2 Kings 17:24-33
New Catholic Bible
24 Foreigners Deported to Samaria.[a] The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and he settled them in the cities of Samaria to replace the Israelites. They took possession of Samaria and dwelt in its cities.
25 When they first began to dwell there, they did not fear the Lord, so the Lord sent lions among them which killed some of them. 26 The king of Assyria was told, “The nations that you deported and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know the law of the God of the land. This is why he sent lions among them to kill them, because they did not know the law of the God of the land.”
27 The king of Assyria commanded, “Carry one of the priests there whom you deported. Let him go and dwell there to teach them the law of the God of the land.”
28 One of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria went and dwelt in Bethel. He taught them how to fear the Lord. 29 But all the nations still made their own gods, and they placed their shrines on the high places which the Samaritans had made, each nation in their own cities where they dwelt. 30 The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, 31 and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak. The Sepharvites burned their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of the Sepharvaim.
32 They also feared the Lord, and they appointed priests for the high places from their lowliest classes. They performed sacrifices for them in the shrines on the high places. 33 So they feared the Lord but they also served their own gods in the tradition of the nations from which they had been carried away.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Kings 17:24 In accordance with Assyrian custom, the territory now largely deserted is repopulated by other peoples, who are taught to worship the Lord but who combine this with worship of the gods of their native lands. The resultant syncretism gives rise to the Samaritans, who will be regarded as heretics (Ezr 4:1-5; Sir 50:25), even in New Testament times (Jn 4:9, 20; 8:48; Acts 8:4-6; Lk 9:52; Mt 10:5). The mingling of the remaining Israelites with the newcomers was perhaps enough to explain the development.
