2 Kings 17:7-9

International Standard Version

The Idolatry of the Northern Kingdom

⁷ This happened because the Israelis had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt and from the domination^[a] of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, because^[b] they were fearing other gods, ⁸ and because they were following^[c] the rules of the nations whom the Lord had expelled before the Israelis and that the kings of Israel had practiced.

⁹ The Israelis practiced secret things that were not right, offending the Lord their God. In addition, they built high places for use by all their towns, watchtowers, and fortified cities.