1 Kings 16

Chapter 16

1 This message from the LORD was delivered to King Baasha by the prophet Jehu son of Hanani:2 “I lifted you out of the dust to make you ruler of my people Israel, but you have followed the evil example of Jeroboam. You have provoked my anger by causing my people Israel to sin.3 So now I will destroy you and your family, just as I destroyed the descendants of Jeroboam son of Nebat.

4 The members of Baasha’s family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by vultures.”
5 The rest of the events in Baasha’s reign and the extent of his power are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel.

6 When Baasha died, he was buried in Tirzah. Then his son Elah became the next king.

7 The message from the LORD against Baasha and his family came through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani. It was delivered because Baasha had done what was evil in the LORD’s sight (just as the family of Jeroboam had done), and also because Baasha had destroyed the family of Jeroboam. The LORD’s anger was provoked by Baasha’s sins.

Elah Rules in Israel

8 Elah son of Baasha began to rule over Israel in the twenty-sixth year of King Asa’s reign in Judah. He reigned in the city of Tirzah for two years.
9 Then Zimri, who commanded half of the royal chariots, made plans to kill him. One day in Tirzah, Elah was getting drunk at the home of Arza, the supervisor of the palace.

10 Zimri walked in and struck him down and killed him. This happened in the twenty-seventh year of King Asa’s reign in Judah. Then Zimri became the next king.
11 Zimri immediately killed the entire royal family of Baasha, leaving him not even a single male child. He even destroyed distant relatives and friends.12 So Zimri destroyed the dynasty of Baasha as the LORD had promised through the prophet Jehu.

13 This happened because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed, and because of the sins they led Israel to commit. They provoked the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, with their worthless idols.

14 The rest of the events in Elah’s reign and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel.

Zimri Rules in Israel

15 Zimri began to rule over Israel in the twenty-seventh year of King Asa’s reign in Judah, but his reign in Tirzah lasted only seven days. The army of Israel was then attacking the Philistine town of Gibbethon.16 When they heard that Zimri had committed treason and had assassinated the king, that very day they chose Omri, commander of the army, as the new king of Israel.17 So Omri led the entire army of Israel up from Gibbethon to attack Tirzah, Israel’s capital.18 When Zimri saw that the city had been taken, he went into the citadel of the palace and burned it down over himself and died in the flames.

19 For he, too, had done what was evil in the LORD’s sight. He followed the example of Jeroboam in all the sins he had committed and led Israel to commit.

20 The rest of the events in Zimri’s reign and his conspiracy are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel.

Omri Rules in Israel

21 But now the people of Israel were split into two factions. Half the people tried to make Tibni son of Ginath their king, while the other half supported Omri.

22 But Omri’s supporters defeated the supporters of Tibni. So Tibni was killed, and Omri became the next king.
23 Omri began to rule over Israel in the thirty-first year of King Asa’s reign in Judah. He reigned twelve years in all, six of them in Tirzah.

24 Then Omri bought the hill now known as Samaria from its owner, Shemer, for 150 pounds of silver.t He built a city on it and called the city Samaria in honor of Shemer.
25 But Omri did what was evil in the LORD’s sight, even more than any of the kings before him.

26 He followed the example of Jeroboam son of Nebat in all the sins he had committed and led Israel to commit. The people provoked the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, with their worthless idols.
27 The rest of the events in Omri’s reign, the extent of his power, and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel.

28 When Omri died, he was buried in Samaria. Then his son Ahab became the next king.

Ahab Rules in Israel

29 Ahab son of Omri began to rule over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of King Asa’s reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria twenty-two years.30 But Ahab son of Omri did what was evil in the LORD’s sight, even more than any of the kings before him.31 And as though it were not enough to follow the example of Jeroboam, he married Jezebel, the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians, and he began to bow down in worship of Baal.32 First Ahab built a temple and an altar for Baal in Samaria.

33 Then he set up an Asherah pole. He did more to provoke the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, than any of the other kings of Israel before him.

