2 Kings 17:24–41

^24x*And the king of Assyria brought men from ^yBabylon, and from Cuthah, and from ^||Ava, and from ^zHamath, and from ^aSepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof. ²⁵And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not the Lord: therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which slew some of them. ²⁶Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land. ²⁷Then 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 God of the land. ²⁸Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in ^bBeth-el, and taught them how they should fear the Lord. ²⁹Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in ^cthe houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt. ³⁰And the men of ^dBabylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, ³¹And the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites ^eburnt their children in fire to ^fAdrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. ³²So they feared the Lord, and ^gmade unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in ^cthe houses of the high places. ^33hThey feared the Lord, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations ^||whom they carried away from thence. ³⁴Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the Lord, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, ⁱwhom he named Israel; ³⁵With whom the Lord had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, ^kYe shall not fear other gods, nor ^lbow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them: ³⁶But the Lord, ^mwho brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and ⁿa stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice. ³⁷And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, ^oye shall observe to do for evermore; and ^kye shall not fear other gods. ³⁸And the covenant that I have made with you ^pye shall not forget; neither ^kshall ye fear other gods. ³⁹But ^qthe Lord your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies. ⁴⁰Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their former manner. ^41rSo these 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.