And they are over those who were forced to leave their countries. The great King Ashurbanipal, who is worthy of honor, forced them to leave. He moved them to the city of Samaria. He also moved them to other places west of the Euphrates River.

和尊大的亚斯那巴所迁移、安置在撒玛利亚城，并大河西一带地方的人等，

以及被亚斯那巴大人迁移、安置在撒玛利亚城和大河西边一带地方其余的人。现在，

以及被亚斯那巴大人迁移、安置在撒玛利亚城和大河西边一带地方其余的人。现在，

以及伟大尊贵的亚斯那巴迁来并安置在撒玛利亚各城与幼发拉底河西一带的人民，

还有伟大尊贵的亚斯那巴掳来安置在撒玛利亚城和河西那边其余地方的居民，呈上奏文。

和尊大的亞斯那巴所遷移、安置在撒馬利亞城，並大河西一帶地方的人等，

以及被亞斯那巴大人遷移、安置在撒瑪利亞城和大河西邊一帶地方其餘的人。現在，

以及被亞斯那巴大人遷移、安置在撒瑪利亞城和大河西邊一帶地方其餘的人。現在，

以及偉大尊貴的亞斯那巴遷來並安置在撒瑪利亞各城與幼發拉底河西一帶的人民，

還有偉大尊貴的亞斯那巴擄來安置在撒瑪利亞城和河西那邊其餘地方的居民，呈上奏文。

和偉大尊貴的亞斯那巴所遷徙而安置在撒瑪利亞城和大河以西那邊其餘地區的人：如今請看：

與其餘諸族、即尊大之亞斯那巴所遷、置於撒瑪利亞邑、及伯拉河西者、

以及他族之民、即大而可尊之亞斯那巴所遷移、使居於撒瑪利亞邑、及河西別處者同奏、使居於撒瑪利亞邑及河西別處者同奏或作使居於撒瑪利亞者並河西其餘之人等同奏

and the other people whom the great and honorable Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the city of Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates.

and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River.

They also sent greetings from the rest of the people whom the great and noble Ashurbanipal had deported and relocated in Samaria and throughout the neighboring lands of the province west of the Euphrates River.

and the rest of the peoples whom the great and illustrious Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and the region west of the Euphrates River.

and the rest of the nations which the great and honorable Osnappar deported and settled in the city of Samaria, and in the rest of the region beyond the Euphrates River. And now

and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnapper took captive and settled in the cities of Samaria and the remainder beyond the River— and so forth.

and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar brought over, and set in the city of Samaria, and in the rest of the country beyond the River, and so forth.

and the rest of the peoples whom the great and illustrious Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and the region west of the Euphrates River.

And the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Asnappar brought over, and set in the cities of Samaria, and the rest[ that are] on this side the river, and at such a time.

and the rest of nations whom the great and noble Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and other places in Trans-Euphrates.

and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar brought over, and set in the city of Samaria, and in the rest of the country beyond the River, and so forth, wrote.

The king replied, I am writing this letter to Rehum, the commanding officer. I am also writing it to Shimshai the secretary. And I am writing it to your friends living in Samaria and in other places west of the Euphrates River. I give you my greetings.

I, Artaxerxes, am writing this letter. I am the greatest king of all. I have given it to Ezra the priest. He is the teacher of the Law of the God of heaven. I give you my greetings.

Here is a copy of the letter sent to Artaxerxes. We are sending this letter to you, King Artaxerxes. It is from your servants who live west of the Euphrates River.

Give to everyone what you owe them. Do you owe taxes? Then pay them. Do you owe anything else to the government? Then pay it. Do you owe respect? Then give it. Do you owe honor? Then show it.

The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Kuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim. He made all of them live in the towns of Samaria. They took the place of the people of Israel. They lived in all the towns of Samaria.When they first lived there, they didn’t worship the Lord. So he sent lions among them. And the lions killed some of the people.A report was given to the king of Assyria. He was told,“ You forced people to leave their own homes and live in the towns of Samaria. But they don’t know what the god of that country requires. So he has sent lions among them. And the lions are killing the people off. That’s because the people don’t know what that god requires.”Then the king of Assyria gave an order. He said,“ Get one of the priests you captured from Samaria. Send him back to live there. Have him teach the people what the god of that land requires.”So a priest went back to live in Bethel. He was one of the priests who had been forced to leave Samaria. He taught the people of Bethel how to worship the Lord.In spite of that, the people from each nation made statues of their own gods. They made them in all the towns where they had been forced to live. They set up those statues in small temples. The people of Samaria had built the temples at the high places.The people from Babylon made statues of the god named Sukkoth Benoth. Those from Kuthah made statues of the god named Nergal. Those from Hamath made statues of the god named Ashima.The Avvites made statues of the gods named Nibhaz and Tartak. The Sepharvites sacrificed their children in the fire to the gods named Adrammelek and Anammelek. They were the gods of Sepharvaim.So the people of Samaria worshiped the Lord. But they also appointed all kinds of their own people to be their priests. The priests served in the small temples at the high places.The people worshiped the Lord. But they also served their own gods. They followed the evil practices of the nations they had been taken from.The people of Samaria are still stubborn. They continue in their old practices to this day. And now they don’t even worship the Lord. They don’t follow his directions and rules. They don’t obey his laws and commands. The Lord had given all these laws to the family of Jacob. He gave the name Israel to Jacob.The Lord made a covenant with the Israelites. At that time he commanded them,“ Do not worship any other gods. Do not bow down to them. Do not serve them or sacrifice to them.The Lord is the one you must worship. The Lord brought you up out of Egypt by his great power. He saved you by reaching out his mighty arm. You must bow down only to him. You must offer sacrifices only to him.You must always be careful to follow his directions and rules. You must obey the laws and commands he wrote for you. Do not worship other gods.Do not forget the covenant I made with you. And remember, you must not worship other gods.Instead, worship the Lord your God. He will save you from the powerful hand of all your enemies.”But the people wouldn’t listen. Instead, they were stubborn. They continued in their old practices.They worshiped the Lord. But at the same time, they served the statues of their gods. And to this day their children and grandchildren continue to do what their people before them did.

The people who had returned from Babylon were building a temple to honor the Lord. He is the God of Israel. The enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard about it.