the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to Sargon and Anammelech — the Sepharvites' practice of burning children (וַיְשׂרְפוּ אֶת־בְנֵיהֶם בָּאֵשׁ, *vay-srafу et-bnehem ba-esh*) to their deities Sargon and Anammelech represents the continuation of child-sacrifice practices into the syncretic Samaritan religious system. This horrifying detail—child sacrifice practiced by replacement populations in the depopulated land—demonstrates how thoroughly non-Yahwistic religious practices persisted despite the priest's instruction.

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