Introduction: The Chapter of the Destruction of the Kingdom of Israel
Chapter 17 in Melachim B is the great summary chapter of the kingdom of Israel. It opens with the account of Hoshea ben Elah, the last of the kings of Israel, the rise of the king of Ashur, the siege of Shomron and the exile of the ten tribes. Afterward the prophet lays out the long reckoning: why matters came to such a point, and what the difference is between Israel and Yehudah. At the end of the chapter we meet the peoples whom the king of Ashur brought to the cities of Shomron, the episode of the lions, and their blended worship of "they feared Hashem and worshipped their own gods." We will follow the order of the pesukim, chiefly in light of the explanation of the Malbim.
The Removal of Hashem's Providence
וַיִּתְאַנַּף יְהֹוָה מְאֹד בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל וַיְסִרֵם מֵעַל פָּנָיו לֹא נִשְׁאַר רַק שֵׁבֶט יְהוּדָה לְבַדּוֹ׃ (יח) - And Hashem was very angry with Israel and removed them from His presence; none remained but the tribe of Yehudah alone. (18)
"Vayitanaf" comes from the term for burning anger: the Holy One, blessed be He, was very angry with Israel. "Vayesirem me'al panav" means that He removed His providence from them. And the moment providence is withdrawn, they are automatically left open to plunder. "None remained but the tribe of Yehudah alone."
Why Israel Was Exiled and Not Yehudah
גַּם־יְהוּדָה לֹא שָׁמַר אֶת־מִצְוֺת יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵיהֶם וַיֵּלְכוּ בְּחֻקּוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ׃ (יט) - Also Yehudah did not keep the mitzvot of Hashem their God, and they followed the practices of Israel that they had made. (19)
Until now the prophet described what happened to Israel, to the ten tribes. Now he reveals that Yehudah too was drawn after Israel. And if Yehudah is drawn after them, it follows that if the Holy One, blessed be He, were to leave Israel on their land, they would corrupt Yehudah as well, and in the end there would be no choice but to lose both, God forbid. This the Holy One, blessed be He, did not want, and therefore it is better to remove those who cause the problems, namely Israel, before they drag Yehudah down. And by the way, whenever Yehudah is mentioned, the intent is always Yehudah and Binyamin. The prophet does not spell out Binyamin because it is included within Yehudah, but let us not err: Yehudah always includes Binyamin within it.
וַיִּמְאַס יְהֹוָה בְּכׇל־זֶרַע יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיְעַנֵּם וַיִּתְּנֵם בְּיַד־שֹׁסִים עַד אֲשֶׁר הִשְׁלִיכָם מִפָּנָיו׃ (כ) - And Hashem rejected all the seed of Israel and afflicted them and gave them into the hand of plunderers, until He cast them out of His presence. (20)
There were two reasons for the punishment of Israel: one, to distance them from Yehudah so that they would not corrupt them; and the second, so that Yehudah themselves would see what became of Israel and would understand that a similar fate awaits them too if they continue on their way. And the punishment came in stages: first "vaye'anem" - affliction; then "vayitnem beyad shosim" - in the days of Yehoachaz, when Hashem incited the king of Aram against them; and finally "ad asher hishlicham mipanav" - He cast them into another land.
The Root of the Corruption: The Tearing of the Kingdom and the Straying Caused by Yeravam
כִּי־קָרַע יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵעַל בֵּית דָּוִד וַיַּמְלִיכוּ אֶת־יָרׇבְעָם בֶּן־נְבָט (וידא) [וַיַּדַּח] יָרׇבְעָם אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאַחֲרֵי יְהֹוָה וְהֶחֱטִיאָם חֲטָאָה גְדוֹלָה׃ (כא) - For Israel tore away from the house of David and made Yeravam ben Nevat king, and Yeravam drove Israel away from following Hashem and led them into a great sin. (21)
Why does the Holy One, blessed be He, cast out only the seed of Israel and not Yehudah as well? "For He tore" - they were the ones who began this, they tore themselves away from the House of David, they were the ones incited and led astray by Yeravam ben Nevat, and this sin continued among them throughout all the days of the kings of Israel. As we discussed, among the kings of Yehudah there were periods: righteous kings when the people acted righteously, and wicked kings when the people acted wickedly. But in the kingdom of Israel there were no stages and no periods. From the very beginning, from the time of Yeravam ben Nevat, they acted wickedly all along the way, and the sin continued among them throughout all the days of their kings.
