1 Kings 16

1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jehu, the son of Hanani, against Baasha, saying:

Then this message from the Lord came to the prophet Jehu, son of Hanani, condemning Baasha.

2 “Even though I exalted you from the dust, and I set you as ruler over my people Israel, still you have walked in the way of Jeroboam, and you have caused my people Israel to sin, so that you have provoked me by their sins.

“Even though I lifted you out of the dust to make you ruler over my people Israel, you have followed the way of Jeroboam and have made my people Israel sin, making me angry by their sins.

3 Behold, I will cut down the posterity of Baasha, and the posterity of his house. And I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat.

Now I'm going to destroy Baasha and his family. Baasha, I will make your family like that of Jeroboam, son of Nebat.

4 Whoever will have died of Baasha in the city, the dogs will consume him. And whoever will have died of him in the countryside, the birds of the air will consume him.”

Those of Baasha's family who die in the town will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the countryside will be eaten by birds.”

5 Now the rest of the words of Baasha, and whatever he did, and his battles, were these not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

The rest of the events of Baasha's reign, everything that he did and what he accomplished, are recorded in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

6 Then Baasha slept with his fathers, and he was buried at Tirzah. And Elah, his son, reigned in his place.

Baasha died and was buried in Tirzah. His son Elah succeeded him as king.

7 And when the word of the Lord had arrived by the hand of the prophet Jehu, the son of Hanani, against Baasha, and against his house, and against every evil that he had done before the Lord, so that he provoked him by the works of his hands, so that he became like the house of Jeroboam: for this reason, he killed him, that is, the prophet Jehu, the son of Hanani.

The message from the Lord condemning Baasha and his family came to the prophet Jehu, son of Hanani. It came because Baasha had done what was evil in the Lord's sight, in the same way as the family of Jeroboam had done, and also because Baasha had killed Jeroboam's family. The Lord was angry because of Baasha's sins.

8 In the twenty-sixth year of Asa, the king of Judah, Elah, the son of Baasha, reigned over Israel, at Tirzah, for two years.

Elah, son of Baasha, became king of Israel in the twenty-sixth year of the reign of King Asa of Judah. He reigned in Tirzah for two years.

9 And his servant Zimri, the commander of one half part of the horsemen, rebelled against him. Now Elah was drinking at Tirzah, and he became inebriated in the house of Arza, the prefect of Tirzah.

One of Elah's officials called Zimri who was in charge of half his chariots plotted a rebellion against him. One time Elah was in Tirzah, getting himself drunk at the home of Arza, the palace manager at Tirzah.

10 Then Zimri, rushing in, struck him and killed him, in the twenty-seventh year of Asa, the king of Judah. And he reigned in his place.

Zimri went up to him, attacked him, and killed him. This was in the twenty-seventh year of the reign of Asa, king of Judah. Then he took over from him as king.

11 And when he had reigned and had sat upon his throne, he struck down the entire house of Baasha. And he did not leave behind of them anything that urinates against a wall, among both close relatives and his friends.

As soon as he became king and was installed on his throne, he killed all of Baasha's family. He did not leave a single male alive, whether of his relatives or of his friends.

12 And so, Zimri destroyed the entire house of Baasha, in accord with the word of the Lord, which he had spoken to Baasha, by the hand the prophet of Jehu,

So Zimri destroyed the entire household of Baasha, as the Lord had said in his condemnation of Baasha through Jehu the prophet.

13 because of all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah, his son, who sinned and caused Israel to sin, provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, with their vanities.

This was because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed and had made Israel to commit. Their worship of their useless idols had angered the Lord, the God of Israel.

14 But the rest of the words of Elah, and all that he did, were these not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

The rest of what happened in Elah's reign and everything that he did are recorded in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

15 In the twenty-seventh year of Asa, the king of Judah, Zimri reigned for seven days in Tirzah. For the army was besieging Gibbethon, a city of the Philistines.

Zimri became king of Israel in the twenty-seventh year of the reign of King Asa of Judah. He reigned in Tirzah seven days. At that time the Israelite army was attacking the Philistine town of Gibbethon.

16 And when they had heard that Zimri had rebelled, and that he had killed the king, all of Israel made Omri as a king for themselves; he was the leader of the military over Israel in the encampment in that day.

