1 Kings 16
New English Translation
16 The Lord’s message against Baasha came to[a] Jehu son of Hanani: 2 “I raised you up[b] from the dust and made you ruler over my people Israel. Yet you followed in Jeroboam’s footsteps[c] and encouraged my people Israel to sin; their sins have made me angry.[d] 3 So I am ready to burn up[e] Baasha and his family, and make your family[f] like the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat. 4 Dogs will eat the members of Baasha’s family[g] who die in the city, and the birds of the sky will eat the ones who die in the country.”
5 The rest of the events of Baasha’s reign, including his accomplishments and successes, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.[h] 6 Baasha passed away[i] and was buried in Tirzah. His son Elah replaced him as king. 7 And so it was the Lord’s message came through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha and his family.[j] This was because of all the evil he had done in the Lord’s view, by angering him with his deeds and becoming like Jeroboam’s dynasty,[k] and because of how he had destroyed Jeroboam’s dynasty.[l]
Elah’s Reign over Israel
8 In the twenty-sixth year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Baasha’s son Elah became king over Israel; he ruled in Tirzah for two years. 9 His servant Zimri, a commander of half of his chariot force, conspired against him. While Elah was in Tirzah drinking heavily[m] at the house of Arza, who supervised the palace in Tirzah, 10 Zimri came in and struck him dead. (This happened in the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah.) Zimri replaced Elah as king.[n] 11 When he became king and occupied the throne, he killed Baasha’s entire family. He did not spare any male belonging to him; he killed his relatives and his friends.[o] 12 Zimri destroyed Baasha’s entire family, in keeping with the Lord’s message which he had spoken against Baasha through Jehu the prophet. 13 This happened because of all the sins which Baasha and his son Elah committed and which they made Israel commit. They angered the Lord God of Israel with their worthless idols.[p]
14 The rest of the events of Elah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.[q]
Zimri’s Reign over Israel
15 In the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Zimri became king over Israel; he ruled for seven days in Tirzah. Zimri’s revolt took place while the army was deployed[r] in Gibbethon, which was in Philistine territory. 16 While deployed there, the army received this report:[s] “Zimri has conspired against the king and assassinated him.”[t] So all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that very day in the camp. 17 Omri and all Israel went up from Gibbethon and besieged Tirzah. 18 When Zimri saw that the city was captured, he went into the fortified area of the royal palace. He set the palace on fire and died in the flames.[u] 19 This happened because of the sins he committed. He did evil in the sight of[v] the Lord and followed in Jeroboam’s footsteps and encouraged Israel to continue sinning.[w]
20 The rest of the events of Zimri’s reign, including the details of his revolt, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.[x]
Omri’s Reign over Israel
21 At that time the people of Israel were divided in their loyalties. Half the people supported Tibni son of Ginath and wanted to make him king; the other half supported Omri. 22 Omri’s supporters were stronger than those who supported Tibni son of Ginath. Tibni died; Omri became king.
23 In the thirty-first year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Omri became king over Israel. He ruled for twelve years, six of them in Tirzah. 24 He purchased the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents[y] of silver. He launched a construction project there[z] and named the city he built after Shemer, the former owner of the hill of Samaria. 25 Omri did more evil in the sight of[aa] the Lord than all who were before him. 26 He followed in the footsteps of Jeroboam son of Nebat and encouraged Israel to sin;[ab] they angered the Lord God of Israel with their worthless idols.[ac]
27 The rest of the events of Omri’s reign, including his accomplishments and successes, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.[ad] 28 Omri passed away[ae] and was buried in Samaria. His son Ahab replaced him as king.[af]
Ahab Promotes Idolatry
29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Omri’s son Ahab became king over Israel. Ahab son of Omri ruled over Israel for twenty-two years in Samaria. 30 Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the sight of[ag] the Lord than all who were before him. 31 As if following in the sinful footsteps of Jeroboam son of Nebat were not bad enough, he married Jezebel the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians. Then he worshiped and bowed to Baal.[ah] 32 He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal he had built in Samaria. 33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole; he[ai] did more to anger the Lord God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
34 During Ahab’s reign,[aj] Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho. Abiram, his firstborn son, died when he laid the foundation;[ak] Segub, his youngest son, died when he erected its gates,[al] in keeping with the Lord’s message that he had spoken through Joshua son of Nun.[am]
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 16:1 tc LXX “by the hand of,” meaning “through.”
- 1 Kings 16:2 tn The Hebrew text has “because” at the beginning of the sentence. In the Hebrew text vv. 2-3 are one sentence comprised of a causal clause giving the reason for divine punishment (v. 2) and the main clause announcing the punishment (v. 3). The translation divides this sentence for stylistic reasons.
- 1 Kings 16:2 tn Heb “walked in the way of Jeroboam.”
- 1 Kings 16:2 tn Heb “angering me by their sins.”
- 1 Kings 16:3 tn The traditional view understands the verb בָּעַר (baʿar) to mean “burn.” However, an alternate view takes בָּעַר (baʿar) as a homonym meaning “sweep away” (HALOT 146 s.v. II בער). In this case one might translate, “I am ready to sweep away Baasha and his family.” Either metaphor emphasizes the thorough and destructive nature of the coming judgment.
