1 Kings 16

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

The word of Yahweh came to Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha, saying,

2 Forasmuch as I have exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel, and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins:

“Although I exalted you out of the dust and made you leader over my people Israel, you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have made my people Israel to sin, so as to provoke me to anger with their sins.

3 Behold, I will cut down the posterity of Baasa, and the posterity of his house, and I will make thy house as the house of Jeroboam the son of Nabat.

See, I will completely sweep away Baasha and his family and I will make your family like the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat.

4 Him that dieth of Baasa in the city, the dogs shall eat: and him that dieth of his in the country, the fowls of the air shall devour.

The dogs will eat anyone belonging to Baasha who dies in the city, and the birds of the sky will eat anyone who dies in the fields.”

5 But the rest of the acts of Baasa and all that he did, and his battles, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

As for the other matters concerning Baasha, what he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Israel?

6 So Baasa slept with his fathers, and was buried in Thersa: and Ela his son reigned in his stead.

Baasha slept with his ancestors and was buried in Tirzah, and Elah his son became king in his place.

7 And when the word of the Lord came in the hand of Jehu the son of Hanani the prophet, against Baasa, and against his house, and against all the evil that he had done before the Lord, to provoke him to anger by the works of his hands, to become as the house of Jeroboam: for this cause he slew him, that is to say, Jehu the son of Hanani, the prophet.

So by the prophet Jehu son of Hanani the word of Yahweh came against Baasha and his family, both because of all the evil that he did in the sight of Yahweh, so as to provoke him to anger with the work of his hands, like the family of Jeroboam, and also because he had killed all of Jeroboam's family.

8 In the six and twentieth year of Asa king of Juda, Ela the son of Baasa reigned over Israel in Thersa two years.

In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah son of Baasha began to reign over Israel in Tirzah; he reigned two years.

9 And his servant Zambri, who was captain of half the horsemen, rebelled against him: now Ela was drinking in Thersa, and drunk in the house of Arsa the governor of Thersa.

His servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him. Now Elah was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was over the household in Tirzah.

10 And Zambri rushing in, struck him and slew him in the seven and twentieth year of Asa king of Juda, and he reigned in his stead.

Zimri went in, attacked him and killed him, in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and became king in his place.

11 And when he was king and sat upon his throne, he slew all the house of Baasa, and he left not one thereof to piss against a wall, and all his kinsfolks and friends.

When Zimri began to reign and was seated on his throne, he killed all the family of Baasha. He did not leave alive a single male belonging to Baasha's relatives or friends.

12 And Zambri destroyed all the house of Baasa, according to the word of the Lord, that he had spoken to Baasa in the hand of Jehu the prophet,

So Zimri destroyed all the family of Baasha, according to the word of Yahweh which he spoke against Baasha by Jehu the prophet,

13 For all the sins of Baasa, and the sins of Ela his son, who sinned, and made Israel to sin, provoking the Lord the God of Israel with their vanities.

for all the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah his son that they committed, and by which they had led Israel to sin, so that they provoked Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger with their idols.

14 But the rest of the acts of Ela, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

As for the other matters concerning Elah, all that he did, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Israel?

15 In the seven and twentieth year of Asa king of Juda, Zambri reigned seven days in Thersa: now the army was besieging Gebbethon a city of the Philistines.

In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned only for seven days in Tirzah. Now the army was camped by Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines.

16 And when they heard that Zambri had rebelled, and slain the king, all Israel made Amri their king, who was general over Israel in the camp that day.

The army camped there heard it said, “Zimri has plotted and has killed the king.” So that day in the camp, all Israel declared Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel.

17 And Amri went up, and all Israel with him from Gebbethon, and they besieged Thersa.

Omri went up from Gibbethon and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah.

18 And Zambri seeing that the city was about to be taken, went into the palace and burnt himself with the king’s house: and he died

So when Zimri saw that the city had been taken, he went into the fortress attached to the king's palace and set fire to the building over him; in this way he died in the flames.

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

This was for the sins that he had committed in doing what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, by walking in the way of Jeroboam and in the sin that he had committed, so as to lead Israel to sin.

20 But the rest of the acts of Zambri, and of his conspiracy and tyranny, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

As for the other matters concerning Zimri, and the treason that he carried out, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Israel?

21 Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: one half of the people followed Thebni the son of Gineth, to make him king: and one half followed Amri.

Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts. Half of the people followed Tibni son of Ginath, to make him king, and half followed Omri.

22 But the people that were with Amri, prevailed over the people that followed Thebni the son of Gineth: and Thebni died, and Amri reigned.

But the people who followed Omri were stronger than the people who followed Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni died, and Omri became king.

23 In the one and thirtieth year of Asa king of Juda, Amri reigned over Israel twelve years: in Thersa he reigned six years.

Omri began to reign over Israel in the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned twelve years. He reigned from Tirzah for six years.

24 And he bought the hill of Samaria of Semer for two talents of silver: and he built upon it, and he called the city which he built Samaria, after the name of Semer the owner of the hill.

He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver. He built a city on the hill and called the name of the city Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the past owner of the hill.

25 And Amri did evil in the sight of the Lord, and acted wickedly above all that were before him.

Omri did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh and acted more wickedly than all who had been before him.

26 And he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, and in his sins wherewith he made Israel to sin: to provoke the Lord the God of Israel to anger with their vanities.

For he walked in all the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sins by which he led Israel to sin, to provoke Yahweh, the God of Israel, to be angry with their worthless idols.

27 Now the rest of the acts of Amri, and the battles he fought, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

As for the other matters concerning Omri which he did, and the might that he showed, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Israel?

28 And Amri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria, and Achab his son reigned in his stead.

So Omri slept with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria and Ahab his son became king in his place.

29 Now Achab the son of Amri reigned over Israel in the eight and thirtieth year of Asa king of Juda. And Achab the son of Amri reigned over Israel in Samaria two and twenty years.

In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri began to reign over Israel. Ahab son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years.

30 And Achab the son of Amri did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him.

Ahab son of Omri did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, more than all those who were before him.

31 Nor was it enough for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nabat: but he also took to wife Jezabel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians. And he went, and served Baal, and adored him.

It was to Ahab a trivial thing to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, so he took as his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; he went and worshiped Baal and bowed down to him.

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

He built an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.

33 And he planted a grove: and Achab did more to provoke the Lord the God of Israel, than all the kings of Israel that were before him.

Ahab made an Asherah pole. Ahab did even more to provoke Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who had been before him.

34 In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho: in Abiram his firstborn he laid its foundations: and in his youngest son Segub he set up the gates thereof: according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke in the hand of Josue the son of Nun.

During Ahab's rule, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. Hiel laid the foundation of the city at the cost of the life of Abiram, his firstborn son; and Segub, his youngest son, lost his life while he was building the gates of the city, in keeping with the word of Yahweh which he spoke by Joshua son of Nun.