2 Kings 17

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king of Israel in Samaria, andreigned for nine years.	1 In the twelfth year of Ahaz, the king of Judah: Hoshea, the son of Elah, reigned over Israel, in Samaria, for nine years.
2 He did what is displeasing to Yahweh, though not like the preceding kings of Israel.	2 And he did evil before the Lord, but not like the kings of Israel who had been before him.
3 Shalmaneser king of Assyria made war on Hoshea who submitted to him and paid him tribute.	3 Shalmaneser, the king of the Assyrians, ascended against him. And Hoshea became a servant to him, and he paid him tribute.
4 But the king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was playing a double game with him; he had sentmessengers to Sais, to the king of Egypt, and had not, as in previous years, handed over the tribute to the kingof Assyria. For this the king of Assyria imprisoned him in chains.	4 And when the king of the Assyrians discovered that Hoshea, striving to rebel, had sent messengers to Sais, to the king of Egypt, so as not to present the tribute to the king of the Assyrians, as he had been accustomed to do each year, he besieged him. And having been bound, he cast him into prison.
5 The king of Assyria invaded the whole country and, coming to Samaria, laid siege to it for three years.	5 And he wandered through the entire land. And ascending to Samaria, he besieged it for three years.
6 In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites toAssyria. He settled them in Halah on the Habor, a river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.	6 And in the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of the Assyrians captured Samaria, and he carried away Israel to Assyria. And he stationed them in Halah and in Habor, beside the river of Gozan, in the cities of the Medes.
7 This happened because the Israelites had sinned against Yahweh their God who had brought them outof Egypt, out of the grip of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshipped other gods,	7 For it happened that, when the sons of Israel had sinned against the Lord, their God, who had led them away from the land of Egypt, from the hand of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, they worshipped strange gods.
8 they fol owed the practices of the nations which Yahweh had dispossessed for them.	8 And they walked according to the rituals of the nations that the Lord had consumed in the sight of the sons of Israel, and of the kings of Israel. For they had acted similarly.
9 The Israelites spoke slightingly of Yahweh their God. They built themselves high places wherever theylived, from watchtower to fortified town.	9 And the sons of Israel offended the Lord, their God, with deeds that were not upright. And they built for themselves high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city.
10 They set up pil ars and sacred poles for themselves on every high hil and under every luxuriant tree.	10 And they made for themselves statues and sacred groves, on every high hill and under every leafy tree.
11 They sacrificed on al the high places like the nations which Yahweh had expelled for them, and didwicked things there, provoking Yahweh's anger.	11 And they were burning incense there, upon altars, in the manner of the nations that the Lord had removed from their face. And they did wicked deeds, provoking the Lord.
12 They served idols, although Yahweh had told them, 'This you must not do.'	12 And they worshipped impurities, concerning which the Lord instructed them that they should not do this word.
13 And yet through al the prophets and the seers, Yahweh had given Israel and Judah this warning,'Turn from your wicked ways and keep my commandments and my laws in accordance with the entire Law whichI laid down for your fathers and delivered to them through my servants the prophets.'	13 And the Lord testified to them, in Israel and in Judah, through the hand of all the prophets and seers, saying: “Return from your wicked ways, and keep my precepts and ceremonies, in accord with the entire law, which I instructed to your fathers, and just as I sent to you by the hand of my servants, the prophets.”
14 But they would not listen, they were as stubborn as their ancestors, who had no faith in Yahweh theirGod.	14 But they did not listen. Instead, they hardened their necks to be like the neck of their fathers, who were not willing to obey the Lord, their God.
15 They despised his laws and the covenant which he had made with their ancestors and the warningswhich he had given them. Pursuing futility, they themselves became futile through copying the nations roundthem, although Yahweh had ordered them not to act as they did.	15 And they cast aside his ordinances, and the covenant that he formed with their fathers, and the testimonies which he testified to them. And they pursued vanities and acted vainly. And they followed the nations that were all around them, concerning the things which the Lord had commanded them not to do, and which they did.
16 They rejected al the commandments of Yahweh their God and cast themselves metal idols, twocalves; they made themselves sacred poles, they worshipped the whole array of heaven, and they served Baal.	16 And they abandoned all the precepts of the Lord, their God. And they made for themselves two molten calves and sacred groves. And they adored the entire celestial army. And they served Baal.
17 They caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire of sacrifice, also they practiseddivination and sorcery, they sold themselves to doing what displeases Yahweh, provoking his anger.	17 And they consecrated their sons and their daughters through fire. And they devoted themselves to divinations and soothsaying. And they delivered themselves into the doing of evil before the Lord, so that they provoked him.
18 Because of which, Yahweh became enraged with Israel and thrust them away from him. The tribe ofJudah was the only one left.	18 And the Lord became vehemently angry with Israel, and he took them away from his sight. And there remained no one, except the tribe of Judah alone.
19 Judah did not keep the commandments of Yahweh their God either but copied the practices whichIsrael had introduced.	19 But even Judah did not keep the commandments of the Lord, their God. Instead, they walked in the errors of Israel, which they had wrought.
20 Yahweh rejected the whole race of Israel; he brought them low, delivering them into the hands ofmarauders, until at length he thrust them away from him.	20 And the Lord cast aside all of the offspring of Israel. And he afflicted them, and he delivered them into the hand of despoilers, until he drove them away from his face,
21 And indeed he had torn Israel away from the House of David, and they had made Jeroboam son ofNebat king; Jeroboam had drawn Israel away from Yahweh and led them into a great sin.	21 even from that time when Israel was torn away from the house of David, and they appointed for themselves Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, as king. For Jeroboam separated Israel from the Lord, and he caused them to sin a great sin.
