The First Book of the Kings

⭑ Unlocked Dynamic Bible :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 16 -

During the time that Baasha was king of Israel, the prophet Jehu, Hanani’s son, gave Baasha this message that he had received from Yahweh:

“You were very insignificant when I caused you to become the ruler of my Israelite people. But you have caused me to become very angry by doing the kinds of evil things that King Jeroboam did. You have also caused me to become angry by causing my people to sin.

So now I will get rid of you and your family. I will do to you just like I did to Jeroboam and his family.

The bodies of those in your family who die in this city will not be buried. They will be eaten by dogs, and the bodies of those who die in the fields will be eaten by vultures.”

The other things that Baasha did during the time that he ruled Israel, and the great things that his army did, are written in Book of the Events of the Kings of Israel.

When Baasha died, he was buried in Tirzah, the capital city. Then his son Elah became king.

Yahweh gave that message about Baasha and his family to the prophet Jehu. Baasha had done many deeds that Yahweh said were evil, which caused Yahweh to become angry. Baasha did the same kind of deeds that King Jeroboam and his family had done previously. Yahweh was also angry with Baasha because he had killed all of Jeroboam’s family.

Elah Reigns in Israel

After Asa had been the king of Judah for almost twenty-six years, Elah became the king of Israel. Elah ruled in Tirzah for only two years.

A man named Zimri was one of Elah’s army officers. He commanded the drivers of half of Elah’s army’s chariots. He made plans to kill Elah while Elah was in Tirzah, getting drunk at the house of a man named Arza. Arza was the man who took care of the things in the king’s palace.

Zimri went into Arza’s house and killed Elah. Then he became the king of Israel. That was when Asa had been the king of Judah for twenty-seven years.

As soon as Zimri became king, he killed all of Baasha’s family. He killed every male in Baasha’s family and all of Baasha’s male friends.

So he got rid of all of Baasha’s family. That was just what Yahweh told the prophet Jehu would happen.

Baasha and his son Elah had sinned and induced the Israelite people to sin. They caused Yahweh, the God whom the Israelite people worshiped, to become angry, because they both urged the people to worship worthless idols.

Everything else that Elah did is written in the Book of the Events of the Kings of Israel.

Zimri Reigns in Israel

So Zimri became the king of Israel after Asa had been king of Judah for twenty-seven years. But Zimri ruled in Tirzah for only seven days. The Israelite army was beseiging Gibeah, a town that belonged to the Philistine people group.

The men in the Israelite army camp heard that Zimri had secretly planned to kill King Elah, and then had killed him. So on that day the soldiers chose Omri, the commander of their army, to become the king of Israel.

The Israelite army was camped near Gibbethon. When they heard what Zimri had done, they left there and went to Tirzah, and surrounded the city.

When Zimri realized that the city was about to be captured, he went into his palace and set it on fire. So the palace burned down, and he died in the fire.

He died because he had sinned by doing many things that Yahweh said were evil. Jeroboam had induced the Israelite people to sin, and Zimri sinned just like Jeroboam had sinned.

All the other things that Zimri did, and the record of how he rebelled against King Elah, are written in Book of the Events of the Kings of Israel.

Omri Reigns in Israel

After Zimri died, the Israelite people were divided among themselves. One group wanted Tibni son of Ginath, to be their king. The other group wanted Omri to be the king.

Those who supported Omri were stronger than those who supported Tibni. So Tibni was killed, and Omri became king.

Omri became king when Asa had been king of Judah for almost thirty-one years. Omri ruled Israel for twelve years. For the first six years he ruled in Tirzah.

Then he bought a hill from a man named Shemer and paid him about sixty-six kilograms of silver for it. Then Omri ordered his men to build a city on that hill, and he called it Samaria, to honor Shemer, the man who owned it previously.

But Omri did many things that Yahweh said were evil. He did more evil deeds than any of the kings who ruled Israel before he did.

When Jeroboam was previously the king, he had induced the Israelite people to sin, and Omri committed the same kind of sins that Jeroboam did. The Israelite people caused Yahweh, the God the Israelite people had worshiped, to become very angry, because they worshiped worthless idols.

Everything that Omri did, and the record of the victories that his army won, are written in the Book of the Events of the Kings of Israel.

After Omri died, he was buried in Samaria, and his son Ahab became king.

Ahab Reigns in Israel, Marries Jezebel

Ahab became king of Israel when Asa had ruled Judah for almost thirty-eight years. Ahab ruled in the city of Samaria for twenty-two years.

Ahab did many things that Yahweh said were evil. He did more evil deeds than any of the kings who ruled Israel before he did.

He committed the same kind of sins that Jeroboam did, but he did things that were worse than the things that Jeroboam did. He married a woman named Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, the king of the city of Sidon. Then Ahab started to worship Baal, the god that the Canaan people group worshiped.

He built a temple in Samaria in order that the Israelite people could worship Baal there, and he put an altar there for making sacrifices to Baal.

He also made an idol that represented Asherah, Baal’s wife. He did many more things that caused Yahweh to become angry. He did more evil things than any of the previous kings of Israel had done.

During the years that Ahab ruled, Hiel, a man from the city of Bethel, rebuilt the city of Jericho. But when he started to rebuild the city, his oldest son Abiram died. And when the city was finished, while Hiel was building the city gates, his youngest son Segub died. They died just as Yahweh had told Joshua would happen to the sons of anyone who would rebuild Jericho.

The LORD’s word came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying,

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

behold, I will utterly sweep away Baasha and his house; and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

The dogs will eat Baasha’s descendants who die in the city; and he who dies of his in the field, the birds of the sky will eat.”

Now the rest of the acts of Baasha, and what he did, and his might, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried in Tirzah; and Elah his son reigned in his place.

Moreover the LORD’s word came by the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha and against his house, both because of all the evil that he did in the LORD’s sight, to provoke him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam, and because he struck him.

Elah Reigns in Israel

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

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

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

When he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, he attacked all the house of Baasha. He didn’t leave him a single one who urinates on a wall

(a)

among his relatives or his friends.

Thus Zimri destroyed all the house of Baasha, according to the LORD’s word which he spoke against Baasha by Jehu the prophet,

for all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, which they sinned and with which they made Israel to sin, to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger with their vanities.

Now the rest of the acts of Elah, and all that he did, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

Zimri Reigns in Israel

In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned seven days in Tirzah. Now the people were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines.

The people who were encamped heard that Zimri had conspired, and had also killed the king. Therefore all Israel made Omri, the captain of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp.

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

When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the fortified part of the king’s house and burned the king’s house over him with fire, and died,

for his sins which he sinned in doing that which was evil in the LORD’s sight, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did to make Israel to sin.

Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and his treason that he committed, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

Omri Reigns in Israel

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

But the people who followed Omri prevailed against the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath; so Tibni died, and Omri reigned.

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

He bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents

(b)

of silver; and he built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill.

Omri did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight, and dealt wickedly above all who were before him.

For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sins with which he made Israel to sin, to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger with their vanities.

Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and his might that he showed, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria; and Ahab his son reigned in his place.

Ahab Reigns in Israel, Marries Jezebel

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

Ahab the son of Omri did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight above all that were before him.

As if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him.

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

Ahab made the Asherah; and Ahab did more yet to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.

In his days Hiel the Bethelite built Jericho. He laid its foundation with the loss of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son Segub, according to the LORD’s word, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.

Footnotes

(a)16:11 or, male

(b)16:24 A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds.