Study Desk

In the ninth year of Hoshea, ^(e)the king of Assyria captured Samaria and ^(f)carried Israel away into exile to Assyria, and ^(g)settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of ^(h)Gozan, and ⁽ⁱ⁾in the cities of the Medes.

Now ^(j)this came about because the sons of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, ^(k)who had brought them up from the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, ^(l)and they had ^[a]feared other gods

and ^(m)walked in the ^[b]customs of the nations whom the Lord had driven out before the sons of Israel, and in the customs ⁽ⁿ⁾of the kings of Israel which they had ^[c]introduced.

The sons of Israel ^[d]did things secretly which were not right against the Lord their God. Moreover, they built for themselves high places in all their towns, from ^(o)watchtower to fortified city.

^(p)They set for themselves sacred pillars and ^[e](q)Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree,

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 .

They served idols, ^(r)concerning which the Lord had said to them, "You shall not do this thing."

Yet the ^(s) Lord warned Israel and Judah ^(t)through all His prophets and ^(u)every seer, saying, "^(v)Turn 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."

However, they did not listen, but ^(w)stiffened their neck ^[f]like their fathers, who did not believe in the Lord their God.

^(x)They rejected His statutes and ^(y)His covenant which He made with their fathers and His warnings with which He warned them. And ^(z)they followed vanity and ^(aa)became vain, and went after the nations which surrounded them, concerning which the ^(ab) Lord had commanded them not to do like them.

They forsook all the commandments of the Lord their God and made for themselves molten images, even ^(ac)two calves, and ^(ad)made an ^[g]Asherah and ^(ae)worshiped all the host of heaven and ^(af)served Baal.

Then ^(ag)they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and ^(ah)practiced divination and enchantments, and ^(ai)sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord , provoking Him.

So the Lord was very angry with Israel and ^(aj)removed them from His ^[h]sight; ^(ak)none was left except the tribe of Judah.