22 The Israelites copied the sin which Jeroboam had committed; they did not give it up,	22 And the sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam, which he had done. And they did not withdraw from these,
23 until at length Yahweh thrust Israel away from him, as he had foretold through all his servants theprophets; he deported the Israelites from their own country to Assyria, where they have been ever since.	23 even when the Lord carried away Israel from his face, just as he had said by the hand of all his servants, the prophets. And Israel was carried away from their land into Assyria, even to this day.
24 The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim, andsettled them in the towns of Samaria to replace the Israelites; these took possession of Samaria and lived in itstowns.	24 Then the king of the Assyrians brought some from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Avva, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim. And he located them in the cities of Samaria, in place of the sons of Israel. And they possessed Samaria, and they lived in its cities.
25 When they first came to live there, they did not worship Yahweh; hence, Yahweh set lions on them,which kil ed a number of them.	25 And when they had begun to live there, they did not fear the Lord. And the Lord sent lions among them, which were killing them.
26 Consequently, the king of Assyria was informed as follows, 'The nations whom you deported andsettled in the towns of Samaria do not know how to worship the local god, and he has set lions on them; andnow these are kil ing them because they do not know how to worship the local god.'	26 And this was reported to the king of the Assyrians, and it was said: “The peoples that you transferred and caused to live in the cities of Samaria, they are ignorant of the ordinances of the God of the land. And so the Lord has sent lions among them. And behold, they have killed them, because they were ignorant of the rituals of the God of the land.”
27 So the king of Assyria gave this order, 'Send back one of the priests whom I deported from there; lethim go and live there and teach them how to worship the local god.'	27 Then the king of the Assyrians commanded, saying: “Lead to that place one of the priests, whom you brought as a captive from there. And let him go and live with them. And let him teach them the ordinances of the God of the land.”
28 Accordingly, one of the priests who had been deported from Samaria came to live in Bethel; he taughtthem how to worship Yahweh.	28 And so, when one of the priests, who had been led away captive from Samaria, had arrived, he lived in Bethel. And he taught them how they should worship the Lord.
29 Each nationality made gods of its own and put them in the shrines on the high places built by theSamaritans; each nationality did this in the towns where it lived.	29 And each of the nations made gods of their own, and they placed them in the shrines of the high places, which the Samaritans had made: nation after nation, in their cities in which they were living.
30 The people from Babylon had made a Succoth-Benoth, the people from Cuthah a Nergal, the peoplefrom Hamath an Ashima,	30 So the men of Babylon made Soccoth-benoth; and the men of Cuth made Nergal; and the men of Hamath made Ashima;
31 the Avvites a Nibhaz and a Tartak; while the Sepharvites caused their children to pass through the fireof sacrifice to Adrammelech and Anammelech, gods of Sepharvaim.	31 and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak. Then those who were from Sepharvaim burned up their children with fire, for the gods of Sepharvaim: Adram-melech and Anam-melech.
32 They worshipped Yahweh as well, and they appointed priests out of their own number for the highplaces, and these officiated in the shrines on the high places.	32 But nevertheless, they worshipped the Lord. Then they made for themselves, from the least of the people, priests of the high places. And they placed them in the shrines of the high places.
33 They worshipped Yahweh and served their own gods at the same time, with the rites of the countriesfrom which they had been deported.	33 And though they worshipped the Lord, they also served their own gods, according to the custom of the nations from which they had been transferred into Samaria.
34 They stil fol ow their old rites even now. They did not worship Yahweh and did not conform to hisstatutes or ritual, or the law or the commandments, which Yahweh had laid down for the sons of Jacob to whomhe gave the name Israel.	34 Even to the present day, they follow the ancient customs; they do not fear the Lord, and they do not keep his ceremonies, and judgments, and law, and commandment, which the Lord had instructed to the sons of Jacob, whom he named Israel.
35 Yahweh had made a covenant with them and had given them this command, 'You are not to worshipalien gods, you are not to bow down to them or serve them or offer them sacrifices.	35 And he had struck a covenant with them, and he had commanded them, saying: “You shall not fear foreign gods, and you shall not adore them, and you shall not worship them, and you shall not sacrifice to them.
36 You are to bow down and offer sacrifice only to Yahweh who brought you out of Egypt with greatpower and outstretched arm.	36 But the Lord, your God, who led you away from the land of Egypt, with great strength and with an outstretched arm, him shall you fear, and him shall you adore, and to him shall you sacrifice.
37 You are to observe the statutes and ritual, the law and the commandments which he has given you inwriting and to which you are always to conform; you are not to worship alien gods.	37 Also, the ceremonies, and judgments, and law, and commandment, which he wrote for you, you shall keep so that you do them for all days. And you shall not fear strange gods.
38 Do not forget the covenant which I have made with you, and do not venerate alien gods.	38 And the covenant, which he struck with you, you shall not forget; neither shall you worship strange gods.
39 But venerate Yahweh your God, and he wil deliver you from the clutches of all your enemies.'	39 But you shall fear the Lord, your God. And he will rescue you from the hand of all your enemies.”
40 But they would not listen and stil followed their old rites.	40 Yet truly, they did not listen to this. Instead, they acted in accord with their earlier custom.
41 These nationalities, then, worshipped Yahweh and served their idols as well, as did their children; andtheir children's children still behave today as their ancestors behaved in the past.	41 And such were these nations: to some extent fearing the Lord, yet nevertheless also serving their idols. As for their sons and grandsons, just as their fathers acted, so also did they act, even to the present day.