2 Kings 17:7–18

Israel Rejects Yahweh

⁷Now ^athis happened because the sons of Israel had sinned against Yahweh their God—^bwho had brought them up from the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt—^cand they had ¹feared other gods

⁸and ^awalked in the statutes of the nations whom Yahweh had dispossessed from before the sons of Israel, and in the statutes ^bof the kings of Israel which they had made.

⁹And the sons of Israel ¹did things secretly which were not right against Yahweh their God. Moreover, they built for themselves high places in all their cities, from ^awatchtower to fortified city.

^10aAnd they set for themselves sacred pillars and ^1bAsherim on every high hill and under every green tree,

¹¹and there they burned incense on all the high places as the nations did which Yahweh had taken away into exile before them; and they did evil things provoking Yahweh to anger.

¹²And they served idols, ^aconcerning which Yahweh had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.”

¹³Yet ^aYahweh warned Israel and Judah ^bby the hand of all His prophets and ^cevery seer, saying, “^dTurn from your evil ways and keep My commandments, My statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by the hand of My slaves the prophets.”

¹⁴However, they did not listen, but ^astiffened their neck ¹like their fathers, who did not believe in Yahweh their God.

^15aThey also rejected His statutes and ^bHis covenant which He cut with their fathers and His warnings with which He warned them. And ^cthey followed vanity and ^dbecame vain, and went after the nations which surrounded them, concerning which ^eYahweh had commanded them not to do like them.

¹⁶And they forsook all the commandments of Yahweh their God and made for themselves molten images, even ^atwo calves, and ^bmade an ¹Asherah and ^cworshiped all the host of heaven and ^dserved Baal.

¹⁷Then ^athey made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and ^bpracticed divination and omens, and ^csold themselves to do what is evil in the sight of Yahweh, provoking Him to anger.

¹⁸So Yahweh was very angry with Israel and ^acaused them to depart from His ¹presence; ^bnone was left except the tribe of Judah alone.