In the written text (ketiv) it says "vayada" while we read "vayadach." The Radak explains that "vayada" is from the term for one who is banished, and banishment means distancing: Yeravam distanced them from Hashem. The Ralbag explains that "vayada" is from the phrase "and upon the garments of his hand a lot," meaning casting: Yeravam cast them away from faith in Hashem. And the read form "vayadach" is clearer, from the term to lead astray, to incite and lead them off the path of the mitzvah.
וַיֵּלְכוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּכׇל־חַטֹּאות יָרׇבְעָם אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לֹא־סָרוּ מִמֶּנָּה׃ (כב) - And the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Yeravam which he did, they did not depart from it. (22)
All along the way they continued and worshipped the Baal, and although in the days of Yehu the worship of the Baal was abolished, the calves continued to stand until the end of their kingdom. And in truth they had a good reason to repent: when they saw that the calves were exiled, and when the possibility was given to them to ascend to the Beit Hamikdash through Hoshea ben Elah, who removed the guard posts and did not prevent them from going up. And even so they did not go up to the Beit Hamikdash. In this they showed that their wickedness had reached a level from which no repentance could any longer be expected, and consequently there was no choice but to exile them.
עַד אֲשֶׁר־הֵסִיר יְהֹוָה אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵעַל פָּנָיו כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר בְּיַד כׇּל־עֲבָדָיו הַנְּבִיאִים וַיִּגֶל יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵעַל אַדְמָתוֹ אַשּׁוּרָה עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה׃ (כג) - Until Hashem removed Israel from before His presence, as He had spoken through all His servants the prophets, and Israel was exiled from its land to Ashur until this day. (23)
All of this explains why Hashem's anger was so great: "they did not depart from it" - they did not depart from all the sins of Yeravam, until the Holy One, blessed be He, was compelled to exile them, for He saw that they had no other remedy. This is in contrast to Yehudah, who, as the Malbim explains, did not sin as a fixed practice like Israel, but rather saw Israel and learned from their deeds; and by exiling Israel, Yehudah would have no one from whom to learn. "Until this day" - until the Second Temple. We have already said that there is a dispute whether the ten tribes returned during the Second Temple or not, and the same dispute exists regarding the future: whether the ten tribes are destined to return. In practice we hold like the opinion that most of them, those who dwell in the land of Ashur, are destined to return and thereby be rectified.
The nations brought to the cities of Shomron
וַיָּבֵא מֶלֶךְ־אַשּׁוּר מִבָּבֶל וּמִכּוּתָה וּמֵעַוָּא וּמֵחֲמָת וּסְפַרְוַיִם וַיֹּשֶׁב בְּעָרֵי שֹׁמְרוֹן תַּחַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּרְשׁוּ אֶת־שֹׁמְרוֹן וַיֵּשְׁבוּ בְּעָרֶיהָ׃ (כד) - And the king of Ashur brought people from Bavel, from Kutah, from Ava, from Chamat and Sefarvayim, and settled them in the cities of Shomron in place of the children of Israel, and they took possession of Shomron and dwelt in its cities. (24)
We have already mentioned the strategy of the king of Ashur: in order to ensure quiet from the nation he conquered, he exiles it to a distant place, a place where it will not be able to rebel against him, because it does not know the place and the topography of the terrain. It takes fifty years until they begin to learn the language and how to settle, and who even thinks about rebellion. In contrast, when a nation dwells in its natural surroundings, it knows all the alleys, tunnels, and caves far better than you, and it is very difficult to contend with a nation that is on its home ground. Therefore he acted wisely: every nation he conquered he exiled to another place. Us he exiled to Chalach and Chavor and to the cities of Madai, and the peoples he conquered there he brought to here.
Note the wording: "and settled them in the cities of Shomron" - in the cities of Shomron and not in Shomron itself, for Shomron itself was completely destroyed, as it is said, "And I will make Shomron a heap in the field, a place for planting a vineyard."
The lions and what they taught
וַיְהִי בִּתְחִלַּת שִׁבְתָּם שָׁם לֹא יָרְאוּ אֶת־יְהֹוָה וַיְשַׁלַּח יְהֹוָה בָּהֶם אֶת־הָאֲרָיוֹת וַיִּהְיוּ הֹרְגִים בָּהֶם׃ (כה) - And it was at the beginning of their dwelling there that they did not fear Hashem, and Hashem sent lions among them, and they were killing them. (25)
In their first years living there they did not fear Hashem, and therefore the Holy One sent lions among them to give them a lesson. The Malbim explains: the nations did believe in the Holy One and called Him "the God of gods." That is, we believe in many powers, in idols and in other things, but the Holy One is the God above all the gods. And why do we need the other deities? In their view they are officials, powers through which one turns to the supreme power. Therefore they would worship Hashem and also worship idolatry.
