| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 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. | 1In the twelfth year of King Ahaz's reign over Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria for nine years. |
| 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. | 2He did evil in the sight of the LORD, but not to the same degree as the Israelite kings who preceded him. |
| 3King Shalmaneser of Assyria attacked King Hoshea, so Hoshea was forced to pay heavy tribute to Assyria. | 3King Shalmaneser of Assyria threatened him; Hoshea became his subject and paid him tribute. |
| 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 | 4The king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was planning a revolt. Hoshea had sent messengers to King So of Egypt and had not sent his annual tribute to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria arrested him and imprisoned him. |
| 5Then the king of Assyria invaded the entire land, and for three years he besieged the city of Samaria. | 5The king of Assyria marched through the whole land. He attacked Samaria and besieged it for three years. |
| 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. | 6In the ninth year of Hoshea's reign, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the people of Israel to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, along the Habor (the river of Gozan), and in the cities of the Medes. |
| 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. | 7This happened because the Israelites sinned against the LORD their God, who brought them up from the land of Egypt and freed them from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods; |
| 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. | 8they observed the practices of the nations whom the LORD had driven out from before Israel, and followed the example of the kings of Israel. |
| 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. | 9The Israelites said things about the LORD their God that were not right. They built high places in all their cities, from the watchtower to the fortress. |
| 10They set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles at the top of every hill and under every green tree. | 10They set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. |
| 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. | 11They burned incense on all the high places just like the nations whom the LORD had driven away from before them. Their evil practices made the LORD angry. |
| 12Yes, they worshiped idols, despite the LORD’s specific and repeated warnings. | 12They worshiped the disgusting idols in blatant disregard of the LORD's command. |
| 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.” | 13The LORD solemnly warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and all the seers, "Turn back from your evil ways; obey my commandments and rules that are recorded in the law. I ordered your ancestors to keep this law and sent my servants the prophets to remind you of its demands." |
| 14But the Israelites would not listen. They were as stubborn as their ancestors who had refused to believe in the LORD their God. | 14But they did not pay attention and were as stubborn as their ancestors, who had not trusted the LORD their God. |
| 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. | 15They rejected his rules, the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and the laws he had commanded them to obey. They paid allegiance to worthless idols, and so became worthless to the LORD. They copied the practices of the surrounding nations in blatant disregard of the LORD's command. |
| 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. | 16They abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God; they made two metal calves and an Asherah pole, bowed down to all the stars in the sky, and worshiped Baal. |
| 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. | 17They passed their sons and daughters through the fire, and practiced divination and omen reading. They committed themselves to doing evil in the sight of the LORD and made him angry. |
| 18Because the LORD was very angry with Israel, he swept them away from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained in the land. | 18So the LORD was furious with Israel and rejected them; only the tribe of Judah was left. |
| 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. | 19Judah also failed to keep the commandments of the LORD their God; they followed Israel's example. |
| 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. | 20So the LORD rejected all of Israel's descendants; he humiliated them and handed them over to robbers, until he had thrown them from his presence. |
| 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. | 21He tore Israel away from David's dynasty, and Jeroboam son of Nebat became their king. Jeroboam drove Israel away from the LORD and encouraged them to commit a serious sin. |
| 22And the people of Israel persisted in all the evil ways of Jeroboam. They did not turn from these sins | 22The Israelites followed in the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat and did not repudiate them. |
| 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 | 23Finally the LORD rejected Israel just as he had warned he would do through all his servants the prophets. Israel was deported from its land to Assyria and remains there to this very day. |
| 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. | 24The king of Assyria brought foreigners from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the Israelites. They took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities. |
| 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. | 25When they first moved in, they did not worship the LORD. So the LORD sent lions among them and the lions were killing them. |
| 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.” | 26The king of Assyria was told, "The nations whom you deported and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know the requirements of the God of the land, so he has sent lions among them. They are killing the people because they do not know 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.” | 27So the king of Assyria ordered, "Take back one of the priests whom you deported from there. He must settle there and teach them the requirements of the God of the land." |
| 28So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria returned to Bethel and taught the new residents how to worship the LORD. | 28So one of the priests whom they had deported from Samaria went back and settled in Bethel. He taught them how to worship the LORD. |
| 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. | 29But each of these nations made its own gods and put them in the shrines on the high places that the people of Samaria had made. Each nation did this in the cities where they lived. |
| 30Those from Babylon worshiped idols of their god Succoth-benoth. Those from Cuthah worshiped their god Nergal. And those from Hamath worshiped Ashima. | 30The people from Babylon made Succoth Benoth, the people from Cuth made Nergal, the people from Hamath made Ashima, |
| 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. | 31the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their sons in the fire as an offering to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. |
| 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. | 32At the same time they worshiped the LORD. They appointed some of their own people to serve as priests in the shrines on the high places. |
| 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. | 33They were worshiping the LORD and at the same time serving their own gods in accordance with the practices of the nations from which they had been deported. |
| 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. | 34To this very day they observe their earlier practices. They do not worship the LORD; they do not obey the rules, regulations, law, and commandments that the LORD gave the descendants of Jacob, whom he renamed Israel. |
| 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. | 35The LORD made an agreement with them and instructed them, "You must not worship other gods. Do not bow down to them, serve them, or offer sacrifices to them. |
| 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. | 36Instead you must worship the LORD, who brought you up from the land of Egypt by his great power and military ability; bow down to him and offer sacrifices to him. |
| 37Be careful at all times to obey the decrees, regulations, instructions, and commands that he wrote for you. You must not worship other gods. | 37You must carefully obey at all times the rules, regulations, law, and commandments he wrote down for you. You must not worship other gods. |
| 38Do not forget the covenant I made with you, and do not worship other gods. | 38You must never forget the agreement I made with you, and you must not worship other gods. |
| 39You must worship only the LORD your God. He is the one who will rescue you from all your enemies.” | 39Instead you must worship the LORD your God; then he will rescue you from the power of all your enemies." |
| 40But the people would not listen and continued to follow their former practices. | 40But they pay no attention; instead they observe their earlier practices. |
| 41So while these new residents worshiped the LORD, they also worshiped their idols. And to this day their descendants do the same. | 41These nations are worshiping the LORD and at the same time serving their idols; their sons and grandsons do just as their fathers have done, to this very day. |
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