³ Shalmaneser^(A) king of Assyria came up to attack Hoshea, who had been Shalmaneser’s vassal and had paid him tribute.^{(B) 4} But the king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was a traitor, for he had sent envoys to So^[a] king of Egypt,^(C) and he no longer paid tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore Shalmaneser seized him and put him in prison.^{(D) 5} The king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched against Samaria and laid siege^(E) to it for three years. ⁶ In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria^(F) captured Samaria^(G) and deported^(H) the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan^(I) on the Habor River and in the towns of the Medes.

Israel Exiled Because of Sin

⁷ All this took place because the Israelites had sinned^(J) against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt^(K) from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods