2 Kings 17:24-41

The King of Assyria Populates Israel with Foreigners

17:24 The king of Assyria brought foreigners ¹  from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in the cities of Samaria ²  in place of the Israelites. They took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities. 17:25 When they first moved in, ³  they did not worship ⁴  the Lord. So the Lord sent lions among them and the lions were killing them. 17:26 The king of Assyria was told, ⁵  “The nations whom you deported and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know the requirements of the God of the land, so he has sent lions among them. They are killing the people ⁶  because they do not know the requirements of the God of the land.” 17:27 So the king of Assyria ordered, “Take back one of the priests whom you ⁷  deported from there. He must settle there and teach them the requirements of the God of the land.” ⁸  17:28 So one of the priests whom they had deported from Samaria went back and settled in Bethel. ⁹  He taught them how to worship ¹⁰  the Lord.

17:29 But each of these nations made ¹¹  its own gods and put them in the shrines on the high places that the people of Samaria ¹²  had made. Each nation did this in the cities where they lived. 17:30 The people from Babylon made Succoth Benoth, ¹³  the people from Cuth made Nergal, ¹⁴  the people from Hamath made Ashima, ¹⁵  17:31 the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, ¹⁶  and the Sepharvites burned their sons in the fire as an offering to Adrammelech and Anammelech, ¹⁷  the gods of Sepharvaim. 17:32 At the same time they worshiped ¹⁸  the Lord. They appointed some of their own people to serve as priests in the shrines on the high places. ¹⁹  17:33 They were worshiping ²⁰  the Lord and at the same time serving their own gods in accordance with the practices of the nations from which they had been deported.

17:34 To this very day they observe their earlier practices. They do not worship ²¹  the Lord; they do not obey the rules, regulations, law, and commandments that the Lord gave ²²  the descendants of Jacob, whom he renamed Israel. 17:35 The Lord made an agreement ²³  with them ²⁴  and instructed them, “You must not worship other gods. Do not bow down to them, serve them, or offer sacrifices to them. 17:36 Instead you must worship the Lord, who brought you up from the land of Egypt by his great power and military ability; ²⁵  bow down to him and offer sacrifices to him. 17:37 You must carefully obey at all times the rules, regulations, law, and commandments he wrote down for you. You must not worship other gods. 17:38 You must never forget the agreement I made with you, and you must not worship other gods. 17:39 Instead you must worship the Lord your God; then he will rescue you from the power of all your enemies.” 17:40 But they ²⁶  pay no attention; instead they observe their earlier practices. 17:41 These nations are worshiping the Lord and at the same time serving their idols; their sons and grandsons do just as their fathers have done, to this very day.

Luke 9:52-54

9:52 He ²⁷  sent messengers on ahead of him. ²⁸  As they went along, ²⁹  they entered a Samaritan village to make things ready in advance ³⁰  for him, 9:53 but the villagers ³¹  refused to welcome ³²  him, because he was determined to go to Jerusalem. ³³  9:54 Now when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call fire to come down from heaven and consume ³⁴  them?” ³⁵ 

John 4:5

4:5 Now he came to a Samaritan town ³⁶  called Sychar, ³⁷  near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. ³⁸ 

John 4:9

4:9 So the Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you – a Jew ³⁹  – ask me, a Samaritan woman, for water ⁴⁰  to drink?” (For Jews use nothing in common ⁴¹  with Samaritans.) ⁴² 

John 4:20

4:20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, ⁴³  and you people ⁴⁴  say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” ⁴⁵ 

John 4:22-24

4:22 You people ⁴⁶  worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, because salvation is from the Jews. ⁴⁷  4:23 But a time ⁴⁸  is coming – and now is here ⁴⁹  – when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks ⁵⁰  such people to be ⁵¹  his worshipers. ⁵²  4:24 God is spirit, ⁵³  and the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Acts 1:8

1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts ⁵⁴  of the earth.”

Acts 8:1

8:1 And Saul agreed completely with killing ⁵⁵  him.

