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In the twelfthyear of Ahazking of Judah began Hoshea the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israelnineyears.
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And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as the kings of Israel that were before him.
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Against him came upShalmaneserking of Assyria; and Hoshea became his servant, and gave him presents.
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And the king of Assyriafoundconspiracy in Hoshea: for he had sentmessengers to Soking of Egypt, and brought no present 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.
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Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it threeyears.
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In the ninthyear of Hoshea the king of AssyriatookSamaria, and carriedIsraelaway into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
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For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaohking of Egypt, and had fearedothergods,
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And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made.
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And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the LORD their God, and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fencedcity.
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And they set them upimages and groves in every highhill, and under every greentree:
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And there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the heathen whom the LORD carried awaybefore them; and wroughtwickedthings to provoke the LORD to anger:
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For they servedidols, whereof the LORD had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing.
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Yet the LORDtestified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evilways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets.
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Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the LORD their God.
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And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followedvanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them.
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And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even twocalves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and servedBaal.
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And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and useddivination and enchantments, and sold themselves to doevil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
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Therefore the LORD was veryangry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.
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Also Judahkept not the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.
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And the LORDrejected 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.
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For he rentIsrael from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebatking: and JeroboamdraveIsrael from following the LORD, and made them sin a greatsin.
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For the children of Israelwalked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them;
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Until the LORDremovedIsrael out of his sight, as he had saidby all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.
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And the king of Assyriabrought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessedSamaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof.
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And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not the LORD: therefore the LORDsentlions among them, which slew some of them.
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Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land: therefore he hath sentlions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land.
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Then the king of Assyriacommanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land.
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Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samariacame and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD.
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Howbeit every nationmadegods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt.
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And the men of BabylonmadeSuccothbenoth, and the men of CuthmadeNergal, and the men of HamathmadeAshima,
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And the AvitesmadeNibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvitesburnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
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So they feared the LORD, and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places.
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They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.
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Unto this day they do after the formermanners: they fear not the LORD, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORDcommanded the children of Jacob, whom he namedIsrael;
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With whom the LORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fearothergods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them:
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But the LORD, who brought you upout of the land of Egypt with greatpower and a stretched outarm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice.
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And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore; and ye shall not fearothergods.
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And the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget; neither shall ye fearothergods.
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But the LORD your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.
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Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their formermanner.
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So these nationsfeared the LORD, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children's children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.