They feared the LORD but also served their own gods and their children and their children's grandchildren continue to do the same to this day — the final verse on the syncretic Samaritan religion indicates its persistence through generations: the fear-based Yahwism coupled with polytheism became institutionalized, perpetuated through "their children and their children's grandchildren." The phrase "to this day" suggests the narrator's perspective from centuries later (likely exilic or post-exilic times), observing that the syncretic religious compromise established through forced population transfer and priestly instruction persisted indefinitely. The Samaritan religion, from this perspective, represents a corrupted form of Yahwism, neither authentic Judahite monotheism nor purely foreign polytheism.

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