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

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:

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.

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.

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?

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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,

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.

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?

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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?

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.

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.

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

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

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?

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

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.

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

32 And he set up an altar for Baal in the temple 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.

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.

16 Then the word of the Lord came to Jehu(A) son of Hanani(B) concerning Baasha: “I lifted you up from the dust(C) and appointed you ruler(D) over my people Israel, but you followed the ways of Jeroboam and caused(E) my people Israel to sin and to arouse my anger by their sins. So I am about to wipe out Baasha(F) and his house,(G) and I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat. Dogs(H) will eat those belonging to Baasha who die in the city, and birds(I) will feed on those who die in the country.”

As for the other events of Baasha’s reign, what he did and his achievements, are they not written in the book of the annals(J) of the kings of Israel? Baasha rested with his ancestors and was buried in Tirzah.(K) And Elah his son succeeded him as king.

Moreover, the word of the Lord came(L) through the prophet Jehu(M) son of Hanani to Baasha and his house, because of all the evil he had done in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger by the things he did, becoming like the house of Jeroboam—and also because he destroyed it.

Elah King of Israel

In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah two years.

Zimri, one of his officials, who had command of half his chariots, plotted against him. Elah was in Tirzah at the time, getting drunk(N) in the home of Arza, the palace administrator(O) at Tirzah. 10 Zimri came in, struck him down and killed him in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah. Then he succeeded him as king.(P)

11 As soon as he began to reign and was seated on the throne, he killed off Baasha’s whole family.(Q) He did not spare a single male, whether relative or friend. 12 So Zimri destroyed the whole family of Baasha, in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken against Baasha through the prophet Jehu— 13 because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed and had caused Israel to commit, so that they aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, by their worthless idols.(R)

14 As for the other events of Elah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?

Zimri King of Israel

15 In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned in Tirzah seven days. The army was encamped near Gibbethon,(S) a Philistine town. 16 When the Israelites in the camp heard that Zimri had plotted against the king and murdered him, they proclaimed Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that very day there in the camp. 17 Then Omri and all the Israelites with him withdrew from Gibbethon and laid siege to Tirzah. 18 When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the royal palace and set the palace on fire around him. So he died, 19 because of the sins he had committed, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord and following the ways of Jeroboam and committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit.

20 As for the other events of Zimri’s reign, and the rebellion he carried out, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?

Omri King of Israel

21 Then the people of Israel were split into two factions; half supported Tibni son of Ginath for king, and the other half supported Omri. 22 But Omri’s followers proved stronger than those of Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri became king.

23 In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned twelve years, six of them in Tirzah.(T) 24 He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents[a] of silver and built a city on the hill, calling it Samaria,(U) after Shemer, the name of the former owner of the hill.

25 But Omri did evil(V) in the eyes of the Lord and sinned more than all those before him. 26 He followed completely the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat, committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused(W) Israel to commit, so that they aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, by their worthless idols.(X)

27 As for the other events of Omri’s reign, what he did and the things he achieved, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? 28 Omri rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria.(Y) And Ahab his son succeeded him as king.

Ahab Becomes King of Israel

29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. 30 Ahab son of Omri did more(Z) evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. 31 He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married(AA) Jezebel daughter(AB) of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal(AC) and worship him. 32 He set up an altar(AD) for Baal in the temple(AE) of Baal that he built in Samaria. 33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole(AF) and did more(AG) to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.

34 In Ahab’s time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken by Joshua son of Nun.(AH)

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 16:24 That is, about 150 pounds or about 68 kilograms