2 Kings 17:18-24

New International Version

¹⁸So the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence.^(A) Only the tribe of Judah was left, ¹⁹and even Judah did not keep the commands of the Lord their God. They followed the practices Israel had introduced.^(B) ²⁰Therefore the Lord rejected all the people of Israel; he afflicted them and gave them into the hands of plunderers,^(C) until he thrust them from his presence.^(D)

²¹When he tore^(E) Israel away from the house of David, they made Jeroboam son of Nebat their king.^(F) Jeroboam enticed Israel away from following the Lord and caused them to commit a great sin.^(G) ²²The Israelites persisted in all the sins of Jeroboam and did not turn away from them ²³until the Lord removed them from his presence,^(H) as he had warned^(I) through all his servants the prophets. So the people of Israel were taken from their homeland^(J) into exile in Assyria, and they are still there.

Samaria Resettled

²⁴The king of Assyria^(K) brought people from Babylon, Kuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim^(L) and settled them in the towns of Samaria to replace the Israelites. They took over Samaria and lived in its towns.

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Isaiah 44:24-28

New International Version

Jerusalem to Be Inhabited

²⁴“This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer,^(A) who formed^(B) you in the womb:^(C)

I am the Lord,
    the Maker of all things,
    who stretches out the heavens,^(D)
    who spreads out the earth^(E) by myself,
²⁵who foils^(F) the signs of false prophets
    and makes fools of diviners,^(G)
who overthrows the learning of the wise^(H)
    and turns it into nonsense,^(I)
²⁶who carries out the words^(J) of his servants
    and fulfills^(K) the predictions of his messengers,

who says of Jerusalem,^(L) ‘It shall be inhabited,’
    of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,’
    and of their ruins,^(M) ‘I will restore them,’^(N)
²⁷who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry,
    and I will dry up^(O) your streams,’
²⁸who says of Cyrus,^(P) ‘He is my shepherd
    and will accomplish all that I please;
he will say of Jerusalem,^(Q) “Let it be rebuilt,”
    and of the temple,^(R) “Let its foundations^(S) be laid.”’

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Ezra 1:1-4

New International Version

Cyrus Helps the Exiles to Return^(A)

1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah,^(B) the Lord moved the heart^(C) of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:

²“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:

“‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed^(D) me to build^(E) a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. ³Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. ⁴And in any locality where survivors^(F) may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold,^(G) with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings^(H) for the temple of God^(I) in Jerusalem.’”^(J)