End of the kingdom of Israel in the north
1 ① Hoshea, son of Elah, began to reign in Israel in the twelfth year of Ahaz, king of Judah. He reigned for nine years in the city of Samaria, 2and he acted badly towards Yahweh though not as bad as the previous kings of Israel.
3Shalmaneser, king of Asshur, came with his army to attack Hoshea, who surrendered to him and began paying taxes to him. 4But the king of Asshur discovered that Hoshea was plotting against him, for Hoshea had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and did not pay him the taxes as he had done every year. Shalmaneser arrested him, and then put him in prison.
5The army of the king of Asshur subjected the whole of Israel, and they came to Samaria and laid siege to it for three years. 6In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria, exiled the Israelites to Asshur and made them settle in Halah, at the banks of Habor, the river of Gozan, as well as in the cities of the Medes.
Causes of the fall of Israel
7 ② This happened because the children of Israel had sinned against Yahweh, their God, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, where they were subject to Pharaoh, but they had turned back to other gods. 8They followed the customs of the nations which Yahweh had driven out before them.
9The children of Israel introduced many innovations that offended Yahweh, their God. They built sanctuaries in all the cities, from the watchtowers to the fortified cities. 10They placed images and sacred pillars on all the hills and under every green tree. 11There they burned incense in their sanctuaries on the hills, like the nations Yahweh had dispossessed for them.
They did wicked things, provoking Yahweh to anger. 12They served their filthy idols in spite of what Yahweh had told them: “You must not do such a thing.” 13Yahweh warned Israel and Judah through the mouth of every prophet and seer, saying: “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and precepts according to the laws which I commanded your fathers and which I have sent to you by my servants, the prophets.”
14But they did not listen and refused as did their fathers who did not believe in Yahweh, their God. 15They despised his statutes and the covenant he had made with their fathers, and the warnings he had given them. They went after worthless idols and they themselves became worthless, following the nations which surrounded them, in spite of what Yahweh had said, “Do not do as they do.”
16They abandoned all the commandments of Yahweh and fashioned two calves of bronze. They made sacred pillars and knelt before all the stars of heaven, and worshiped Baal.
17They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire, practiced divination and magic, and sold themselves to evildoing in the sight of Yahweh enkindling his anger.
18So Yahweh became indignant with Israel and cast them far away from his presence, leaving only the tribe of Judah.
19But neither did Judah keep the commandments of Yahweh, their God; on the contrary, they followed the customs practiced in Israel. 20Because of this, Yahweh rejected the whole race of Israel. He humbled them and delivered them into the hands of plunderers, until the day came when he drove them far away from his presence.
21When he divided the kingdom of David, Israel chose Jeroboam, son of Nebat, as king: he made them commit a great sin by separating themselves from Yahweh. 22The Israelites followed Jeroboam in his sins, and did not turn away from them 23until Yahweh had removed Israel from his presence, according to the warning given them through his servants, the prophets. So Israel was exiled from its land to the country of Asshur until this day.
The origin of the Samaritans
24 ③ The king of Asshur brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim, and he settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the Israelites. These people occupied the country of Samaria and resided in its cities.
25When they first settled there they did not worship Yahweh, so Yahweh sent lions which killed many of them. 26Then it was reported to the king of Asshur, “The people you deported and sent to Samaria to settle in its cities do not know how Yahweh, the God of the land, should be honored, so he has sent lions which are killing them.”
27So the king of Asshur commanded, “Let one of the priests we have banished from Samaria return there. Let him go and live with those people and teach them how to honor the God of that land.” 28So, one of the priests who had been banished from Samaria came back, and staying in Bethel, taught these people how they should honor Yahweh.
29Yet each of these nations made its own gods, and placed them in the sanctuaries on the hills which the Samaritans had built. Each of these nations put their god in the city where they settled: 30the Babylonians set up the idol Succoth, the inhabitants of Cuth made Negal, the inhabitants of Hamath made Ashima, 31those of Avva made Nibjaz and Tartak. Those of Sepharvaim burned their children in the fire in honor of Adrammelech and Anammelech, their gods.
32They worshiped Yahweh, but they appointed for themselves priests from among their people, who served Yahweh in the Houses on the hills. 33They honored Yahweh but at the same time, served their own gods, according to the customs of the nations where they had been banished.
