2Ki 17:7-18 | NASB1995 | STEP | Now this came about because the sons of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God , who had brought them up from the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh , king of Egypt , and they had feared other gods

2 Kings 17:7-18

Why Israel Fell

7 Now ^a this came about because the sons of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, ^bwho had brought them up from the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, ^cand they had ^{▼▼ Lit revered, and so throughout the ch}feared other gods 8 and ^ewalked in the ^{▼▼ Lit statutes}customs of the nations whom the Lord had driven out before the sons of Israel, and in the customs ^gof the kings of Israel which they had ^{▼▼ Lit made}introduced. 9 The sons of Israel ^{▼▼ Or uttered words which}did things secretly which were not right against the Lord their God. Moreover, they built for themselves high places in all their towns, from ^jwatchtower to fortified city. 10 ^kThey set for themselves sacred pillars and ^{▼▼ I.e. wooden symbols of a female deity
,} ^mAsherim on every high hill and under every green tree, 11 and there they burned incense on all the high places as the nations did which the Lord had carried away to exile before them; and they did evil things provoking the Lord. 12 They served idols, ⁿconcerning which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.” 13 Yet the ^oLord warned Israel and Judah ^pthrough all His prophets and ^qevery seer, saying, ^r“Turn 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 through My servants the prophets.” 14 However, they did not listen, but ^sstiffened their neck ^{▼▼ Lit like the neck of}like their fathers, who did not believe in the Lord their God. 15 ^uThey rejected His statutes and ^vHis covenant which He made with their fathers and His warnings with which He warned them. And ^wthey followed vanity and ^xbecame vain, and went after the nations which surrounded them, concerning which the ^yLord had commanded them not to do like them. 16 They forsook all the commandments of the Lord their God and made for themselves molten images, even ^ztwo calves, and ^aamade an ^{▼▼ I.e. a wooden symbol of a female deity}Asherah and ^acworshiped all the host of heaven and ^adserved Baal. 17 Then ^aethey made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and ^afpracticed divination and enchantments, and ^agsold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him. 18 So the Lord was very angry with Israel and ^ahremoved them from His ^{▼▼ Lit face}sight; ^ajnone was left except the tribe of Judah.