And in truth, according to most of the poskim a gentile is not forbidden idolatry in partnership. Partnership means that one joins the name of Heaven together with something else, and a gentile is not forbidden this, because the gentiles are placed under the rule of the stars and constellations: they are not directly in Hashem's hand, but rather the Holy One apportioned to them the stars and constellations, and they are, as it were, placed under their rule. But the people of Israel are forbidden to worship in partnership, and if they worship in partnership it is as though they worshiped complete idolatry. There is no difference between a Jew who worships idolatry for the sake of Hashem and one who worships idolatry for the sake of the idolatry.
When was the first idolatry done "for the sake of Hashem" after we became a nation? In the incident of the golden calf. "These are your gods, Israel, who brought you out" - they worshiped the calf out of a knowledge and belief that the Holy One had, as it were, clothed Himself within it, and that it was the official who leads and brings before the Creator of the world, through whom one connects with the spiritual powers. About this the Holy One warned: "You shall not make for yourselves gods of cast metal," "You shall not make them with Me," and Chazal say: "with Me" - even in order to worship Me, even together with Me do not make it.
Now the gentiles who arrived here, the Kutim and the people of Ivah, Chamat, and Sefarvayim, asked: where is the God of Israel? He was supposed to protect them and guard them. Our god collapsed, fine, but He after all is the God of gods, and if nonetheless the king of Ashur came and exiled them as well, apparently even He has no power, Heaven forbid. And consequently they did not worship Hashem at all, not even in the manner of the other gentiles. And since they did not worship Hashem, the divine image departed from them. And the Gemara says that no living creature harms a person except when the image of God has departed from him. As long as a person fears Hashem, he has the image of God; once the image departs, the animal can harm him. For fundamentally man rules over the animal, and the Torah says that we shall rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the sky and the beasts, we are meant to rule over them. And if they rule over us, it is a sign that we have lost the image. And since they lost the image, the lions could come and consume them.
וַיֹּאמְרוּ לְמֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר לֵאמֹר הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר הִגְלִיתָ וַתּוֹשֶׁב בְּעָרֵי שֹׁמְרוֹן לֹא יָדְעוּ אֶת־מִשְׁפַּט אֱלֹהֵי הָאָרֶץ וַיְשַׁלַּח־בָּם אֶת־הָאֲרָיוֹת וְהִנָּם מְמִיתִים אוֹתָם כַּאֲשֶׁר אֵינָם יֹדְעִים אֶת־מִשְׁפַּט אֱלֹהֵי הָאָרֶץ׃ (כו) - And they said to the king of Ashur, saying: The nations that you exiled and settled in the cities of Shomron do not know the law of the God of the land, and He has sent among them the lions, and behold they are killing them, because they do not know the law of the God of the land.
They inform the king of Ashur that the lions are wreaking destruction among them for two reasons. The first is from the aspect of Hashem's providence: "they do not know the law of the God of the land" - the Holy One wants to prove to them that there is a Judge and Arbiter in the world, that there is One who runs the world. And the second, that the lions are killing them in their own right, because they do not know the law of the God of the land.
And what is "the law of the God of the land"? That in the land of Israel the caution and the guarding against idolatry must be many times greater than in any other place. As the Ramban said: why were the people of Sedom struck with so severe a blow, in the overturning of Sedom and Amora? Who would believe that the whole dry and parched region was once a fertile valley? Because they sinned in the palace of the King, in the land of Israel, where the caution must be higher. Therefore when there are transgressors, the land simply vomits them out. The land of Israel has a sensitive stomach: if there is something not good in it, it vomits it out. And it is better that it vomit, than to allow a person to come and defile the land. It is far harder to soil the palace of the King than to soil the courtyard or the stable.
Therefore the verse doubled the expression: first "they do not know the law of the God of the land and He sent among them the lions" - from the aspect that the Holy One wants to show them His rule; and afterward "and behold they are killing them because they do not know" - because they lost the image, and were considered in the eyes of the lions like beasts.
