1 Kings 16:18

1 Kings 16:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the palace of the king’s house, and burnt the king’s house over him with fire, and died,
• New International Version (NIV)When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the royal palace and set the palace on fire around him. So he died,
• English Standard Version (ESV)And when Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the king's house and burned the king's house over him with fire and died,
• New King James Version (NKJV)And it happened, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the citadel of the king’s house and burned the king’s house down upon himself with fire, and died,

Context of 1 Kings 16:18

16The army received this message: ‘Zimri has turned against the king and he has killed King Elah.’ Omri was the officer who led Israel's army. That day, Omri's soldiers decided to make Omri the king of Israel, while they were in their camp at Gibbethon. 17So Omri and all Israel's army left Gibbethon and they went to attack Tirzah. Zimri saw that Omri had taken power over the city. So he went into the strong buildings of the king's palace. He lit a fire to burn the palace all around him. Zimri himself died in the fire. 19This happened because of the sins that he had done. He did things that the Lord says are evil. He did the same bad things that Jeroboam had done. He also caused the Israelites to continue doing bad things. 20The other things that happened while Zimri was king are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of Israel's kings’. It tells about how he killed King Elah, as well as the other things that he did.

1 Kings 16:18 word by word

וַיְהִ֞י כִּרְא֤וֹת זִמְרִי֙ כִּֽי־נִלְכְּדָ֣ה הָעִ֔יר וַיָּבֹ֖א אֶל־אַרְמ֣וֹן בֵּית־הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ וַיִּשְׂרֹ֨ף עָלָ֧יו אֶת־בֵּֽית־מֶ֛לֶךְ בָּאֵ֖שׁ וַיָּמֹֽת׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And it came to pass, when Zimriזִמְרִיzimrîy · ZimriH2174
• sawרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• that the cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• was takenלָכַדlâkad · to captureH3920
• that he wentבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• into the palaceאַרְמוֹן'armôn · citadel: palaceH759
• of the king’sמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
• and burntשָׂרַףώâraph · to burnH8313
• over him with fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
• and diedמוּתmûth · to dieH4191

Cross-references for 1 Kings 16:18

• Judges 9:54Abimelech quickly said to the young man who carried his weapons, ‘Take hold of your sword and kill me! I do not want people to say that a woman killed me!’ So the young man killed him with his sword.
• 1 Samuel 31:4He said to the young man who carried his armour, ‘Kill me now with your sword. I do not want these foreign men to be cruel to me as they kill me.’ But the young man would not agree to kill Saul because he was too afraid. So Saul took his own sword and he threw himself onto it so that he died.
• 2 Samuel 17:23Ahithophel realized that Absalom had not agreed to his advice. So he got on his donkey and he went home to his own town. He told his family what he needed to tell them. Then he hanged himself. He died and his family buried him in his father's grave.
• Job 2:9His wife said to him, ‘You cannot continue to trust God! Instead, you should curse God and then die.’
• Matthew 27:5So Judas took the money and he threw it down on the floor in the temple. Then he went away. He hung himself from a rope so that he died.

Commentaries on 1 Kings 16:18

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18The palace of the king‘s house - The tower of the king‘s house. A particular part of the palace - either the “harem,” or, more probably, the keep or citadel, a tower stronger and loftier than the rest of the palace. Zimri‘s desperate act has been repeated more than once. That the last king of Assyria, the Sardanapalus of the Greeks, thus destroyed himself, is almost the only “fact” which we know concerning him.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-28Verses 15-28 When men forsake God, they will be left to plague one another. Proud aspiring men ruin one another. Omri struggled with Tibni some years. Though we do not always understand the rules by which God governs nations and individuals in his providence, we may learn useful lessons from the history before us. When tyrants succeed each other, and massacres, conspiracies, and civil wars, we may be sure the Lord has a controversy with the people for…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-19burned it down upon himself: Zimri's cowardice shows when he chooses to kill himself rather than face capture.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 15-1815-18. did Zimri reign seven days--The news of his conspiracy soon spread, and the army having proclaimed their general, Omri, king, that officer immediately raised the siege at Gibbethon and marched directly against the capital in which the usurper had established himself. Zimri soon saw that he was not in circumstances to hold out against all the forces of the kingdom; so, shutting himself up in the palace, he set it on fire, and, like Sardanapalus…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Kings 16:18

• Arson
• Judgments
• Omri
• Suicide
• Zimri

In the dictionaries

• Ahab
• Baasha
• Omri
• Tirza
• Israel, History of
• Murder
• Palace
• Zimri (1)
• Zimri (2)
• Zimri

Commentaries on 1 Kings 16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings