They Did Not Listen

So one of the priests
who had been exiled from Samaria
came to live in Bethel
and taught them how to worship the Lord.

Nevertheless, each national group made its own gods
in the several towns where they settled,
and set them up in the shrines
the people of Samaria had made at the high places.

To this day they persist in their former practices.
They neither worship the Lord
nor adhere to the decrees and ordinances,
the laws and commands
that the Lord gave the descendants of Jacob,
whom He named Israel.
When the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites,
He commanded them:
"Do not bow down to them,
serve them or sacrifice to them.
But the Lord,
who brought you up out of Egypt
with mighty power and outstretched arm,
is the One you must worship.
To Him you shall bow down
and to Him offer sacrifices.
You must always be careful
to keep the decrees and ordinances,
the laws and commands He wrote for you.
Do not worship other gods.
Do not forget the covenant I have made with you,
and do not worship other gods.
Rather, worship the Lord your God;
it is He who will deliver you
from the hand of all your enemies."

They would not listen, however,
but persisted in their former practices.
Even while these people were worshiping the Lord,
they were serving their idols.
To this day
their children and grandchildren
continue to do as their fathers did.

(II Kings 17:28-29, 33-41)