The kohen who was sent to teach
וַיְצַו מֶלֶךְ־אַשּׁוּר לֵאמֹר הֹלִיכוּ שָׁמָּה אֶחָד מֵהַכֹּהֲנִים אֲשֶׁר הִגְלִיתֶם מִשָּׁם וְיֵלְכוּ וְיֵשְׁבוּ שָׁם וְיֹרֵם אֶת־מִשְׁפַּט אֱלֹהֵי הָאָרֶץ׃ (כז) - And the king of Ashur commanded, saying: Bring there one of the kohanim whom you exiled from there, and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the law of the God of the land.
The king of Ashur commands to send there a kohen, that is, one who is meant to teach them Torah, so that he will teach them the law of the God of the land, and by this they will cease their evil deeds and be saved from those lions.
וַיָּבֹא אֶחָד מֵהַכֹּהֲנִים אֲשֶׁר הִגְלוּ מִשֹּׁמְרוֹן וַיֵּשֶׁב בְּבֵית־אֵל וַיְהִי מוֹרֶה אֹתָם אֵיךְ יִירְאוּ אֶת־יְהֹוָה׃ (כח) - And one of the kohanim who had been exiled from Shomron came and dwelt in Beit El, and he was teaching them how they should fear Hashem.
Who was that priest? There are differing opinions. According to the Malbim he was a priest of idolatry, meaning he believed both in idols and in Hashem. And there is another view that he was a priest of the Most High God, that is, a God fearing man.
וַיִּהְיוּ עֹשִׂים גּוֹי גּוֹי אֱלֹהָיו וַיַּנִּיחוּ בְּבֵית הַבָּמוֹת אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ הַשֹּׁמְרֹנִים גּוֹי גּוֹי בְּעָרֵיהֶם אֲשֶׁר הֵם יֹשְׁבִים שָׁם׃ (כט) - Yet each nation made gods of its own and set them up in the shrines that the Samaritans had made, each nation in the towns in which they lived. (29)
This seems puzzling: they sent them a priest, and the priest instructs them how to fear Hashem, and immediately afterward "each nation made gods of its own"? They already knew idolatry beforehand, so why was the priest sent? Rather, that priest taught them the law of the God of the land, the Torah, but they, since they are gentiles, are not obligated to abandon their idolatry, and they may serve Hashem in association with other gods. Therefore they served Hashem, and along with that each one continued to make his own god. "The shrines that the Samaritans had made" refers to the Israelites who were exiled from here, the inhabitants of Samaria; in those shrines they abandoned, the gentiles brought from Cuthah, Avva and Sepharvaim placed their gods, for they already had a house ready for idolatry.
The Zoo of Idols
וְאַנְשֵׁי בָבֶל עָשׂוּ אֶת־סֻכּוֹת בְּנוֹת וְאַנְשֵׁי־כוּת עָשׂוּ אֶת־נֵרְגַל וְאַנְשֵׁי חֲמָת עָשׂוּ אֶת־אֲשִׁימָא׃ וְהָעַוִּים עָשׂוּ נִבְחַז וְאֶת־תַּרְתָּק וְהַסְפַרְוִים שֹׂרְפִים אֶת־בְּנֵיהֶם בָּאֵשׁ לְאַדְרַמֶּלֶךְ וַעֲנַמֶּלֶךְ [אֱלֹהֵי] [סְפַרְוָיִם]׃ (ל-לא) - The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima. The Avvim made Nivchaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. (30-31)
"Succoth-benoth" - Chazal say it comes from the word sechvi, the image of a hen with her chicks. "Nergal" - the image of a rooster. "Ashima" - the image of a he goat. And indeed the idol of Babylon was called "Bel," as it says "Bel is bowed down, Nebo stoops," in the days of Nebuchadnezzar who called it Bel after the name of his god, but by the days of the king of Assyria they had already changed their idol. Such is the way of the gentiles: they constantly upgrade, a third generation and a fourth generation, and the idolatry keeps getting upgraded.
"Nivchaz" - the image of a dog, and the dog is called this because it barks (noveach), and "chaz" from the sense that it bares its teeth. "Tartak" - the image of a donkey. "The Sepharvites burned their children in fire" - this is the worship of Molech. There was an entire zoo there, literally a safari, and each one worships his own god and does not quarrel with his fellow. As for Adrammelech and Anammelech: some say Adrammelech is a mule, so named because it carries the master (adon) in its load, bearing its master in all its burdens; and Anammelech is a horse, so named because it answers (oneh) the king in battle, as though it assists him when he goes out to war. So it is according to the Gemara. And in the Yerushalmi it is brought that Adrammelech and Anammelech are a peacock and a pheasant, that is, two kinds of birds (the pheasant being the quail).
