieged the city of Samaria. |
| 6In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria. He deported the Israelites to Assyria and settled them in Halah, along the Habor (Gozan's river), and in the cities of the Medes. | 6Finally, in the ninth year of King Hoshea’s reign, Samaria fell, and the people of Israel were exiled to Assyria. They were settled in colonies in Halah, along the banks of the Habor River in Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. |
| 7This disaster happened because the people of Israel sinned against the LORD their God who had brought them out of the land of Egypt from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt and because they worshiped other gods. | 7This disaster came upon the people of Israel because they worshiped other gods. They sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them safely out of Egypt and had rescued them from the power of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. |
| 8They lived according to the customs of the nations that the LORD had dispossessed before the Israelites and according to what the kings of Israel did. | 8They had followed the practices of the pagan nations the LORD had driven from the land ahead of them, as well as the practices the kings of Israel had introduced. |
| 9The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right. They built high places in all their towns from watchtower to fortified city. | 9The people of Israel had also secretly done many things that were not pleasing to the LORD their God. They built pagan shrines for themselves in all their towns, from the smallest outpost to the largest walled city. |
| 10They set up for themselves sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. | 10They set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles at the top of every hill and under every green tree. |
| 11They burned incense there on all the high places just like the nations that the LORD had driven out before them had done. They did evil things, angering the LORD. | 11They offered sacrifices on all the hilltops, just like the nations the LORD had driven from the land ahead of them. So the people of Israel had done many evil things, arousing the LORD’s anger. |
| 12They served idols, although the LORD had told them, "You must not do this." | 12Yes, they worshiped idols, despite the LORD’s specific and repeated warnings. |
| 13Still, the LORD warned Israel and Judah through every prophet and every seer, saying, "Turn from your evil ways and keep my commands and statutes according to the whole law I commanded your ancestors and sent to you through my servants the prophets." | 13Again and again the LORD had sent his prophets and seers to warn both Israel and Judah: “Turn from all your evil ways. Obey my commands and decrees—the entire law that I commanded your ancestors to obey, and that I gave you through my servants the prophets.” |
| 14But they would not listen. Instead they became obstinate like their ancestors who did not believe the LORD their God. | 14But the Israelites would not listen. They were as stubborn as their ancestors who had refused to believe in the LORD their God. |
| 15They rejected his statutes and his covenant he had made with their ancestors and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves, following the surrounding nations the LORD had commanded them not to imitate. | 15They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and they despised all his warnings. They worshiped worthless idols, so they became worthless themselves. They followed the example of the nations around them, disobeying the LORD’s command not to imitate them. |
| 16They abandoned all the commands of the LORD their God. They made cast images for themselves, two calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed in worship to all the stars in the sky and served Baal. | 16They rejected all the commands of the LORD their God and made two calves from metal. They set up an Asherah pole and worshiped Baal and all the forces of heaven. |
| 17They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire and practiced divination and interpreted omens. They devoted themselves to do what was evil in the LORD's sight and angered him. | 17They even sacrificed their own sons and daughters in the fire. They consulted fortune-tellers and practiced sorcery and sold themselves to evil, arousing the LORD’s anger. |
| 18Therefore, the LORD was very angry with Israel, and he removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained. | 18Because the LORD was very angry with Israel, he swept them away from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained in the land. |
| 19Even Judah did not keep the commands of the LORD their God but lived according to the customs Israel had practiced. | 19But even the people of Judah refused to obey the commands of the LORD their God, for they followed the evil practices that Israel had introduced. |
| 20So the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel, punished them, and handed them over to plunderers until he had banished them from his presence. | 20The LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel. He punished them by handing them over to their attackers until he had banished Israel from his presence. |
| 21When the LORD tore Israel from the house of David, Israel made Jeroboam son of Nebat king. Then Jeroboam led Israel away from following the LORD and caused them to commit immense sin. | 21For when the LORD tore Israel away from the kingdom of David, they chose Jeroboam son of Nebat as their king. But Jeroboam drew Israel away from following the LORD and made them commit a great sin. |
| 22The Israelites persisted in all the sins that Jeroboam committed and did not turn away from them. | 22And the people of Israel persisted in all the evil ways of Jeroboam. They did not turn from these sins |