- 1 Kings 16:3 tc The Old Greek, Syriac Peshitta, and some mss of the Targum have here “his house.”
- 1 Kings 16:4 tn Heb “the ones belonging to Baasha.”
- 1 Kings 16:5 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Baasha, and that which he did and his strength, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
- 1 Kings 16:6 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
- 1 Kings 16:7 tn Heb “house,” by extension meaning the members of one’s household or a dynasty.
- 1 Kings 16:7 tn Heb “house.”
- 1 Kings 16:7 tn Heb “he struck him down” or “…it down.”
- 1 Kings 16:9 tn Heb “while he was in Tirzah drinking and drunken.”
- 1 Kings 16:10 tn Heb “and he became king in his place.”
- 1 Kings 16:11 tn Heb “and he did not spare any belonging to him who urinate against a wall, [including] his kinsmen redeemers and his friends.”
- 1 Kings 16:13 tn Heb “angering the Lord God of Israel with their empty things.”
- 1 Kings 16:14 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Elah, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
- 1 Kings 16:15 tn Heb “Now the people were encamped.
- 1 Kings 16:16 tn Heb “and the people who were encamped heard, saying.”
- 1 Kings 16:16 tn Heb “has conspired against and also has struck down the king.”
- 1 Kings 16:18 tn Heb “and he burned the house of the king over him with fire and he died.”
- 1 Kings 16:19 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
- 1 Kings 16:19 tn Heb “walking in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he did to make Israel sin.”
- 1 Kings 16:20 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Zimri, and his conspiracy which he conspired, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
- 1 Kings 16:24 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 150 pounds of silver.
- 1 Kings 16:24 tn Heb “he built up the hill.”
- 1 Kings 16:25 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
- 1 Kings 16:26 tn Heb “walked in all the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sin which he made Israel sin.”
- 1 Kings 16:26 tn Heb “angering the Lord God of Israel with their empty things.”
- 1 Kings 16:27 tn Heb “As for the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and his strength which he demonstrated, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
- 1 Kings 16:28 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
- 1 Kings 16:28 tc The Old Greek has eight additional verses here. Cf. 1 Kgs 22:41-44.
- 1 Kings 16:30 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
- 1 Kings 16:31 tn Heb “and he went and served Baal and bowed down to him.”sn The Canaanites worshiped Baal as a storm and fertility god.
- 1 Kings 16:33 tn Heb “Ahab”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- 1 Kings 16:34 tn Heb “in his days.”
- 1 Kings 16:34 tn Heb “with Abiram, his firstborn, he founded it.”
- 1 Kings 16:34 tn Heb “with Segub, his youngest, he set up its gates.”
- 1 Kings 16:34 sn Warned through Joshua son of Nun. For the background to this statement, see Josh 6:26, where Joshua pronounces a curse on the one who dares to rebuild Jericho. Here that curse is viewed as a prophecy spoken by God through Joshua.
1 Kings 16
King James Version
16 Then the word of the Lord came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying,
2 Forasmuch as I 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;
3 Behold, I will take away the posterity of Baasha, and the posterity of his house; and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
4 Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth of his in the fields shall the fowls of the air eat.
5 Now 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?
6 So Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried in Tirzah: and Elah his son reigned in his stead.
7 And also by the hand of the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani came the word of the Lord against Baasha, and against his house, even for all the evil that he did in the sight of the Lord, in provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam; and because he killed him.
8 In the twenty and sixth year of Asa king of Judah began Elah the son of Baasha to reign over Israel in Tirzah, two years.
9 And his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him, as he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza steward of his house in Tirzah.
10 And Zimri went in and smote him, and killed him, in the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his stead.
11 And it came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, that he slew all the house of Baasha: he left him not one that pisseth against a wall, neither of his kinsfolks, nor of his friends.
12 Thus did Zimri destroy all the house of Baasha, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake against Baasha by Jehu the prophet.
13 For all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, by which they sinned, and by which they made Israel to sin, in provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their vanities.
14 Now 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?
15 In the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah did Zimri reign seven days in Tirzah. And the people were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines.
16 And the people that were encamped heard say, Zimri hath conspired, and hath also slain the king: wherefore all Israel made Omri, the captain of the host, king over Israel that day in the camp.
17 And Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah.
18 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.
19 For his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of the Lord, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, to make Israel to sin.
20 Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and his treason that he wrought, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
21 Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king; and half followed Omri.
22 But the people that followed Omri prevailed against the people that followed Tibni the son of Ginath: so Tibni died, and Omri reigned.
23 In the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah began Omri to reign over Israel, twelve years: six years reigned he in Tirzah.
24 And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver, and built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Samaria.
25 But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the Lord, and did worse than all that were before him.
26 For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger with their vanities.
27 Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and his might that he shewed, 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: and Ahab his son reigned in his stead.
29 And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel: and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years.
30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him.
31 And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.
32 And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.
33 And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.
34 In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho: he laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.