18. The Lord became so angry with Israel that he removed them from his sight. Only the tribe of Judah was left.
19. Even Judah didn’t obey the commands of the Lord their God but lived according to Israel’s customs.
20. So the Lord rejected all of Israel’s descendants, made them suffer, handed them over to those who looted their property, and finally turned away from Israel.
21. When he tore Israel away from the family of David, the people of Israel made Jer o boam (Nebat’s son) king. Jer o boam forced Israel away from the Lord and led them to commit a serious sin.
22. The Israelites followed all the sins Jer o boam committed and never turned away from them.
23. Finally, the Lord turned away from Israel as he had said he would through all his servants, the prophets. So the people of Israel were taken from their land to Assyria as captives, and they are still there today.
24. The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the Israelites. They took over Samaria and lived in its cities.
25. When they first came to live there, they didn’t worship the Lord. So the Lord sent lions to kill some of them.
26. Then someone said to the king of Assyria, “The people you took as captives and settled in the cities of Samaria don’t know the customs of the god of that country, so he sent lions. Now the lions are killing them because they don’t know the customs of the god of this country.”