| 23Finally, the LORD removed Israel from his presence just as he had declared through all his servants the prophets. So Israel has been exiled to Assyria from their homeland to this very day. | 23until the LORD finally swept them away from his presence, just as all his prophets had warned. So Israel was exiled from their land to Assyria, where they remain to this day. Foreigners Settle in Israel |
| 24Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in place of the Israelites in the cities of Samaria. The settlers took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities. | 24The king of Assyria transported groups of people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and resettled them in the towns of Samaria, replacing the people of Israel. They took possession of Samaria and lived in its towns. |
| 25When they first lived there, they did not fear the LORD. So the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them. | 25But since these foreign settlers did not worship the LORD when they first arrived, the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them. |
| 26The settlers said to the king of Assyria, "The nations that you have deported and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the requirements of the god of the land. Therefore he has sent lions among them that are killing them because the people don't know the requirements of the god of the land." | 26So a message was sent to the king of Assyria: “The people you have sent to live in the towns of Samaria do not know the religious customs of the God of the land. He has sent lions among them to destroy them because they have not worshiped him correctly.” |
| 27Then the king of Assyria issued a command: "Send back one of the priests you deported. Have him go and live there so he can teach them the requirements of the god of the land." | 27The king of Assyria then commanded, “Send one of the exiled priests back to Samaria. Let him live there and teach the new residents the religious customs of the God of the land.” |
| 28So one of the priests they had deported came and lived in Bethel, and he began to teach them how they should fear the LORD. | 28So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria returned to Bethel and taught the new residents how to worship the LORD. |
| 29But the people of each nation were still making their own gods in the cities where they lived and putting them in the shrines of the high places that the people of Samaria had made. | 29But these various groups of foreigners also continued to worship their own gods. In town after town where they lived, they placed their idols at the pagan shrines that the people of Samaria had built. |
| 30The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, | 30Those from Babylon worshiped idols of their god Succoth-benoth. Those from Cuthah worshiped their god Nergal. And those from Hamath worshiped Ashima. |
| 31the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, gods of the Sepharvaim. | 31The Avvites worshiped their gods Nibhaz and Tartak. And the people from Sepharvaim even burned their own children as sacrifices to their gods Adrammelech and Anammelech. |
| 32They feared the LORD, but they also made from their ranks priests for the high places, who were working for them at the shrines of the high places. | 32These new residents worshiped the LORD, but they also appointed from among themselves all sorts of people as priests to offer sacrifices at their places of worship. |
| 33They feared the LORD, but they also worshiped their own gods according to the practice of the nations from which they had been deported. | 33And though they worshiped the LORD, they continued to follow their own gods according to the religious customs of the nations from which they came. |
| 34They are still observing the former practices to this day. None of them fear the LORD or observe the statutes and ordinances, the law and commandments that the LORD had commanded the descendants of Jacob, whom he had given the name Israel. | 34And this is still going on today. They continue to follow their former practices instead of truly worshiping the LORD and obeying the decrees, regulations, instructions, and commands he gave the descendants of Jacob, whose name he changed to Israel. |
| 35The LORD made a covenant with Jacob's descendants and commanded them, "Do not fear other gods; do not bow in worship to them; do not serve them; do not sacrifice to them. | 35For the LORD had made a covenant with the descendants of Jacob and commanded them: “Do not worship any other gods or bow before them or serve them or offer sacrifices to them. |
| 36Instead fear the LORD, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm. You are to bow down to him, and you are to sacrifice to him. | 36But worship only the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt with great strength and a powerful arm. Bow down to him alone, and offer sacrifices only to him. |
| 37You are to be careful always to observe the statutes, the ordinances, the law, and the commandments he wrote for you; do not fear other gods. | 37Be careful at all times to obey the decrees, regulations, instructions, and commands that he wrote for you. You must not worship other gods. |
| 38Do not forget the covenant that I have made with you. Do not fear other gods, | 38Do not forget the covenant I made with you, and do not worship other gods. |
| 39but fear the LORD your God, and he will rescue you from all your enemies." | 39You must worship only the LORD your God. He is the one who will rescue you from all your enemies.” |
| 40However, these nations would not listen but continued observing their former practices. | 40But the people would not listen and continued to follow their former practices. |
| 41They feared the LORD but also served their idols. Still today, their children and grandchildren continue doing as their fathers did. | 41So while these new residents worshiped the LORD, they also worshiped their idols. And to this day their descendants do the same. |
| The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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