2 Kings 17:9-23 — Legacy Standard Bible

⁹And the sons of Israel ¹did things secretly which were not right against Yahweh their God. Moreover, they built for themselves high places in all their cities, from ^awatchtower to fortified city. ¹⁰^aAnd they set for themselves sacred pillars and ¹^,^bAsherim on every high hill and under every green tree, ¹¹and there they burned incense on all the high places as the nations did which Yahweh had taken away into exile before them; and they did evil things provoking Yahweh to anger. ¹²And they served idols, ^aconcerning which Yahweh had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.” ¹³Yet ^aYahweh warned Israel and Judah ^bby the hand of all His prophets and ^cevery seer, saying, “^dTurn 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 by the hand of My slaves the prophets.” ¹⁴However, they did not listen, but ^astiffened their neck ¹like their fathers, who did not believe in Yahweh their God. ¹⁵^aThey also rejected His statutes and ^bHis covenant which He cut with their fathers and His warnings with which He warned them. And ^cthey followed vanity and ^dbecame vain, and went after the nations which surrounded them, concerning which ^eYahweh had commanded them not to do like them. ¹⁶And they forsook all the commandments of Yahweh their God and made for themselves molten images, even ^atwo calves, and ^bmade an ¹Asherah and ^cworshiped all the host of heaven and ^dserved Baal. ¹⁷Then ^athey made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and ^bpracticed divination and omens, and ^csold themselves to do what is evil in the sight of Yahweh, provoking Him to anger. ¹⁸So Yahweh was very angry with Israel and ^acaused them to depart from His ¹presence; ^bnone was left except the tribe of Judah alone.

¹⁹Also ^aJudah did not keep the commandments of Yahweh their God, but ^bwalked in the statutes ¹which Israel had made. ²⁰So Yahweh rejected all the seed of Israel and afflicted them and ^agave them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them ¹from His presence.

²¹When ^aHe had torn Israel from the house of David, ^bthey made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then ^cJeroboam drove Israel away from following Yahweh and made them sin a great sin. ²²And the sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them ²³^auntil Yahweh caused Israel to depart from His presence, ^bas He spoke through all His slaves the prophets. ^cSo Israel went into exile from their own land to Assyria until this day.