1 Kings 16

Prophecy against Baasha

1Now the word of the Lord came to 1Jehu the son of 2Hanani against Baasha, saying, 2“Since I 3exalted you from the dust and made you leader over My people Israel, and 4you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have misled My people Israel into sin, provoking Me to anger with their sins, 3behold, 5I am going to 6burn 7Baasha and his house, and 8I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 49Anyone belonging to Baasha who dies in the city, the dogs will eat; and anyone belonging to him who dies in the field, the birds of the sky will eat.”

510Now as for the rest of the acts of Baasha and what he did and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

The Israelite Kings

6And Baasha 11lay down with his fathers and was buried in 12Tirzah, and his son Elah became king in his place. 7Moreover, the word of the Lord through 13the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani came against Baasha and his household, both because of all the evil that he did in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger with 14the work of his hands, by being like the house of Jeroboam, and because 15he struck 16it.

8In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah the son of Baasha became king over Israel at Tirzah, and reigned for two years. 9And his servant 17Zimri, commander of half his chariots, conspired against him. Now 18Elah was in Tirzah drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, 19who was in charge of the household in Tirzah. 10Then Zimri came in and struck him and put him to death in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and he became king in his place. 11And when he became king, as soon as he sat on his throne, 20he 21killed all the household of Baasha; he did not leave 22a single male alive, either of his 23relatives or of his friends.

12So Zimri eliminated all the household of Baasha, 24in accordance with the word of the Lord which He spoke against Baasha through 25Jehu the prophet, 13for all the sins of Baasha and the sins of his son Elah, which they 26committed and into which they misled Israel, 27provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their 28idols. 1429Now as for the rest of the acts of Elah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

15In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned for seven days in Tirzah. Now the people were camped against 30Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines. 16And the people who were camped heard 31it being said, “Zimri has conspired and has also struck and killed the king!” Therefore all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp. 17Then Omri and all Israel with him went up from Gibbethon and besieged Tirzah. 18When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the king’s house and burned the king’s house over himself with fire, and 32died, 19because of his sins which he 33committed, doing evil in the sight of the Lord, 34walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he committed, misleading Israel into sin. 2035Now as for the rest of the acts of Zimri and his conspiracy which he 36carried out, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

21Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king; the other half followed Omri. 22But the people who followed Omri prevailed over the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath. And Tibni died and Omri became king. 23In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king over Israel and reigned for twelve years; he reigned for six years at 37Tirzah. 24And he purchased the hill 38Samaria from Shemer for 39two talents of silver; and he built on the hill, and named the city which he built 4041Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill.

25Now 42Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, and 43acted more wickedly than all who were before him. 26For he 44walked 45entirely in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and in his sins into which he misled Israel, provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their 46idols. 27Now as for the rest of the acts of Omri which he did and his might which he 47displayed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 28And Omri 48lay down with his fathers and was buried in Samaria; and his son Ahab became king in his place.

29Now Ahab the son of Omri became king over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria for twenty-two years. 30Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord 49more than all who were before him.

31And as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, 50he married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the 51Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshiped him. 32So he erected an altar for Baal at 52the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. 33Ahab also made 53the 54Asherah. So 55Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him. 3456In his days Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho; he laid its foundations with the loss of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the Lord, which He spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.