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In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah became king in Samaria over Israel. He reigned nine years.
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He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, but not like the kings of Israel who were before him.
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Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against him; and Hoshea submitted to him and paid tribute.
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But the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea, because Hoshea had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and had no longer brought tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year; therefore the king of Assyria seized him and bound him in prison.
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Then the king of Assyria advanced through the whole land, attacked Samaria, and besieged it three years.
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In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria. He carried the Israelites away to Assyria into exile, and made them live in Halah, by the river Habor, that is, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
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This happened because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and because they had worshiped other gods,
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and had walked in the customs of the nations whom the LORD had driven out from before the people of Israel, and according to the statutes that the kings of Israel had made.
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And the people of Israel did things that were not right against the LORD their God. They built high places in all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city;
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they set up pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree;
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there they burned offerings on all the high places, like the nations whom the LORD had carried away from before them; they did evil things, provoking the LORD to anger;
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they served idols, though the LORD had said to them, “You shall not do this!”
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The LORD warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law that I commanded your fathers and that I sent to them by my servants the prophets.”
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But they would not listen, but stiffened their necks, like their fathers who did not believe in the LORD their God.
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They rejected His statutes and His covenant, which He had made with their fathers, and His testimonies that He had warned them about; they followed worthless gods, and so they followed the nations around them, though the LORD had commanded them, “You shall not do as they do.”
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They abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made for themselves two cast metal calves; they also made an Asherah image, bowed down to all the host of heaven, and served Baal.
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Moreover, they offered their sons as sacrifices in the fire, practiced divination and soothsaying, and sold themselves to do what was evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.
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Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them from His presence; none remained except the tribe of Judah alone. —
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Judah also did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God, but lived according to the statutes that Israel had made,
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so the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel; He afflicted them and gave them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them out from His presence. —
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When He tore Israel away from the house of David, they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king; but Jeroboam led Israel away from following the LORD and caused them to commit a great sin.
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Thus the people of Israel walked in all the sins that Jeroboam had committed; they did not turn away from them,
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until the LORD removed Israel from His presence, as He had spoken by all His servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away from their land to Assyria into exile. To this day.
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The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, from Cuthah, from Ava, from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the people of Israel; and they took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities.
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At the beginning, when they lived there, they did not fear the LORD; therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them.
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So people said to the king of Assyria, “The nations that you have carried away captive and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know the law of the god of the land; therefore He has sent lions among them, and indeed they are killing them, because they do not know the law of the god of the land.”
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Then the king of Assyria gave orders: “Send one of the priests whom you carried away from there into exile back there. Let him go and live there, and let him teach them the law of how to worship the God of the land!”
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So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria into exile came and lived in Bethel. He taught them how they should worship the LORD.
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But each nation had made its own god and placed it in the temple on the high places, which the Samaritans had made; each nation did this in the cities where they lived:
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the people of Babylon made the image of Succoth-Benoth, the people of Cuth made the image of Nergal, and the people of Hamath made the image of Ashima,
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and the Avvites made the images of Nibhaz and Tartak. The Sepharvites burned their children as offerings to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
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In addition, they worshiped the LORD and appointed from among themselves priests for the high places, and these men performed the worship for them in the temple on the high places.
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They worshiped the LORD, but at the same time they served their own gods according to the custom of the nations from among whom they had been carried away captive.
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To this day they act according to the former custom.
They do not worship the LORD, and they do not act according to the statutes, ordinances, law, and commandment that the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom He named Israel.
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The LORD had made a covenant with them and given them command, saying: “You shall not worship other gods, nor bow down to them, nor serve them, nor offer sacrifices to them.
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But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm, Him you shall worship; to Him you shall bow down and offer sacrifices.
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And the statutes, ordinances, law, and commandment that He wrote for you, you shall keep, doing them always faithfully, and you shall not worship other gods.
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Do not forget the covenant that I have made with you, and do not worship other gods,
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but the LORD your God you shall worship, and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.”
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But they would not listen, and instead they acted according to their former custom.