34Until this very day, they still observe the old customs. They do not honor Yahweh since they do not follow the precepts and customs, the Law or the commandments which Yahweh had given to the children of Jacob to whom he had given the name Israel. 35Yahweh had made a covenant with them, commanding them, “Do not honor other gods or bow down before them, or serve them or offer them sacrifices. 36You shall honor Yahweh alone, who brought you out of the land of Egypt with the strength of his arm; before him you shall bow and to him alone shall you offer sacrifices. 37Keep the precepts, the ordinances, the Law and the commandments he wrote for you. Fulfill them all your days and do not adore strange gods. 38Do not forsake the covenant he made with you and do not adore strange gods, 39but adore only Yahweh, your God, and he shall free you from the hand of all your enemies.” 40But they did not pay attention; instead they followed their ancient customs.
41So these people honored Yahweh, but at the same time also served their idols; and after them, their children and their children’s children continued doing what their fathers had done.
- 2 K 17,1 Here we have the description of the fall of the northern kingdom. Samaria is captured in 721 B.C. The people are deported to an extreme place of the Assyrian empire, and residents from those remote provinces are brought to Samaria to mix with the people in the countryside. Such was the practice of the Assyrian conquerors: displacing and intermingling the people to prevent rebellion. From that time on, the Samaritans, or the Israelites of the north, are racially and religiously mixed, and the Israelites of Judah never consider them as their equals. Seven centuries later, in Jesus' time, the Samaritans were still neighbors to be avoided, because the suspicions and the conflicts had overcome the common memories. Thus, the most important of the kingdoms from David and Solomon disappears two centuries after Solomon's death. Among the Jews, the hope remains that when the Messiah comes he will reunite Judah and Israel and call all those scattered among the nations (see Ezk 37:15). 2 K 17,7 The kingdom of Israel disappeared when Samaria was conquered by the Assyrians. It was too small and isolated to resist its powerful neighbor. The Bible, however, makes us discover the deeper cause of this disaster: they had betrayed Yahweh their God. They served their filthy idols. Though the first meaning of idol was image, images of Christ and his servants the saints are not idols, as short-sighted believers think. An idol is everything that takes the place of the one God in our heart and our lives. He is the living God and gives life to those who serve him. The filthy idols bring sickness and confusion to the society which serves them. Whether they be gadgets, elements of a luxurious life, idols of flesh and blood, when we choose them we are always left sad and unclean. Yet the idols had another significance for Israel, a small kingdom less advanced than the neighboring nations. The idols were the symbol and the instrument of a foreign and alienating culture. The Canaanite and Assyrian idols included the worship of sex, greed and violence. The Israelites who were enticed by them forgot the problems of their own society and lost a thirst for justice which was their inheritance. It is the same now when people of a developing nation are enslaved by the idols of a consumerist society... When families are submissive to the T.V., religiously watching the advertising of greed, the erotic shows and whatever has been planned for them, they become unable to improve their own life in the context of their own reality. Then the building of a nation in justice become no more than a beautiful but unrealistic dream. They went after worthless idols and they themselves became worthless (v. 15). Jeremiah will also say: They served foreign gods and so I will send them to foreign lands as slaves (Jer 16:13). See also Jdg 3:7 and Rom 1:24. 2 K 17,24 The foreigners who are brought to Samaria meet with hardships which arouse religious restlessness in them: can the god of this land be angry with us because we do not offer sacrifices to him? Answering the doubts of these basically religious people, the author highlights the demands of faith: - it is not enough to honor the Lord along with the other gods, he is the only One and he asks us to destroy all the gods we have made for ourselves; - it is not enough to offer sacrifices to the Lord: we must do his will.
