Israel Captive

6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, athe king of Assyria captured Samaria and bcarried Israel away into exile to Assyria, and csettled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of dGozan, and ein the cities of the Medes.

Why Israel Fell

7 Now athis came about because the sons of Israel had sinned against the Lord 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

8 and awalked in the 1customs of the nations whom the Lord had driven out before the sons of Israel, and in the customs bof the kings of Israel which they had 2introduced.

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

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

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

12 They served idols, aconcerning which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.”

13 Yet the aLord warned Israel and Judah bthrough 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 through My servants the prophets.”

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

15 aThey rejected His statutes and bHis covenant which He made 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 the eLord had commanded them not to do like them.

16 They forsook all the commandments of the Lord 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.

17 Then athey made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and bpracticed divination and enchantments, and csold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him.

18 So the Lord was very angry with Israel and aremoved them from His 1sight; bnone was left except the tribe of Judah.

19 Also aJudah did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God, but bwalked in the 1customs 2which Israel had 3introduced.

20 The Lord rejected all the 1descendants of Israel and afflicted them and agave them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them 2out of His sight.

21 When aHe had torn Israel from the house of David, bthey made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then cJeroboam drove Israel away from following the Lord and made them 1commit a great sin.

22 The sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them

23 auntil the Lord removed Israel from His sight, bas He spoke through all His servants the prophets. aSo Israel was carried away into exile from their own land to Assyria until this day.