何细亚做以色列王
1犹大王亚哈斯执政第十二年，以拉的儿子何细亚在撒玛利亚登基做以色列王，执政九年。 2他做耶和华视为恶的事，不过没有他之前的以色列诸王那么败坏。 3亚述王撒缦以色攻打以色列，何细亚纳贡称臣。 4然而，何细亚差遣使者向埃及王梭求援，不再像往年那样向亚述王进贡。亚述王发现后，把他抓起来囚在狱中。 5亚述王攻打以色列全境，并围困撒玛利亚三年。 6何细亚执政第九年，撒玛利亚沦陷。亚述王把以色列人掳到亚述，安置在哈腊、歌散的哈博河一带以及玛代人的各城。
以色列人的罪恶史
7以色列人之所以有如此下场，是因为他们的上帝耶和华领他们出埃及，从埃及王法老手中救出他们，他们却犯罪得罪祂。他们祭拜别的神明， 8效法耶和华在他们面前赶走的外族人的风俗和以色列诸王奉行的习俗。 9以色列人暗中做不义之事，冒犯他们的上帝耶和华。从瞭望塔到坚城，他们在各地建丘坛， 10在各高岗上、绿树下立神柱和亚舍拉神像， 11在各丘坛烧香，如同耶和华在他们面前赶走的外族人一样。他们邪恶的行为激怒了耶和华。 12尽管耶和华警告他们不可祭拜偶像，他们仍然执迷不悟。
13耶和华借着祂的众先知和先见警告以色列人和犹大人说：“你们要离开恶道，遵守我的诫命和律例，即我吩咐你们祖先遵守并借着我的仆人——众先知传给你们的律法。” 14但他们充耳不闻，像他们祖先一样顽固不化，不信靠他们的上帝耶和华， 15拒绝遵守祂的律例和祂与他们祖先所立的约，无视祂的警告。他们随从虚无的偶像，自己也变得虚无。他们违背耶和华的命令，去效法周围的外族人。 16他们把他们的上帝耶和华的诫命抛诸脑后，铸造了两个金牛犊，还造了亚舍拉神像。他们祭拜巴力和天上的万象， 17把自己的儿女烧死献作祭物。他们占卜，行邪术，出卖自己去做耶和华视为恶的事，惹祂发怒。
18因此，耶和华非常愤怒，从祂面前赶走以色列人，只留下犹大一个支派。 19但犹大人也不遵守他们的上帝耶和华的诫命，反而效法以色列人的恶行。 20于是，耶和华弃绝了以色列全族，使他们饱尝痛苦，任人宰割，直至把他们从自己眼前赶走。 21祂使以色列从大卫家分裂出来，以色列人便拥立尼八的儿子耶罗波安为王。耶罗波安诱使以色列人远离耶和华，使他们犯了大罪。 22以色列人沉溺于耶罗波安所犯的一切罪中，始终不肯回头， 23直到耶和华把他们从自己眼前赶走，正如祂借自己的仆人——众先知对他们的警告。这样，以色列人被掳到亚述，至今仍住在那里。
外族人移居撒玛利亚
24亚述王把巴比伦、古他、亚瓦、哈马、西法瓦音等地的一些居民迁移到撒玛利亚各城，代替以色列人。 25刚迁居到那里的时候，他们不敬拜耶和华，所以耶和华差遣狮子闯入他们当中，咬死了一些人。 26有人禀告亚述王说：“你迁移到撒玛利亚各城的那些人不知道当地神明的规矩，所以神明就差遣狮子闯入他们当中，咬死了一些人。” 27亚述王便下令：“派一位被掳来的祭司回去，让他住在那里，把当地神明的规矩教导给他们。” 28于是，有一位从撒玛利亚被掳走的祭司回去住在伯特利，教导他们怎样敬拜耶和华。
29可是，这些从各地迁来的民族都在所住的各城为自己制造神像，供奉在撒玛利亚人在高岗上建造的神庙中。 30巴比伦人造疏割·比讷神像，古他人造匿甲神像，哈马人造亚示玛神像， 31亚瓦人造匿哈和他珥他神像，西法瓦音人焚烧儿女向他们的神明亚得米勒和亚拿米勒献祭。 32他们也敬拜耶和华，却委任各种人做祭司，在高岗上的神庙为他们献祭。 33他们就这样既敬拜耶和华，又各按各的风俗供奉自己的神明。
34直到现在，他们仍然执迷不悟，不敬畏耶和华，也不遵行耶和华赐给雅各子孙的律例、典章、法度和诫命。耶和华曾给雅各取名叫以色列， 35与他的子孙立约，吩咐他们：“不可祭拜其他神明，不可跪拜和供奉他们，也不可向他们献祭。 36耶和华伸出大能的臂膀把你们领出埃及，你们要敬拜祂，要向祂跪拜、献祭。 37你们要永远谨遵祂所定的律例、典章、法度和诫命，不可祭拜其他神明。 38不可忘记我与你们立的约，不可祭拜其他神明。 39我是你们的上帝耶和华，你们要敬拜我，我必从一切仇敌手中救你们。” 40但是他们没有听从，依然仿效先前的风俗。 41那些移民到撒玛利亚各城的外族人既敬拜耶和华，又供奉自己的偶像。直到今日，他们的子孙仍是这样。
Hoshea the Last King of Israel
1Hoshea became king of Israel in Samaria. It was in the 12th year that Ahaz was king of Judah. Hoshea ruled for nine years. He was the son of Elah. 2Hoshea did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. But he wasn’t as evil as the kings of Israel who ruled before him.
