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JUNE 15
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Israel was carried away from their own land to forever; you shall not fear other gods. And
Assyria, as it is to this day. the covenant that I have made with you, you
24 Then the king of Assyria brought people shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods.
from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and from 39 But the LORD your God you shall fear; and He
Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of will deliver you from the hand of all your ene-
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Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and mies.” However they did not obey, but they
they took possession of Samaria and dwelt in followed their former rituals. So these
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its cities. And it was so, at the beginning of nations feared the LORD, yet served their
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their dwelling there, that they did not fear the carved images; also their children and their
LORD; therefore the LORD sent lions among children’s children have continued doing as
them, which killed some of them. So they their fathers did, even to this day.
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spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The Now it came to pass in the third year of
nations whom you have removed and placed in 18 Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel,
the cities of Samaria do not know the rituals of that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah,
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the God of the land; therefore He has sent began to reign. He was twenty-five years old
lions among them, and indeed, they are killing when he became king, and he reigned twenty-
them because they do not know the rituals of nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name
the God of the land.” Then the king of Assyria was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. And he did
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commanded, saying, “Send there one of the what was right in the sight of the LORD, accord-
priests whom you brought from there; let him ing to all that his father David had done.
go and dwell there, and let him teach them the 4 He removed the high places and broke the
rituals of the God of the land.” Then one of sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and
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the priests whom they had carried away from broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses
Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught had made; for until those days the children of
them how they should fear the LORD. Israel burned incense to it, and called it
29 However every nation continued to make Nehushtan. He trusted in the LORD God of Is-
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gods of its own, and put them in the shrines on rael, so that after him was none like him
the high places which the Samaritans had among all the kings of Judah, nor who were
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made, every nation in the cities where they before him. For he held fast to the LORD; he
dwelt. The men of Babylon made Succoth
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Benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the
men of Hamath made Ashima, and the Avites
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made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites 18:5 He trusted in the LORD God of Israel.
burned their children in fire to Adrammelech The most noble quality of Hezekiah (in dra-
and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. matic contrast to his father, Ahaz) was that he
32 So they feared the LORD, and from every relied on the Lord as his exclusive hope in
class they appointed for themselves priests of every situation. What distinguished him from
the high places, who sacrificed for them in the all other kings of Judah (after the division of
shrines of the high places. They feared the the kingdom) was his firm trust in the Lord
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LORD, yet served their own gods—according during a severe national crisis (18:17–19:34).
to the rituals of the nations from among whom Despite troublesome events, Hezekiah clung
they were carried away. tightly to the Lord,faithfully following Him and
34 To this day they continue practicing the obeying His commands (v. 6). As a result, the
former rituals; they do not fear the LORD, nor Lord was with him and gave him success (v.7).
do they follow their statutes or their ordi-
nances, or the law and commandment which did not depart from following Him, but kept
the LORD had commanded the children of Ja- His commandments, which the LORD had
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cob, whom He named Israel, with whom the commanded Moses. The LORD was with him;
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LORD had made a covenant and charged them, he prospered wherever he went. And he re-
saying: “You shall not fear other gods, nor bow belled against the king of Assyria and did not
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down to them nor serve them nor sacrifice to serve him. He subdued the Philistines, as far
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them; but the LORD, who brought you up as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to
from the land of Egypt with great power and fortified city.
an outstretched arm, Him you shall fear, Him 9 Now it came to pass in the fourth year of
you shall worship, and to Him you shall offer King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of
sacrifice. And the statutes, the ordinances, Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel, that
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the law, and the commandment which He Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against
wrote for you, you shall be careful to observe Samaria and besieged it. And at the end of
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