1 Kings 16 - Lexham English Bible (LEB)

16 The word of Yahweh came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying, ² “Because I exalted you from the dust and I made you a leader over my people Israel, but you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and you caused my people Israel to sin, to provoke me with their sins, ³ I am now about to consume Baasha and his house. I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. ⁴ Those who die for Baasha in the city, the dogs will eat; those who die for him in the field, the birds of the heavens will eat.”

⁵ The remainder of the acts of Baasha, what he did, and his powerful deeds, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel? ⁶ Baasha slept with his ancestors^[a] and was buried in Tirzah, and Elah his son became king in his place. ⁷ Moreover, the word of Yahweh came to Baasha and to his house by the hand of Jehu the son of Hanani the prophet, because of all the evil that he did in the eyes of Yahweh by provoking him with the work of his hands, by being like the house of Jeroboam; and he destroyed him.

The Reign of Elah in Israel

⁸ In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah the son of Baasha became king over Israel for two years. ⁹ His servant Zimri the commander of half of the chariots conspired against him. Now he had been in Tirzah drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza who was over the palace in Tirzah. ¹⁰ Zimri came and struck him down and killed him in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah and became king in his place. ¹¹ It happened that as soon as he became king, at the moment he sat on his throne, he killed all of the house of Baasha. He left no males^[b] among his kindred or any of his friends.

¹² So Zimri destroyed all of the house of Baasha according to the word of Yahweh which he spoke against Baasha by the hand of Jehu the prophet ¹³ because of all the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah his son which they committed and which they caused Israel to sin by provoking Yahweh the God of Israel with their idols. ¹⁴ The remainder of the acts of Elah and all that he did, are they not written in the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?

The Very Brief Reign of Zimri in Israel

¹⁵ In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned seven days in Tirzah. Now the army was encamping against Gibbethon which belonged to the Philistines. ¹⁶ The encamping army heard that Zimri had conspired and moreover had killed the king,^[c] so they made Omri the commander of the army of Israel king over all Israel in the camp on that day. ¹⁷ Then Omri went up and all Israel with him from Gibbethon, and they besieged Tirzah. ¹⁸ It happened that when Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went to the citadel fortress of the house of the king, and he burnt the house of the king over him with fire so that he died. ¹⁹ This happened because of his sin which he committed by doing evil in the eyes of Yahweh, by going the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he did by causing Israel to sin. ²⁰ The remainder of the acts of Zimri and his conspiracy which he made, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?

The Reign of Omri in Israel

²¹ At that time, the people of Israel were divided into two parts: half of the people went after Tibni the son of Ginath to make him king, and the other half went after Omri. ²² The people who went after Omri overcame the people who went after Tibni the son of Ginath, so that he died and Omri became king.

²³ In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king over Israel for twelve years. He reigned in Tirzah six years, ²⁴ then bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver, fortified the hill, and called the name of the city Samaria that he built after Shemer, the owner of the hill. ²⁵ But Omri did evil in the eyes of Yahweh more than all who were before him. ²⁶ He went in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and in his sins that he caused Israel to sin by provoking Yahweh the God of Israel with their idols. ²⁷ The remainder of the acts of Omri that he did and his powerful deeds, are they not written in the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel? ²⁸ Omri slept with his ancestors,^[d] and he was buried in Samaria, and Ahab his son became king in his place.

The Reign of Ahab in Israel

²⁹ Now Ahab son of Omri became king over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah. Ahab son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. ³⁰ But Ahab son of Omri did evil in the eyes of Yahweh more than all who were before him. ³¹ If it wasn’t enough that he went^[e] after the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he also took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal the king of the Sidonians. He went and served Baal and bowed down to him. ³² And he built an altar to Baal in the house of Baal which he had built in Samaria. ³³ Ahab also made the sacred pole, and he continued to provoke^[f] Yahweh the God of Israel more than all the kings of Israel who were before him. ³⁴ In his days, Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho; at the cost of Abiram his firstborn he laid its foundation, and at the cost of Segub his younger sibling, he set up its gates, according to the word of Yahweh which he spoke by the hand of Joshua the son of Nun.

Footnotes

1. 1 Kings 16:6 Or “fathers”
2. 1 Kings 16:11 Literally “no one for him who urinated against a wall”
3. 1 Kings 16:16 That is, Elah
4. 1 Kings 16:28 Or “fathers”
5. 1 Kings 16:31 Literally “It happened that it was trivial his going”
6. 1 Kings 16:33 Literally “Ahab added to make to provoke”