34 It was during his reign that Hiel, a man from Bethel, rebuilt Jericho. When he laid its foundations, it cost him the life of his oldest son, Abiram. And when he completed it and set up its gates, it cost him the life of his youngest son, Segub.t This all happened according to the message from the LORD concerning Jericho spoken by Joshua son of Nun.

1 KINGS 16

1 The [Lord] sent Jehu son of Hanani to say to Baasha:
2 Nobody knew who you were until I, the [Lord], chose yout to be the leader of my people Israel. And now you're acting exactly like Jeroboam by causing the Israelites to sin. What you've done has made me so angry 3 that I will destroy you and your family, just as I did the family of Jeroboam.

4 Dogs will eat the bodies of your relatives who die in town, and vultures will eat the bodies of those who die in the country.

5-7 Baasha made the [Lord] very angry, and that's why the [Lord] gave Jehu this message for Baasha and his family. Baasha constantly disobeyed the [Lord] by following Jeroboam's sinful example—but even worse, he killed everyone in Jeroboam's family!
Everything else Baasha did while he was king, including his brave deeds, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel. Baasha died and was buried in Tirzah, and his son Elah became king.

King Elah of Israel

8 Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel after Asa had been king of Judah for 25 years, and he ruled from Tirzah for two years.

9 Zimri commanded half of Elah's chariots, and he made plans to kill Elah.
One day, Elah was in Tirzah, getting drunk at the home of Arza, his prime minister,

10 when Zimri went there and killed Elah. So Zimri became king in the twenty-seventh year of Asa's rule in Judah.
11 As soon as Zimri became king, he killed everyone in Baasha's family. Not one man or boy in his family was left alive—even his close friends were killed. 12 Baasha's family was completely wiped out, just as the [Lord]'s prophet Jehu had warned.

13 Baasha and Elah sinned and caused the Israelites to sin, and they made the [Lord] angry by worshiping idols.

14 Everything else Elah did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.

King Zimri of Israel

15-16 Zimri became king of Israel in Asa's twenty-seventh year as king of Judah, but he ruled only seven days from Tirzah.
Israel's army was camped near Gibbethon in Philistia under the command of Omri. The soldiers heard that Zimri had killed Elah, and they made Omri their king that same day. 17 At once, Omri and his army marched to Tirzah and attacked. 18 When Zimri saw that the town was captured, he ran into the strongest part of the palace and killed himself by setting it on fire.

19 Zimri had disobeyed the [Lord] by following the evil example of Jeroboam, who had caused the Israelites to sin.

20 Everything else Zimri did while he was king, including his rebellion against Elah, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.

King Omri of Israel

23 in the thirty-first year of Asa's rule in Judah.
Omri ruled Israel for twelve years. The first six years he ruled from Tirzah,

24 then he bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for 6,000 pieces of silver. He built a town there and named it Samaria, after Shemer who had owned the hill.
25 Omri did more evil things than any king before him.

26 He acted just like Jeroboam and made the [Lord] God of Israel angry by causing the Israelites to sin and to worship idols.
27 Everything else Omri did while he was king, including his brave deeds, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.

28 Omri died and was buried in Samaria, and his son Ahab became king.

King Ahab of Israel

29 Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa's rule in Judah, and he ruled 22 years from Samaria.
30 Ahab did more things to disobey the [Lord] than any king before him. 31 He acted just like Jeroboam. Even worse, he married Jezebel the daughter of King Ethbaal of Sidont and started worshiping Baal. 32 Ahab built an altar and temple for Baal in Samaria

33 and set up a sacred polet for worshiping the goddess Asherah. Ahab did more to make the [Lord] God of Israel angry than any king of Israel before him.
34  t While Ahab was king, a man from Bethel named Hiel rebuilt the town of Jericho. But while Hiel was laying the foundation for the town wall, his oldest son Abiram died. And while he was finishing the gates, his youngest son Segub died. This happened just as the [Lord] had told Joshua to say many years ago.t