²⁴The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the Israelites. They took over Samaria and lived in its cities.

²⁵When they first came to live there, they didn’t worship the Lord. So the Lord sent lions to kill some of them. ²⁶Then someone said to the king of Assyria, “The people you took as captives and settled in the cities of Samaria don’t know the customs of the god of that country, so he sent lions. Now the lions are killing them because they don’t know the customs of the god of this country.”

²⁷The king of Assyria gave this command: “Bring one of the priests you captured from there. Let him go back to teach them the customs of the god of that country.” ²⁸So one of the priests who had been taken prisoner from Samaria went to live in Bethel. He taught them how to worship the Lord.

²⁹But each group ⸤that settled in Samaria⸥ continued to make its own gods. They put them at the illegal places of worship, which the people of Samaria had made. Each group did this in the cities where they lived:

³⁰The people from Babylon made Succoth Benoth.

The people from Cuth made Nergal.

The people from Hamath made Ashima.

³¹The people from Avva made Nibhaz and Tartak.

The people from Sepharvaim burned their children for Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.

³²So while these people were worshiping the Lord, they also appointed all kinds of people to serve as priests for the shrines at their illegal places of worship. ³³They worshiped the Lord but also served their own gods according to the customs of the nations from which they had come.

³⁴Today they are still following their customs, as they’ve done from the beginning. They don’t fear the Lord or live by the decrees, customs, teachings, or commands that the Lord gave to the descendants of Jacob (whom he named Israel). ³⁵When the Lord made a promise to Israel, he commanded, “Never worship other gods, bow down to them, serve them, or sacrifice to them. ³⁶Instead, worship the Lord, who used his great power and a mighty arm to bring you out of Egypt. Bow down to the Lord, and sacrifice to him. ³⁷Faithfully obey the laws, rules, teachings, and commands that he wrote for you: ‘Never worship other gods. ³⁸Never forget the promise I made to you. Never worship other gods. ³⁹Instead, worship the Lord your God, and he will rescue you from your enemies.’ ”

⁴⁰The people of Israel had refused to listen and made up their own rules, as they had done from the beginning. ⁴¹These ⸤other⸥ nations worshiped the Lord but also served their own idols. So did their children and their grandchildren. They still do whatever their ancestors did.

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