Saul Begins to Persecute the Church

Now on that day a great ⁵⁶  persecution began ⁵⁷  against the church in Jerusalem, ⁵⁸  and all ⁵⁹  except the apostles were forced to scatter throughout the regions ⁶⁰  of Judea and Samaria.

Acts 8:5-25

8:5 Philip went down to the main city of Samaria ⁶¹  and began proclaiming ⁶²  the Christ ⁶³  to them. 8:6 The crowds were paying attention with one mind to what Philip said, ⁶⁴  as they heard and saw the miraculous signs ⁶⁵  he was performing. 8:7 For unclean spirits, ⁶⁶  crying with loud shrieks, were coming out of many who were possessed, ⁶⁷  and many paralyzed and lame people were healed. 8:8 So there was ⁶⁸  great joy ⁶⁹  in that city.

8:9 Now in that city was a man named Simon, who had been practicing magic ⁷⁰  and amazing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great. 8:10 All the people, ⁷¹  from the least to the greatest, paid close attention to him, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called ‘Great.’” ⁷²  8:11 And they paid close attention to him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic. 8:12 But when they believed Philip as he was proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God ⁷³  and the name of Jesus Christ, ⁷⁴  they began to be baptized, ⁷⁵  both men and women. 8:13 Even Simon himself believed, and after he was baptized, he stayed close to ⁷⁶  Philip constantly, and when he saw the signs and great miracles that were occurring, he was amazed. ⁷⁷ 

8:14 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem ⁷⁸  heard that Samaria had accepted the word ⁷⁹  of God, they sent ⁸⁰  Peter and John to them. 8:15 These two ⁸¹  went down and prayed for them so that they would receive the Holy Spirit. 8:16 (For the Spirit ⁸²  had not yet come upon ⁸³  any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) ⁸⁴  8:17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on the Samaritans, ⁸⁵  and they received the Holy Spirit. ⁸⁶ 

8:18 Now Simon, when he saw that the Spirit ⁸⁷  was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, offered them money, 8:19 saying, “Give me this power ⁸⁸  too, so that everyone I place my hands on may receive the Holy Spirit.” 8:20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, ⁸⁹  because you thought you could acquire ⁹⁰  God’s gift with money! 8:21 You have no share or part ⁹¹  in this matter ⁹²  because your heart is not right before God! 8:22 Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord ⁹³  that he may perhaps forgive you for the intent of your heart. ⁹⁴  8:23 For I see that you are bitterly envious ⁹⁵  and in bondage to sin.” 8:24 But Simon replied, ⁹⁶  “You pray to the Lord for me so that nothing of what you have said may happen to ⁹⁷  me.”

8:25 So after Peter and John ⁹⁸  had solemnly testified ⁹⁹  and spoken the word of the Lord, ¹⁰⁰  they started back to Jerusalem, proclaiming ¹⁰¹  the good news to many Samaritan villages ¹⁰²  as they went. ¹⁰³ 

[17:24]  ¹ tn The object is supplied in the translation.

[17:24]  ² sn In vv. 24-29 Samaria stands for the entire northern kingdom of Israel.

[17:25]  ³ tn Heb “in the beginning of their living there.”

[17:25]  ⁴ tn Heb “fear.”

[17:26]  ⁵ tn Heb “and they said to the king of Assyria, saying.” The plural subject of the verb is indefinite.

[17:26]  ⁶ tn Heb “Look they are killing them.”

[17:27]  ⁷ tc The second plural subject may refer to the leaders of the Assyrian army. However, some prefer to read “whom I deported,” changing the verb to a first person singular form with a third masculine plural pronominal suffix. This reading has some support from Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic witnesses.

[17:27]  ⁸ tc Heb “and let them go and let them live there, and let him teach them the requirements of the God of the land.” The two plural verbs seem inconsistent with the preceding and following contexts, where only one priest is sent back to Samaria. The singular has the support of Greek, Syriac, and Latin witnesses.

[17:28]  ⁹ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[17:28]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “fear.”

[17:29]  ¹¹ sn The verb “make” refers to the production of idols. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 210-11.

