2 Reis 17

¹ In the twelft yeere of Ahaz King of Iudah began Hoshea the sonne of Elah to reigne in Samaria ouer Israel, and reigned nine yeeres.

² And he did [that which was] evil in the sight of the LORD,Though he invented no new idolatry or impiety as others did, yet he sought help from the Egyptians, whom God had forbidden.but not as the kings of Israel that were before him.

³ And Shalmaneser king of Asshur came vp against him, and Hoshea became his seruant, and gaue him presents.

⁴ And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea: for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and brought no present to the king of Assyria,For he had paid tribute for eight years.as [he had done] year by year: therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison.

⁵ Then the king of Asshur came vp throughout all the lande, and went against Samaria, and besieged it three yeere.

⁶ In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor [by] the river of Gozan, and in the cities of theFor at this time the Medes and Persians were subject to the Assyrians.Medes.

⁷ For [so] it was, that the children of Israel hadHe sets forth at length the cause of this great plague and perpetual captivity, to admonish all people, and nations to cleave to the Lord God, and worship only him for fear of similar judgment.sinned against the LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods,

⁸ And walked according to the facions of the Heathen, whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel, and after the maners of the Kings of Israel, which they vsed,

⁹ And the children of Israel did secretly [those] things that [were] not right against the LORD their God, and they built them high places in all their cities, from the towerMeaning, throughout all their borders.of the watchmen to the fenced city.

¹⁰ And had made them images and groues vpon euery hie hill, and vnder euery greene tree,

¹¹ And there burnt incense in all the hie places, as did the heathen, whom the Lord had taken away before them, and wrought wicked things to anger the Lord,

¹² And serued idoles: whereof the Lorde had sayd vnto them, Ye shal do no such thing,

¹³ Notwithstanding the Lord testified to Israel, and to Iudah by all the Prophets, & by all the Seers, saying, Turne from your euill wayes, and keepe my commandements & my statutes, according to all the Lawe, which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my seruants the Prophets.

¹⁴ Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of theirSo that to allege the authority of our fathers or great antiquity, except we can prove that they were godly, is but to declare that we are the children of the wicked.fathers, that did not believe in the LORD their God.

¹⁵ And they refused his statutes and his couenant, that he made with their fathers, & his testimonies (wherewith he witnessed vnto them) and they followed vanitie, and became vaine, and followed the heathen that were round about them: concerning whome the Lord had charged them, that they should not do like them.

¹⁶ And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, [even] two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all theThat is, the sun, moon and stars, (Deu_4:19).host of heaven, and served Baal.

¹⁷ And they caused their sons and their daughters toRead (2Ki_16:3).pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, andRead of this phrase in (1Ki_21:20, 1Ki_21:25).sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

¹⁸ Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of JudahNo whole tribe was left but Judah, and they of Benjamin and Levi who remained were counted with Judah.only.

¹⁹ Yet Iudah kept not the commandements of the Lord their God, but walked according to the facion of Israel, which they vsed.

²⁰ And the LORD rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of hisOut of the land where he showed the greatest tokens of his presence and favour.sight.

²¹ That is, God cut off the ten tribes, (1Ki_12:16, 1Ki_12:20).For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drave Israel from following the LORD, and made them sin a great sin.

²² For the children of Israel walked in all the sinnes of Ieroboam, which he did, and departed not therefrom,

²³ Vntill the Lord put Israel away out of his sight, as he had said by all his seruants the Prophets, and caryed Israel away out of their land to Asshur vnto this day.

²⁴ And the king of Assyria brought [men] from Babylon, and fromOf these people came the Samaritans, of which mention is so often made in the gospel, and with whom the Jews would have nothing to do, (Joh_4:9).Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed [them] in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof.

²⁵ And [so] it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, [that] theyThat is, they served him not: therefore, lest they should blaspheme him, as though there were no God, because he chastised the Israelites, he shows his mighty power among them by this strange punishment.feared not the LORD: therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which slew [some] of them.

²⁶ Wherefore they spake to the King of Asshur, saying, The nations which thou hast remoued, and placed in the cities of Samaria, knowe not the maner of the God of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among them, and behold, they slay them, because they knowe not the maner of the God of the land.

²⁷ Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the GodThat is, how to worship him: thus the wicked rather than losing their conveniences will change to all religions.of the land.

²⁸ So one of the Priestes, which they had caryed from Samaria, came and dwelt in Beth-el, and taught them how they shoulde feare the Lorde.

²⁹ Howbeit euery nation made their gods, & put them in the houses of the hie places, which the Samaritanes had made, euery nation in their cities, wherein they dwelt.

³⁰ And the men of Babylon madeMeaning that every country served the idol that was most esteemed in the place to which they came.Succothbenoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima,

³¹ And the Auims made Nibhaz, and Tartak: and the Sepharuims burnt their children in the fire to Adrammelech, and Anammelech the gods of Sepharuaim.

³² Thus they feared the Lorde, and appoynted out Priestes out of them selues for the hie places, who prepared for them sacrifices in the houses of the hie places.

³³ TheyThat is, they had a certain knowledge of God, and feared him because of the punishment, but they continued to be idolaters as do the papists who worship both God and idols: but this is not to fear God, as appears in (2Ki_17:34).feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.

³⁴ Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the LORD, neither do they afterHe means by this the Israelites to whom God had given his commandments.their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel;

³⁵ And with whom the Lord had made a couenant, and charged them, saying, Feare none other gods, nor bowe your selues to them, nor serue them, nor sacrifice to them:

³⁶ But feare the Lorde which brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power, and a stretched out arme: him feare ye, and worshippe him, and sacrifice to him.

³⁷ Also keepe ye diligently the statutes and the ordinances, and the Lawe, and the commandement, which he wrote for you, that ye do them continually, and feare not other gods.

³⁸ And forget not the couenant that I haue made with you, neither feare ye other gods,

³⁹ But feare the Lord your God, and he will deliuer you out of the handes of all your enemies.

⁴⁰ Howbeit they obeyed not, but did after their olde custome.

⁴¹ So theseThat is, these strangers who were sent into Samaria by the Assyrians.nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children's children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.