Fear of Hashem and Idol Worship Together
וַיִּהְיוּ יְרֵאִים אֶת־יְהֹוָה וַיַּעֲשׂוּ לָהֶם מִקְצוֹתָם כֹּהֲנֵי בָמוֹת וַיִּהְיוּ עֹשִׂים לָהֶם בְּבֵית הַבָּמוֹת׃ (לב) - They feared Hashem, yet they appointed from among themselves priests of the shrines, who officiated for them in the shrines. (32)
How is it possible that they also feared Hashem? As we explained, a gentile is not required to refrain from serving idols in association. A gentile may worship both Hashem and other gods. For Israel this is considered outright idolatry, but for them there is no prohibition in it.
אֶת־יְהֹוָה הָיוּ יְרֵאִים וְאֶת־אֱלֹהֵיהֶם הָיוּ עֹבְדִים כְּמִשְׁפַּט הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר־הִגְלוּ אֹתָם מִשָּׁם׃ (לג) - They feared Hashem, yet they served their own gods, following the practices of the nations from among whom they had been exiled. (33)
They feared Hashem and also served their own gods. And who are "the nations from among whom they had been exiled"? Rashi explains: they worshiped those same stars and constellations that were worshiped by the gentiles whom Sancheriv exiled, for Sancheriv exiled many nations. The Malbim, by contrast, explains that the intention is the people of Israel who were exiled from here: they come to Samaria and worship idols according to the practice of those Samaritans who were exiled from here.
עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה הֵם עֹשִׂים כַּמִּשְׁפָּטִים הָרִאשֹׁנִים אֵינָם יְרֵאִים אֶת־יְהֹוָה וְאֵינָם עֹשִׂים כְּחֻקֹּתָם וּכְמִשְׁפָּטָם וְכַתּוֹרָה וְכַמִּצְוָה אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְהֹוָה אֶת־בְּנֵי יַעֲקֹב אֲשֶׁר־שָׂם שְׁמוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ (לד) - To this day they follow their former practices. They do not fear the Lord, and they do not act according to the statutes and ordinances and Torah and commandment that the Lord commanded the children of Yaakov, upon whom He bestowed the name Yisrael.
Immediately a question arises: if so, why did the Holy One leave the nations here, for they are doing exactly what Israel did before they were exiled? To this the verse replies: the two are not comparable. The demands made of Israel are not the demands made of the Kutim, the Avim, and the people of Sepharvaim. They are permitted to worship God in partnership with other deities, whereas for you this is forbidden. And why were Israel exiled, and why are they still in their exile? Because they continue in their crooked ways, and even in the land of their enemies they still serve idols in partnership. But for Israel, whom the Holy One took to Himself as a people, to whom He gave the Torah, for whom He performed miracles, and over whom there is individual providence, there is an absolute prohibition against serving idols even in partnership.
The Covenant and the Command
וַיִּכְרֹת יְהֹוָה אִתָּם בְּרִית וַיְצַוֵּם לֵאמֹר לֹא תִירְאוּ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים וְלֹא־תִשְׁתַּחֲווּ לָהֶם וְלֹא תַעַבְדוּם וְלֹא תִזְבְּחוּ לָהֶם׃ (לה) - The Lord made a covenant with them and commanded them, saying: You shall not fear other gods, nor bow down to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them.
When God commanded the children of Yaakov concerning the Torah and the commandment, He warned them against idolatry: not to make a covenant with the idols, not to bow to them, not to serve them, and not to sacrifice to them. And the first thing He said was "You shall not fear other gods" - the very reverence of idols was forbidden.
כִּי אִם־אֶת־יְהֹוָה אֲשֶׁר הֶעֱלָה אֶתְכֶם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם בְּכֹחַ גָּדוֹל וּבִזְרוֹעַ נְטוּיָה אֹתוֹ תִירָאוּ וְלוֹ תִשְׁתַּחֲווּ וְלוֹ תִזְבָּחוּ׃ (לו) - But the Lord, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm, Him shall you fear, to Him shall you bow down, and to Him shall you sacrifice.
The very fact that you left Egypt in a way that is above nature is itself a reason for you to serve the Lord your God. He took you to Himself as a people and removed you from the rule of the constellations. You are not like all the other nations, and this is why we said that the other nations may worship even the stars and constellations, for they are placed, in some respect, under their rule. But Israel is above the constellations.