[17:29]  ¹² tn Heb “Samaritans.” This refers to the Israelites who had been deported from the land.

[17:30]  ¹³ sn No deity is known by the name Succoth Benoth in extant Mesopotamian literature. For speculation as to the identity of this deity, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 211.

[17:30]  ¹⁴ sn Nergal was a Mesopotamian god of the underworld.

[17:30]  ¹⁵ sn This deity is unknown in extra-biblical literature. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 211-12.

[17:31]  ¹⁶ sn Nibhaz and Tartak were two Elamite deities. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 212.

[17:31]  ¹⁷ sn Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of the Sepharvaim are unknown in extra-biblical literature. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 212.

[17:32]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “feared.”

[17:32]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and they appointed for themselves from their whole people priests for the high places and they were serving for them in the house[s] of the high places.”

[17:33]  ²⁰ tn Heb “fearing.”

[17:34]  ²¹ tn Heb “fear.”

[17:34]  ²² tn Heb “commanded.”

[17:35]  ²³ tn Or “covenant.”

[17:35]  ²⁴ sn That is, the descendants of Jacob/Israel (see v. 35b).

[17:36]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and outstretched arm.”

[17:40]  ²⁶ sn This refers to the foreigners whom the king of Assyria settled in the land (see v. 35a).

[9:52]  ²⁷ tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:52]  ²⁸ tn Grk “sent messengers before his face,” an idiom.

[9:52]  ²⁹ tn Grk “And going along, they entered.” The aorist passive participle πορευθέντες (poreuqente") has been taken temporally. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:52]  ³⁰ tn Or “to prepare (things) for him.”

[9:53]  ³¹ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the villagers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:53]  ³² tn Or “did not receive”; this verb, δέχομαι (decomai), is a term of hospitality or welcome (L&N 34.53).

[9:53]  ³³ tn Grk “because his face was set toward Jerusalem.”

[9:54]  ³⁴ tn Or “destroy.”

[9:54]  ³⁵ tc Most mss, especially the later ones (A C D W Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 Ï it), read here “as also Elijah did,” making the allusion to 2 Kgs 1:10, 12, 14 more explicit. The shorter reading has better and earlier support (Ì^45,75 א B L Ξ 579 700* 1241 pc lat sa). It is difficult to explain how the shorter reading could have arisen from the longer, especially since it is well represented early on. However, the longer reading looks to have been a marginal note originally, incorporated into the text of Luke by early scribes.

[4:5]  ³⁶ tn Grk “town of Samaria.” The noun Σαμαρείας (Samareias) has been translated as an attributive genitive.

[4:5]  ³⁷ sn Sychar was somewhere in the vicinity of Shechem, possibly the village of Askar, 1.5 km northeast of Jacob’s well.

[4:5]  ³⁸ sn Perhaps referred to in Gen 48:22.

[4:9]  ³⁹ tn Or “a Judean.” Here BDAG 478 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαίος 2.a states, “Judean (with respect to birth, nationality, or cult).” The same term occurs in the plural later in this verse. In one sense “Judean” would work very well in the translation here, since the contrast is between residents of the two geographical regions. However, since in the context of this chapter the discussion soon becomes a religious rather than a territorial one (cf. vv. 19-26), the translation “Jew” has been retained here and in v. 22.

[4:9]  ⁴⁰ tn “Water” is supplied as the understood direct object of the infinitive πεῖν (pein).

[4:9]  ⁴¹ tn D. Daube (“Jesus and the Samaritan Woman: the Meaning of συγχράομαι [Jn 4:7ff],” JBL 69 [1950]: 137-47) suggests this meaning.

[4:9]  ⁴² sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[4:20]  ⁴³ sn This mountain refers to Mount Gerizim, where the Samaritan shrine was located.

[4:20]  ⁴⁴ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to indicate that the Greek verb translated “say” is second person plural and thus refers to more than Jesus alone.

[4:20]  ⁴⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[4:22]  ⁴⁶ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to indicate that the Greek verb translated “worship” is second person plural and thus refers to more than the woman alone.