3Shalmaneser came up to attack Hoshea. Shalmaneser was king of Assyria. He had been Hoshea’s master. He had forced Hoshea to bring him gifts. 4But the king of Assyria found out that Hoshea had turned against him. Hoshea had sent messengers to So, the king of Egypt. Hoshea didn’t send gifts to the king of Assyria anymore. He had been sending them every year. So Shalmaneser grabbed him and put him in prison. 5The king of Assyria marched into the whole land of Israel. He marched to Samaria and surrounded it for three years. From time to time he attacked it. 6Finally, the king of Assyria captured Samaria. It was in the ninth year of Hoshea. The king of Assyria took the Israelites away from their own land. He sent them off to Assyria. He made some of them live in Halah. He made others live in Gozan on the Habor River. And he made others live in the towns of the Medes.
Israel Is Forced to Leave the Land Because of Sin
7All of this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God. He had brought them up out of Egypt. He had brought them out from under the power of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. But they worshiped other gods. 8The Lord had driven out other nations to make room for Israel. But they followed the evil practices of those nations. They also followed the practices that the kings of Israel had started. 9The Israelites did things in secret against the Lord their God. What they did wasn’t right. They built high places for worship in all their towns. They built them at lookout towers. They also built them at cities that had high walls around them. 10They set up sacred stones. And they set up poles used to worship the female god named Asherah. They did that on every high hill and under every green tree. 11The Lord had driven out nations to make room for Israel. But the Israelites burned incense at every high place, just as those nations had done. The Israelites did evil things that made the Lord very angry. 12They worshiped statues of gods. They did it even though the Lord had said, “Do not do that.” 13The Lord warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers. He said, “Turn from your evil ways. Keep my commands and rules. Obey every part of my Law. I commanded your people who lived long ago to obey it. And I gave it to you through my servants the prophets.”
14But the people wouldn’t listen. They were as stubborn as their people of long ago had been. Those people didn’t trust in the Lord their God. 15They refused to obey his rules. They broke the covenant he had made with them. They didn’t pay any attention to the rules he had warned them to keep. They worshiped worthless statues of gods. Then they themselves became worthless. They followed the example of the nations around them. They did it even though the Lord had ordered them not to. He had said, “Do not do as they do.”
16They turned away from all the commands of the Lord their God. They made two statues of gods for themselves. The statues were shaped like calves. They made a pole used to worship the female god named Asherah. They bowed down to all the stars. And they worshiped the god named Baal. 17They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced all kinds of evil magic. They gave up following God’s rules. They did only what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. All these things made him very angry.
18So the Lord was very angry with Israel. He removed them from his land. Only the tribe of Judah was left. 19And even Judah didn’t obey the commands of the Lord their God. They followed the practices Israel had started. 20So the Lord turned his back on all the people of Israel. He made them suffer. He handed them over to people who stole everything they had. And finally he threw them out of his land.
21The Lord took control of Israel away from the royal house of David. The Israelites made Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, their king. Jeroboam tried to get Israel to stop following the Lord. He caused them to commit a terrible sin. 22The Israelites were stubborn. They continued to commit all the sins Jeroboam had committed. They didn’t turn away from them. 23So the Lord removed them from his land. That’s what he had warned them he would do. He had given that warning through all his servants the prophets. So the people of Israel were taken away from their country. They were forced to go to Assyria. And that’s where they still are.
Assyria Makes Other People Live in Samaria
24The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Kuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim. He made all of them live in the towns of Samaria. They took the place of the people of Israel. They lived in all the towns of Samaria. 25When they first lived there, they didn’t worship the Lord. So he sent lions among them. And the lions killed some of the people. 26A report was given to the king of Assyria. He was told, “You forced people to leave their own homes and live in the towns of Samaria. But they don’t know what the god of that country requires. So he has sent lions among them. And the lions are killing the people off. That’s because the people don’t know what that god requires.”
27Then the king of Assyria gave an order. He said, “Get one of the priests you captured from Samaria. Send him back to live there. Have him teach the people what the god of that land requires.” 28So a priest went back to live in Bethel. He was one of the priests who had been forced to leave Samaria. He taught the people of Bethel how to worship the Lord.
29In spite of that, the people from each nation made statues of their own gods. They made them in all the towns where they had been forced to live. They set up those statues in small temples. The people of Samaria had built the temples at the high places. 30The people from Babylon made statues of the god named Sukkoth Benoth. Those from Kuthah made statues of the god named Nergal. Those from Hamath made statues of the god named Ashima. 31The Avvites made statues of the gods named Nibhaz and Tartak. The Sepharvites sacrificed their children in the fire to the gods named Adrammelek and Anammelek. They were the gods of Sepharvaim. 32So the people of Samaria worshiped the Lord. But they also appointed all kinds of their own people to be their priests. The priests served in the small temples at the high places. 33The people worshiped the Lord. But they also served their own gods. They followed the evil practices of the nations they had been taken from.
34The people of Samaria are still stubborn. They continue in their old practices to this day. And now they don’t even worship the Lord. They don’t follow his directions and rules. They don’t obey his laws and commands. The Lord had given all these laws to the family of Jacob. He gave the name Israel to Jacob. 35The Lord made a covenant with the Israelites. At that time he commanded them, “Do not worship any other gods. Do not bow down to them. Do not serve them or sacrifice to them. 36The Lord is the one you must worship. The Lord brought you up out of Egypt by his great power. He saved you by reaching out his mighty arm. You must bow down only to him. You must offer sacrifices only to him. 37You must always be careful to follow his directions and rules. You must obey the laws and commands he wrote for you. Do not worship other gods. 38Do not forget the covenant I made with you. And remember, you must not worship other gods. 39Instead, worship the Lord your God. He will save you from the powerful hand of all your enemies.”
40But the people wouldn’t listen. Instead, they were stubborn. They continued in their old practices. 41They worshiped the Lord. But at the same time, they served the statues of their gods. And to this day their children and grandchildren continue to do what their people before them did.