וְאֶת־הַחֻקִּים וְאֶת־הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים וְהַתּוֹרָה וְהַמִּצְוָה אֲשֶׁר כָּתַב לָכֶם תִּשְׁמְרוּן לַעֲשׂוֹת כׇּל־הַיָּמִים וְלֹא תִירְאוּ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים׃ (לז) - And the statutes and the ordinances and the Torah and the commandment that He wrote for you, you shall observe to do all the days, and you shall not fear other gods.
And here is a further reason, from the side of the Torah: the Holy One gave us the Torah, and whoever keeps the Torah and its commandments is above nature and comes out from under the rule of the constellations. The stars and all the other forces in creation have no dominion over him.
וְהַבְּרִית אֲשֶׁר־כָּרַתִּי אִתְּכֶם לֹא תִשְׁכָּחוּ וְלֹא תִירְאוּ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים׃ (לח) - And the covenant that I made with you, you shall not forget, and you shall not fear other gods.
The Holy One made a covenant with us, and this includes the covenant of the Shabbat and the covenant of circumcision. That is to say, He has a bond with us far greater than with all the other nations. If so, how could you go and do a thing that you, as the people of the Holy One, were forbidden to do? You are held to a higher account than all those nations that were exiled here.
כִּי אִם־אֶת־יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם תִּירָאוּ וְהוּא יַצִּיל אֶתְכֶם מִיַּד כׇּל־אֹיְבֵיכֶם׃ (לט) - But the Lord your God shall you fear, and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.
You need to fear only Hashem, since you are under His providence and His guidance, and He will save you. You have individual providence, unlike the nations, who are supposed to function through the way of nature and are subject to the rule of the stars and constellations. Israel is above the constellations.
וְלֹא שָׁמֵעוּ כִּי אִם־כְּמִשְׁפָּטָם הָרִאשׁוֹן הֵם עֹשִׂים׃ (מ) - But they did not listen, and instead they act according to their former practice. (40)
But they did not listen. Even in their exile they continue their evil deeds, and therefore the Holy One has not yet redeemed them, and they are still scattered among all those nations to which Hashem dispersed them, "for according to their former practice they act," continuing in their corrupt way.
The Chapter's Conclusion: The Kutim Who Remained in the Land
וַיִּהְיוּ הַגּוֹיִם הָאֵלֶּה יְרֵאִים אֶת־יְהֹוָה וְאֶת־פְּסִילֵיהֶם הָיוּ עֹבְדִים גַּם־בְּנֵיהֶם וּבְנֵי בְנֵיהֶם כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ אֲבֹתָם הֵם עֹשִׂים עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה׃ (מא) - So these nations feared Hashem, and they also served their carved images; their children and their children's children, as their fathers did, so they do to this day. (41)
Seemingly the verse repeats what has already been said, but the Malbim says it does not: until now it spoke of Israel who are in exile, and now it returns to speak of the Kutim who dwell here. These nations were not warned against idolatry in partnership (shituf), and therefore they are still called "fearing Hashem" even though they served their carved images, for regarding a gentile there is no contradiction in this. And therefore Hashem is not angry with them: the very fact that they also fear Hashem is what is required of them, this is the level they can attain. True, they could reach even more than this, but more than this is already a high level that is not ordinarily required of a gentile.
And from here comes the contrast that concludes the chapter: these nations remained in the land to this day, as those who fulfill their purpose. But the people of Israel are still in their exile, because they did not do what was required of them, for Hashem made a covenant with them, and this covenant they did not fulfill.
In Summary:
Chapter 17 explains the reckoning of the exile: the Holy One removed His providence from Israel, who tore themselves away from the House of David and did not turn from the sins of Yeravam even when they were given the opportunity to repent. Their exile came both to save them from continued corruption and to save Yehudah from learning from their deeds, and to serve as a warning to them. In their place, peoples were brought from Bavel, Kutah, Ava, Chamat and Sefarvayim, and when they did not fear Hashem the image of God departed from them and lions were sent among them, for in the Land of Israel, the palace of the King, the standard is more exacting and the land vomits out the transgressors. The king of Ashur sent a priest to teach them the law of the God of the land, and they combined the fear of Hashem with the worship of their carved images, something permitted to a gentile in partnership, but for Israel entirely forbidden. And this is the fundamental difference that concludes the chapter: the nations remained in the land by fulfilling what was required of them, while Israel, with whom a covenant was made and to whom Torah and individual providence were given, are held to a higher standard of judgment, and therefore they are still in their exile until they return to Hashem and fulfill the covenant.