2 Kings 17:9–23

⁹Also the children of Israel secretly did against the Lord their God things that were not right, and they built for themselves ¹high places in all their cities, ^kfrom watchtower to fortified city. ^10lThey set up for themselves sacred pillars and ^mwooden images ²ⁿon every high hill and under every green tree. ¹¹There they burned incense on all the high places, like the nations whom the Lord had carried away before them; and they did wicked things to provoke the Lord to anger, ¹²for they served idols, ^oof which the Lord had said to them, ^p“You shall not do this thing.”

¹³Yet the Lord testified against Israel and against Judah, by all of His ^qprophets, ^revery seer, saying, ^s“Turn from your evil ways, and keep My commandments and My statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by My servants the prophets.” ¹⁴Nevertheless they would not hear, but ^tstiffened their necks, like the necks of their fathers, who ^udid not believe in the Lord their God. ¹⁵And they ^vrejected His statutes ^wand His covenant that He had made with their fathers, and His testimonies which He had testified against them; they followed ^xidols, ^ybecame idolaters, and went after the nations who were all around them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them that they should ^znot do like them. ¹⁶So they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, ^amade for themselves a molded image and two calves, ^bmade a wooden image and worshiped all the ^chost of heaven, ^dand served Baal. ^17eAnd they caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire, ^fpracticed witchcraft and soothsaying, and ^gsold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. ¹⁸Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them from His sight; there was none left ^hbut the tribe of Judah alone.

¹⁹Also ⁱJudah did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. ²⁰And the Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and ^jdelivered them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them from His ^ksight. ²¹For ^lHe tore Israel from the house of David, and ^mthey made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then Jeroboam drove Israel from following the Lord, and made them commit a great sin. ²²For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them, ²³until the Lord removed Israel out of His sight, ⁿas He had said by all His servants the prophets. ^oSo Israel was carried away from their own land to Assyria, as it is to this day.