3 King Shalmaneserv of Assyria attacked him,w and Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute. 4 But the king of Assyria caught Hoshea in a conspiracy: He had sent envoys to So king of Egyptx and had not paid tribute to the king of Assyria as in previous years.E Therefore the king of Assyria arrested him and put him in prison. 5 The king of Assyria invaded the whole land, marched up to Samaria, and besieged it for three years.y

THE FALL OF SAMARIA

6 In the ninth year of Hoshea,z the king of Assyria captured Samaria. He deportedaa the Israelites to Assyria and settled them in Halah, along the Habor (Gozan’s river), and in the cities of the Medes.ab