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Thus these nations served the LORD, yet at the same time they also worshiped their idols; both their children and their children’s children did as their fathers had done, to this day.
🔥⚖️🏴☠️ Summary of 2 Kings 17 – The Fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Cause of the Exile
2 Kings 17 is the climax of the tragic history of Northern Israel (the kingdom of the ten tribes) — this chapter records in full the fall of Samaria, the exile of the people of Israel to Assyria, and the main causes: persistent sin, idolatry, and rejection of God. God patiently sent His prophets, but the people kept refusing until at last they were carried away and replaced by foreigners. This is a solemn warning about the consequences of not repenting.
📌 1. Hoshea, the Last King of Israel (verses 1–6)
➡️ Hoshea reigned for 9 years and did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, though not as severely as his predecessors
➡️ He became a vassal (political subordinate) of the king of Assyria and paid tribute
➡️ But he betrayed him by trying to ally with Egypt
➡️ As a result, the king of Assyria seized Hoshea and besieged Samaria for 3 years
➡️ In the 9th year, Samaria fell — Israel was carried away to Assyria
🎯 National sin ended in total exile, even for a leader whose sin seemed “less severe.”
📌 2. Explanation of Why Israel Was Exiled (verses 7–23)
➡️ The biblical writer explains at length why Israel was exiled:
- They sinned against the LORD
- Worshiped foreign gods
- Refused to listen to the prophets
- Imitated the pagan nations
- Set up idols, Asherah poles, and burned their children
- Ignored the commands of the LORD and the law of Moses
➡️ The Lord had been patient and had warned them repeatedly, but they remained stubborn
➡️ In the end, the Lord “removed them from His presence” — only Judah remained
🎯 Collective sin, if not forsaken, will bring collective judgment.
📌 3. Foreigners Placed in Samaria (verses 24–33)
➡️ The king of Assyria replaced the people of Israel with other nations: Babylon, Cuthah, Hamath, and others.
➡️ These people lived in Samaria but did not know the Lord, so the Lord sent lions to attack them
➡️ They then asked that an Israelite priest be sent to teach them the “religion of the land”
➡️ But they mixed the worship of the LORD with idol worship
🎯 Mixed worship only produces syncretism — and God does not accept worship like that.
📌 4. A Tragic Ending: They Worshiped the Lord, Yet Also Other Gods (verses 34–41)
➡️ Even to that day (the time of the writer of this book), those foreigners continued to worship the LORD while also worshiping their own gods
➡️ They did not obey God’s covenant, and their children followed the same path
🎯 Worshiping the Lord while still living in compromise = false worship.
📖 Main Teaching
- The Lord is long-suffering, but He will not allow sin to continue without repentance
- Idolatry is a serious violation of the covenant with God
- Rejecting the voice of the prophet and the word of God is a sure path to ruin
- Spiritual syncretism (mixed worship) is a form of deception, not tolerance
- Exile is a consequence, not an accident — God warns before He judges
✨ Spiritual Meaning (New Testament)
📖 Hebrews 3:15
“Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”
➡️ Israel rejected the voice of the prophets — a hardened heart brought them into exile.
📖 Matthew 6:24
“No one can serve two masters.”
➡️ The Samaritans worshiped the Lord but also idols — both could not be served.
📖 2 Peter 3:9
“The Lord is not slow to keep His promise… He is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
➡️ The Lord gave many opportunities before judging — Israel rejected them.
📖 Galatians 1:6–7
“I am astonished that you are so quickly turning away… to a different gospel, which is really no gospel at all.”
➡️ Just as Israel mixed truth with foreign teaching — we too can stumble if we are not watchful.
🕊️ “They worshiped other gods and bowed down to them.” – 2 Kings 17:7
🕊️ “The LORD warned Israel and Judah through all His prophets… but they would not listen.” – 2 Kings 17:13–14
🕊️ “The LORD was very angry… and removed them from His presence.” – 2 Kings 17:18
🕊️ “They worshiped the LORD, but also served their own gods.” – 2 Kings 17:33