- 2 K 17,1 Here we have the description of the fall of the northern kingdom. Samaria is captured in 721 B.C. The people are deported to an extreme place of the Assyrian empire, and residents from those remote provinces are brought to Samaria to mix with the people in the countryside. Such was the practice of the Assyrian conquerors: displacing and intermingling the people to prevent rebellion. From that time on, the Samaritans, or the Israelites of the north, are racially and religiously mixed, and the Israelites of Judah never consider them as their equals. Seven centuries later, in Jesus' time, the Samaritans were still neighbors to be avoided, because the suspicions and the conflicts had overcome the common memories. Thus, the most important of the kingdoms from David and Solomon disappears two centuries after Solomon's death. Among the Jews, the hope remains that when the Messiah comes he will reunite Judah and Israel and call all those scattered among the nations (see Ezk 37:15). 2 K 17,7 The kingdom of Israel disappeared when Samaria was conquered by the Assyrians. It was too small and isolated to resist its powerful neighbor. The Bible, however, makes us discover the deeper cause of this disaster: they had betrayed Yahweh their God. They served their filthy idols. Though the first meaning of idol was image, images of Christ and his servants the saints are not idols, as short-sighted believers think. An idol is everything that takes the place of the one God in our heart and our lives. He is the living God and gives life to those who serve him. The filthy idols bring sickness and confusion to the society which serves them. Whether they be gadgets, elements of a luxurious life, idols of flesh and blood, when we choose them we are always left sad and unclean. Yet the idols had another significance for Israel, a small kingdom less advanced than the neighboring nations. The idols were the symbol and the instrument of a foreign and alienating culture. The Canaanite and Assyrian idols included the worship of sex, greed and violence. The Israelites who were enticed by them forgot the problems of their own society and lost a thirst for justice which was their inheritance. It is the same now when people of a developing nation are enslaved by the idols of a consumerist society... When families are submissive to the T.V., religiously watching the advertising of greed, the erotic shows and whatever has been planned for them, they become unable to improve their own life in the context of their own reality. Then the building of a nation in justice become no more than a beautiful but unrealistic dream. They went after worthless idols and they themselves became worthless (v. 15). Jeremiah will also say: They served foreign gods and so I will send them to foreign lands as slaves (Jer 16:13). See also Jdg 3:7 and Rom 1:24. 2 K 17,24 The foreigners who are brought to Samaria meet with hardships which arouse religious restlessness in them: can the god of this land be angry with us because we do not offer sacrifices to him? Answering the doubts of these basically religious people, the author highlights the demands of faith: - it is not enough to honor the Lord along with the other gods, he is the only One and he asks us to destroy all the gods we have made for ourselves; - it is not enough to offer sacrifices to the Lord: we must do his will.
- 2 K 17,1 Here we have the description of the fall of the northern kingdom. Samaria is captured in 721 B.C. The people are deported to an extreme place of the Assyrian empire, and residents from those remote provinces are brought to Samaria to mix with the people in the countryside. Such was the practice of the Assyrian conquerors: displacing and intermingling the people to prevent rebellion. From that time on, the Samaritans, or the Israelites of the north, are racially and religiously mixed, and the Israelites of Judah never consider them as their equals. Seven centuries later, in Jesus' time, the Samaritans were still neighbors to be avoided, because the suspicions and the conflicts had overcome the common memories. Thus, the most important of the kingdoms from David and Solomon disappears two centuries after Solomon's death. Among the Jews, the hope remains that when the Messiah comes he will reunite Judah and Israel and call all those scattered among the nations (see Ezk 37:15). 2 K 17,7 The kingdom of Israel disappeared when Samaria was conquered by the Assyrians. It was too small and isolated to resist its powerful neighbor. The Bible, however, makes us discover the deeper cause of this disaster: they had betrayed Yahweh their God. They served their filthy idols. Though the first meaning of idol was image, images of Christ and his servants the saints are not idols, as short-sighted believers think. An idol is everything that takes the place of the one God in our heart and our lives. He is the living God and gives life to those who serve him. The filthy idols bring sickness and confusion to the society which serves them. Whether they be gadgets, elements of a luxurious life, idols of flesh and blood, when we choose them we are always left sad and unclean. Yet the idols had another significance for Israel, a small kingdom less advanced than the neighboring nations. The idols were the symbol and the instrument of a foreign and alienating culture. The Canaanite and Assyrian idols included the worship of sex, greed and violence. The Israelites who were enticed by them forgot the problems of their own society and lost a thirst for justice which was their inheritance. It is the same now when people of a developing nation are enslaved by the idols of a consumerist society... When families are submissive to the T.V., religiously watching the advertising of greed, the erotic shows and whatever has been planned for them, they become unable to improve their own life in the context of their own reality. Then the building of a nation in justice become no more than a beautiful but unrealistic dream. They went after worthless idols and they themselves became worthless (v. 15). Jeremiah will also say: They served foreign gods and so I will send them to foreign lands as slaves (Jer 16:13). See also Jdg 3:7 and Rom 1:24. 2 K 17,24 The foreigners who are brought to Samaria meet with hardships which arouse religious restlessness in them: can the god of this land be angry with us because we do not offer sacrifices to him? Answering the doubts of these basically religious people, the author highlights the demands of faith: - it is not enough to honor the Lord along with the other gods, he is the only One and he asks us to destroy all the gods we have made for ourselves; - it is not enough to offer sacrifices to the Lord: we must do his will.
