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.

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 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.

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.

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.

Then King Artaxerxes sent this reply:“ To Rehum the governor, Shimshai the court secretary, and their colleagues living in Samaria and throughout the province west of the Euphrates River. Greetings.

“ From Artaxerxes, the king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the teacher of the law of the God of heaven. Greetings.

This is a copy of their letter:“ To King Artaxerxes, from your loyal subjects in the province west of the Euphrates River.

Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority.

The king of Assyria transported groups of people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and resettled them in the towns of Samaria, replacing the people of Israel. They took possession of Samaria and lived in its towns.But since these foreign settlers did not worship the Lord when they first arrived, the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them.So a message was sent to the king of Assyria:“ The people you have sent to live in the towns of Samaria do not know the religious customs of the God of the land. He has sent lions among them to destroy them because they have not worshiped him correctly.”The king of Assyria then commanded,“ Send one of the exiled priests back to Samaria. Let him live there and teach the new residents the religious customs of the God of the land.”So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria returned to Bethel and taught the new residents how to worship the Lord.But these various groups of foreigners also continued to worship their own gods. In town after town where they lived, they placed their idols at the pagan shrines that the people of Samaria had built.Those from Babylon worshiped idols of their god Succoth benoth. Those from Cuthah worshiped their god Nergal. And those from Hamath worshiped Ashima.The Avvites worshiped their gods Nibhaz and Tartak. And the people from Sepharvaim even burned their own children as sacrifices to their gods Adrammelech and Anammelech.These new residents worshiped the Lord, but they also appointed from among themselves all sorts of people as priests to offer sacrifices at their places of worship.And though they worshiped the Lord, they continued to follow their own gods according to the religious customs of the nations from which they came.And this is still going on today. They continue to follow their former practices instead of truly worshiping the Lord and obeying the decrees, regulations, instructions, and commands he gave the descendants of Jacob, whose name he changed to Israel.For the Lord had made a covenant with the descendants of Jacob and commanded them:“ Do not worship any other gods or bow before them or serve them or offer sacrifices to them.But worship only the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt with great strength and a powerful arm. Bow down to him alone, and offer sacrifices only to him.Be careful at all times to obey the decrees, regulations, instructions, and commands that he wrote for you. You must not worship other gods.Do not forget the covenant I made with you, and do not worship other gods.You must worship only the Lord your God. He is the one who will rescue you from all your enemies.”But the people would not listen and continued to follow their former practices.So while these new residents worshiped the Lord, they also worshiped their idols. And to this day their descendants do the same.

The enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were rebuilding a Temple to the Lord, the God of Israel.