[4:22]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “from the Judeans.” See the note on “Jew” in v. 9.

[4:23]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “an hour.”

[4:23]  ⁴⁹ tn “Here” is not in the Greek text but is supplied to conform to contemporary English idiom.

[4:23]  ⁵⁰ sn See also John 4:27.

[4:23]  ⁵¹ tn Or “as.” The object-complement construction implies either “as” or “to be.”

[4:23]  ⁵² tn This is a double accusative construction of object and complement with τοιούτους (toioutous) as the object and the participle προσκυνοῦντας (proskunounta") as the complement.

[4:24]  ⁵³ tn Here πνεῦμα (pneuma) is understood as a qualitative predicate nominative while the articular θεός (qeos) is the subject.

[1:8]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “to the ends.”

[8:1]  ⁵⁵ tn The term ἀναίρεσις (anairesi") can refer to murder (BDAG 64 s.v.; 2 Macc 5:13; Josephus, Ant. 5.2.12 [5.165]).

[8:1]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “severe.”

[8:1]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “Now there happened on that day a great persecution.” It is less awkward to say in English “Now on that day a great persecution began.”

[8:1]  ⁵⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[8:1]  ⁵⁹ sn All. Given that the Jerusalem church is still active after this and that the Hellenists are the focus of Acts 6-8, it is possible to argue that only the Hellenistic Christians were forced to scatter.

[8:1]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “countryside.”

[8:5]  ⁶¹ tn The word “main” is supplied in the translation to clarify that “Samaria” is not the name of the city (at least in NT times). See both BDAG 912 s.v. Σαμάρεια, and L&N 93.568.

[8:5]  ⁶² tn The imperfect ἐκήρυσσεν (ekhrussen) has been translated as an ingressive, since this is probably the first time such preaching took place.

[8:5]  ⁶³ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[8:6]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “to what was being said by Philip,” a passive construction that has been changed to active voice in the translation.

[8:6]  ⁶⁵ tn Here the following context indicates the miraculous nature of the signs mentioned. This term appears 13 times in Acts, but only twice more after Acts 8:13 (i.e., 14:3; 15:12).

[8:7]  ⁶⁶ sn The expression unclean spirits refers to evil supernatural spirits which were ceremonially unclean, and which caused the persons possessed by them to be ceremonially unclean.

[8:7]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “For [in the case of] many who had unclean spirits, they were coming out, crying in a loud voice.”

[8:8]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “and there came about,” but this is somewhat awkward in English.

[8:8]  ⁶⁹ sn Great joy. The reason for eschatological joy was that such events pointed to God’s decisive deliverance (Luke 7:22-23). Note how the acts of healing extend beyond the Twelve here.

[8:9]  ⁷⁰ tn On the idiom προϋπῆρχεν μαγεύων (prouphrcen mageuwn) meaning “had been practicing magic” see BDAG 889 s.v. προϋπάρχω.

[8:10]  ⁷¹ tn Grk “all of them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:10]  ⁷² tn Or “This man is what is called the Great Power of God.” The translation “what is called the Great Power of God” is given by BDAG 263 s.v. δύναμις 5, but the repetition of the article before καλουμένη μεγάλη (kaloumenh megalh) suggests the translation “the power of God that is called ‘Great.’”

[8:12]  ⁷³ sn The kingdom of God is also what Jesus preached: Acts 1:3. The term reappears in 14:22; 19:8; 28:23, 31.

[8:12]  ⁷⁴ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[8:12]  ⁷⁵ tn The imperfect verb ἐβαπτίζοντο (ebaptizonto) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[8:13]  ⁷⁶ tn Or “he kept close company with.”

[8:13]  ⁷⁷ sn He was amazed. Now Simon, the one who amazed others, is himself amazed, showing the superiority of Philip’s connection to God. Christ is better than anything the culture has to offer.

[8:14]  ⁷⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[8:14]  ⁷⁹ tn Or “message.”

[8:14]  ⁸⁰ sn They sent. The Jerusalem church with the apostles was overseeing the expansion of the church, as the distribution of the Spirit indicates in vv. 15-17.

