Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Kings 17:7

"And it was so, because the children of Israel had sinned against Jehovah their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods," — 2 Kings 17:7 (ASV)

REFLECTIONS OF THE LAST EDITOR ON THE MORAL CAUSES OF THE CATASTROPHE.

For so it was. —Literally, and it came to pass.

Sinned against the Lord ... Egypt. —The claim of Jehovah to Israel’s exclusive fealty was from the outset based upon the fact that He had emancipated them from the Egyptian bondage—a fact which is significantly asserted as the preamble to Jehovah’s laws. (Hosea 12:9).

Had feared other gods. —Such as the Baals and Asheras of Canaan, which symbolised the productive powers of Nature, and, further, the heavenly bodies. (Ezekiel 8:14; Ezekiel 8:16).