26 Assyria’s king was told about this: "The nations you sent into exile and resettled in the cities of Samaria don’t know the religious practices of the local god. He’s sent lions against them, and the lions are killing them because none of them know the religious practices of the local god."
27 So Assyria’s king commanded, "Return one of the priests that you exiled from there. He should go back and live there. He should teach them the religious practices of the local god."
28 So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria went back. He lived in Bethel and taught the people how to worship the Lord.
29 But each nationality still made its own gods. They set them up in the houses that the people of Samaria had made at the shrines. Each nationality did this in whichever cities they lived.
30 The Babylonian people made the god Succoth-benoth, the Cuthean people made Nergal, and the people from Hamath made Ashima.
31 The Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak. The Sepharvites burned their children alive as a sacrifice to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the Sepharvite gods.
32 They also worshipped the Lord, but they appointed priests for the shrines from their whole population. These priests worked in the houses at the shrines.