19. but they also disobeyed the Lord's commands and acted like the Israelites.
20. So the Lord turned his back on everyone in Israel and Judah and let them be punished and defeated until no one was left.
21. Earlier, when the Lord took the northern tribes away from David's family, the people living in northern Israel chose Jeroboam son of Nebat as their king. Jeroboam caused the Israelites to sin and to stop worshipping the Lord.
22. The people kept on sinning like Jeroboam,
23. until the Lord got rid of them, just as he had warned his servants the prophets.That's why the people of Israel were taken away as prisoners to Assyria, and that's where they remained.
24. The king of Assyria took people who were living in the cities of Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and forced them to move to Israel. They took over the towns where the Israelites had lived, including the capital city of Samaria.
25. At first these people did not worship the Lord, so he sent lions to attack them, and the lions killed some of them.