[8:15]  ⁸¹ tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was replaced by the phrase “these two” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style.

[8:16]  ⁸² tn Grk “For he”; the referent (the Spirit) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:16]  ⁸³ tn Or “fallen on.”

[8:16]  ⁸⁴ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[8:17]  ⁸⁵ tn Grk “on them”; the referent (the Samaritans) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:17]  ⁸⁶ sn They received the Holy Spirit. It is likely this special distribution of the Spirit took place because a key ethnic boundary was being crossed. Here are some of “those far off” of Acts 2:38-40.

[8:18]  ⁸⁷ tc Most witnesses (Ì^45,74 A* C D E Ψ 33 1739 Ï latt sy bo) here read “the Holy Spirit” (τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, to pneuma to {agion), while a few key mss have simply τὸ πνεῦμα (א A^c B sa mae). Although it is possible that some scribes omitted τὸ ἅγιον because of its perceived superfluity (note vv. 15, 17, 19), it is far more likely that others added the adjective out of pious motives.

[8:19]  ⁸⁸ tn Or “ability”; Grk “authority.”

[8:20]  ⁸⁹ tn Grk “May your silver together with you be sent into destruction.” This is a strong curse. The gifts of God are sovereignly bestowed and cannot be purchased.

[8:20]  ⁹⁰ tn Or “obtain.”

[8:21]  ⁹¹ tn The translation “share or part” is given by L&N 63.13.

[8:21]  ⁹² tn Since the semantic range for λόγος (logos) is so broad, a number of different translations could be given for the prepositional phrase here. Something along the lines of “in this thing” would work well, but is too colloquial for the present translation.

[8:22]  ⁹³ tn Or “and implore the Lord.”

[8:22]  ⁹⁴ tn Grk “that if possible the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.” The passive construction is somewhat awkward in contemporary English and has thus been converted to an active construction in the translation.

[8:23]  ⁹⁵ tn Grk “in the gall of bitterness,” an idiom meaning to be particularly envious or resentful of someone. In this case Simon was jealous of the apostles’ power to bestow the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands, and wanted that power for himself. The literal phrase does not convey this to the modern reader, and in fact some modern translations have simply rendered the phrase as involving bitterness, which misses the point of the envy on Simon’s part. See L&N 88.166. The OT images come from Deut 29:17-18 and Isa 58:6.

[8:24]  ⁹⁶ tn Grk “Simon answered and said.”

[8:24]  ⁹⁷ tn Grk “may come upon.”

[8:25]  ⁹⁸ tn Grk “after they”; the referents (Peter and John) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:25]  ⁹⁹ tn The verb διαμαρτύρομαι (diamarturomai) can mean “warn,” and could be taken to refer specifically to the warning given to Simon in the preceding verses. However, a more general reference is more likely, referring to parting exhortations from Peter and John to the entire group of believers.

[8:25]  ¹⁰⁰ sn The word of the Lord is a technical expression in OT literature, often referring to a divine prophetic utterance (e.g., Gen 15:1, Isa 1:10, Jonah 1:1). In the NT it occurs 15 times: 3 times as ῥῆμα τοῦ κυρίου (rJhma tou kuriou; Luke 22:61, Acts 11:16, 1 Pet 1:25) and 12 times as λόγος τοῦ κυρίου (logo" tou kuriou; here and in Acts 13:44, 48, 49; 15:35, 36; 16:32; 19:10, 20; 1 Thess 1:8, 4:15; 2 Thess 3:1). As in the OT, this phrase focuses on the prophetic nature and divine origin of what has been said.

[8:25]  ¹⁰¹ tn Grk “they were returning to Jerusalem and were proclaiming.” The first imperfect is taken ingressively and the second is viewed iteratively (“proclaiming…as they went”).

[8:25]  ¹⁰² sn By proclaiming the good news to many Samaritan villages, the apostles now actively share in the broader ministry the Hellenists had started.

[8:25]  ¹⁰³ tn “As they went” is not in the Greek text, but is implied by the imperfect tense (see tn above).