2 Kings 17:35-41

17:35 The Lord made an agreement ¹  with them ²  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; ³  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 ⁴  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.

[17:35]  ¹ tn Or “covenant.”

[17:35]  ² sn That is, the descendants of Jacob/Israel (see v. 35b).

[17:36]  ³ tn Heb “and outstretched arm.”

[17:40]  ⁴ sn This refers to the foreigners whom the king of Assyria settled in the land (see v. 35a).