Finally, the Lord turned away from Israel as he had said he would through all his servants, the prophets. So the people of Israel were taken from their land to Assyria as captives, and they are still there today.
Then Asa gathered all the people from Judah and Benjamin and the foreigners who had come from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon. (Many of them had come to him from Israel when they saw that Asa’s God, the Lord, was with him.)
Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel were standing in front of me, I would not feel sorry for these people. Send them away from me, and let them go.
“When these people, the prophets, or the priests ask you, ‘What revelation has the Lord burdened you with now?’ say to them, ‘You are the burden! I will abandon you, declares the Lord.’
Judah saw that I sent unfaithful Israel away because of her adultery and that I gave Israel her divorce papers. But treacherous Judah, her sister, wasn’t afraid. She also acted like a prostitute.
So tell them, ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: You eat meat with blood in it. You look to your idols for help. You murder people. Should the land be given to you?
The Lord told Hosea, “Name him Jezreel. In a little while I will punish Jehu’s family for the people they slaughtered at Jezreel. Then I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel.
The people of Ephraim try to catch the wind and try to chase the east wind all day. They are very violent and destructive. They make treaties with Assyria and take olive oil to Egypt.
The people of Samaria are guilty as charged because they rebelled against their God. They will be killed in war, their children will be smashed to death, and their pregnant women will be ripped open.
“How horrible it will be for these people. They have run away from me. They must be destroyed because they’ve rebelled against me. I want to reclaim them, but they tell lies about me.
The roster of families and households for the descendants of Joseph—those from Ephraim—listed the men by name who were at least 20 years old and eligible for military duty.