In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah began to reign in Samaria over Israel, and reigned nine years. 2He did that which was evil in the sight of YAHWEH1, yet not as the kings of Israel who were before him. 3Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against him, and Hoshea became his servant and brought him tribute. 4The king of Assyria uncovered a conspiracy by Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year: therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison. 5Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years. 6In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
7This happened because Bani-Israel had sinned against YAHWEH their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Firaun2 king of Egypt, and had feared other gods, 8and followed the practices of the nations, whom YAHWEH cast out from before Bani-Israel, and the practices of the kings of Israel, which they introduced. 9Bani-Israel secretly did things against YAHWEH their God that were not right: and they built high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city; 10and they set up pillars and Asherim on every high hill, and under every green tree; 11and there they burned incense in all the high places, as the nations did whom YAHWEH carried away before them; and they did wicked things to provoke YAHWEH to anger, 12for they worshiped idols, of which YAHWEH had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.” 13Yet YAHWEH testified to Israel, and to Judah, by every prophet, and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to the whole Taurat3 which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets.” 14Notwithstanding, they would not listen, but hardened their neck, like the neck of their fathers, who did not believe in YAHWEH their God. 15They rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and the warnings which he had given them; and they followed worthless idols, and became worthless themselves, and imitated the nations that were all around them, concerning whom YAHWEH had charged them that they should not do like them. 16They forsook all the commandments of YAHWEH their God, and made cast metal images, even two calves, and made an Asherah, and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. 17They caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do that which was evil in the sight of YAHWEH, to provoke him to anger. 18Therefore YAHWEH was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.
19Also Judah did not keep the commandments of YAHWEH their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. 20YAHWEH rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight. 21For he tore Israel from the house of Dawud4; and they made Jeroboam son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drove Israel from following YAHWEH, and made them commit a great sin. 22Bani-Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them; 23until YAHWEH removed Israel out of his sight, as he spoke by all his servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away out of their own land to Assyria to this day.
24The king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Avva, and from Hamath and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of Bani-Israel; and they possessed Samaria, and lived in its cities. 25So it was, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they did not fear YAHWEH: therefore YAHWEH sent lions among them, which killed some of them. 26Therefore they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations which you have carried away, and placed in the cities of Samaria, do not know the law of the god of the land: therefore he has sent lions among them, and, behold, they kill them, because they do not know the law of the god of the land.”
27Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, “Carry there one of the priests whom you brought from there; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the law of the god of the land.”
28So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and lived in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear YAHWEH.
29However every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities in which they lived. 30The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, 31and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. 32So they feared YAHWEH, and made from their own people priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places. 33They feared YAHWEH, and worshiped their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away. 34To this day they continue in the former rituals: they do not fear YAHWEH, neither do they follow their statutes or ordinances, or the Taurat or the commandment which YAHWEH commanded the children of Yaqub, whom he named Israel; 35with whom YAHWEH had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, “You shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor worship them, nor sacrifice to them: 36but YAHWEH, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm, him shall you fear, and to him shall you bow yourselves, and to him shall you sacrifice: 37and the statutes and the ordinances, and the Taurat and the commandment, which he wrote for you, you shall be careful to observe forever; you shall not fear other gods: 38and the covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget; neither shall you fear other gods: 39but YAHWEH your God you shall fear; and he will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.”
40However they did not listen, but they followed their former rituals. 41So these nations feared YAHWEH, yet worshiped their engraved images; their children likewise, and their children’s children, as did their fathers, so do they to this day.
- 17:2 YAHWEH, God’s personal Name revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15: ‘God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.”’ ↩︎
- 17:7 Firaun, an Arabic term derived from the Hebrew title Pharaoh, used for the kings of ancient Egypt. ↩︎
- 17:13 Taurat, derived from Torah (Hebrew) which means “instruction” or “teaching.” Depending on context, Taurat can refer to,
1. The whole Hebrew Bible contained here under the title Taurat, equivalent to what Jews today call Tanakh, and what Christians call the Old Testament.
2. The revelation given to Prophet Musa, that is, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, sometimes called the Pentateuch. Pentateuch is a Greek word meaning “five books” and includes Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. These five books are attributed to Prophet Musa himself. This is the traditional and most common meaning given to Taurat or Torah.
3. The Law of Musa found within the Pentateuch, with its hundreds of rules and regulations covering many aspects of daily life for the people of Israel. The most famous of these laws are the Ten Commandments, found in Exodus 20.
4. Taurat can also refer to divine instruction and teaching in general without reference to a particular book of the Hebrew Bible. ↩︎ - 17:21 Dawud, this Arabic name is derived from David (Hebrew) and means “Beloved.” ↩︎