16 And the word of the Lord came to Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha, saying,
2 Because I exalted you [Baasha] out of the dust and made you leader over My people Israel, and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have made My people Israel sin, to provoke Me to anger with their sins,
3 Behold, I will utterly sweep away Baasha and his house, and will make your house like [that] of Jeroboam son of Nebat.
4 Any of Baasha’s family who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and any who dies in the field the birds of the heavens shall eat.
5 Now the rest of the acts of Baasha, what he did and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
6 Baasha slept with his fathers and was buried in Tirzah. Elah his son reigned in his stead.
7 Also the word of the Lord against Baasha and his house came through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani for all the evil that Baasha did in the sight of the Lord in provoking Him to anger with the work of his hands [idols], in being like the house of Jeroboam, and also because he destroyed it [the family of Jeroboam, of his own accord].
8 In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah son of Baasha began his reign of two years over Israel in Tirzah.
9 Elah’s servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against Elah. He was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was over the household in Tirzah.
10 Zimri came in and smote and killed him in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his stead.
11 When he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, he killed all the household of Baasha; he left not one male of his kinsmen or his friends.
12 Thus Zimri destroyed all the house of Baasha, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke against Baasha through Jehu the prophet,(A)
13 For all the sins of Baasha and of Elah his son by which they sinned and made Israel sin, in provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger with their idols.
14 The rest of the acts of Elah, and all he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
15 In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned for seven days in Tirzah. The troops were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines,
16 And they heard the rumor, Zimri has conspired and slain the king! So all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp.
17 So Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah.
18 And when Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the stronghold of the king’s house and burned the king’s house over him with fire and died,
19 Because of his sins committed in doing evil in the sight of the Lord, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and his sin in causing Israel to sin.
20 The rest of the acts of Zimri, and his deeds of treason, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
21 Then the people of Israel were divided into two factions. Half of the people followed Tibni son of Ginath, to make him king, and half followed Omri.
22 But the people who followed Omri prevailed against those who followed Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri reigned.
23 In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri began his reign of twelve years over Israel. He reigned six years in Tirzah.
24 Omri bought the hill Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver. He built a city on the hill and fortified it, and called it Samaria (Shomeron), after the owner of the hill, Shemer.
25 But Omri did evil in the eyes of the Lord, even worse than all who were before him.
26 He walked in all the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sin, by which he made Israel sin, to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger with their idols.
27 The rest of the acts of Omri, and his might that he showed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
28 So Omri slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria. Ahab his son reigned in his stead.
29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri began his reign of twenty-two years over Israel in Samaria.
30 And Ahab son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord above all before him.
31 As if it had been a light thing for Ahab to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, he took for a wife Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and served Baal and worshiped him.
32 He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal which he built in Samaria.
33 And Ahab made an Asherah [idolatrous symbol of the goddess Asherah]. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel before him.
34 In his days, Hiel the Bethelite built Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of the life of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke through Joshua son of Nun.(B)
Cross references
- 1 Kings 16:12 : I Kings 16:3.
- 1 Kings 16:34 : Josh. 6:26.