When the troops who were camped there learned that Zimri had plotted rebellion against the king and had murdered him, they made Omri, the army commander, king of Israel that same day in the army camp.

17 Therefore, Omri ascended, and all of Israel with him, from Gibbethon, and they besieged Tirzah.

Omri and the whole Israelite army left Gibbethon and went and besieged Tirzah.

18 Then Zimri, seeing that the city was about to be taken, entered the palace, and he set fire to himself along with the royal house. And he died

When Zimri saw that the city had been taken he went into the fortress of the royal palace and set it on fire around him, and he died, because of the sins he had committed.

19 in his sins, which he had sinned, doing evil before the Lord, and walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin, by which he caused Israel to sin.

He did evil in the Lord's sight and followed the way of Jeroboam and his sin which he had made Israel commit.

20 But the rest of the words of Zimri, and of his treachery and tyranny, were these not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

The rest of what happened in Zimri's reign and his rebellion are recorded in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

21 Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts: one half part of the people followed Tibni, the son of Ginath, having appointed him as king, and one half part followed Omri.

After this the people of Israel were divided. Half supported Tibni, son of Ginath, as king, while the other half supported Omri.

22 But the people who were with Omri prevailed over the people who were following Tibni, the son of Ginath. And Tibni died, and Omri reigned.

However, those on Omri's side defeated Tibni's supporters. Tibni was killed and Omri became king.

23 In the thirty-first year of Asa, the king of Judah, Omri reigned over Israel for twelve years; he reigned for six years at Tirzah.

Omri became king of Israel in the thirty-first year of the reign of King Asa of Judah. He reigned for a total of twelve years, (six of them were in Tirzah).

24 And he bought the mount of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver. And he built upon it, and he called the name of the city that he had built, Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the mount.

He purchased the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver. He fortified the hill, and named the city that he built Samaria, after Shemer, the previous owner of the hill.

25 But Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, and he wrought wickedness, beyond all who had been before him.

Omri did what was evil in the Lord's sight—in fact he did more evil than those who lived before him.

26 And he walked in all the ways of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and in his sins, by which he had caused Israel to sin, so that he provoked the Lord, the God of Israel, by their vanities.

For he followed all the ways of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, and in his sins which he made Israel commit, worshiping their useless idols which angered the Lord, the God of Israel.

27 Now the rest of the words of Omri, and his battles that he carried out, were these not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

The rest of what happened in Omri's reign, what he did, and his achievements are recorded in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

28 And Omri slept with his fathers, and he was buried in Samaria. And Ahab, his son, reigned in his place.

Omri died and was buried in Samaria. His son Ahab succeeded him as king.

29 Truly, Ahab, the son of Omri, reigned over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa, the king of Judah. And Ahab, the son of Omri, reigned over Israel at Samaria for twenty-two years.

Ahab, son of Omri, became king of Israel in the thirty-eighth year of the reign of King Asa of Judah. He reigned in Samaria for twenty-two years.

30 And Ahab, the son of Omri, did evil in the sight of the Lord, beyond all who had been before him.

Ahab, son of Omri, did evil in the Lord's sight, more than those who lived before him.

31 And it was not enough for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. In addition, he took as a wife Jezebel, the daughter of Eth-baal, the king of the Sidonians. And he went astray, and he served Baal, and adored him.

He didn't see anything to worry about in following the sins of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, and he even married Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, and started to serve and worship Baal.

32 And he set up an altar for Baal, in the temple of Baal, which he had built at Samaria.

Ahab made an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he had built in Samaria.

33 And he planted a sacred grove. And Ahab added to his works, provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, beyond all the kings of Israel who had been before him.

Then he put up an Asherah pole. In this way Ahab did more to anger the Lord, the God of Israel, than all the kings of Israel before him.

34 In his days, Hiel from Bethel built up Jericho. With Abiram, his firstborn, he founded it, and with Segub, his youngest son, he set up its gates, in accord with the word of the Lord, which he had spoken by the hand of Joshua, the son of Nun.

During Ahab's reign Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He sacrificed Abiram his firstborn son when he laid its foundation, and sacrificed Segub his youngest son when he constructed its gates. This fulfilled the message the Lord had given through Joshua, son of Nun.