Albert Barnes Commentary 2 Kings 17:33

"They feared Jehovah, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away." — 2 Kings 17:33 (ASV)

Understand the passage in this way: “They (the colonists) served their own gods after the manner of the nations from which they (the government) removed them,” that is, in the same way as their own countrymen back home.