²¹ As soon as Baasha of Israel heard what was happening, he abandoned his project of fortifying Ramah and withdrew to Tirzah.

¹⁷ So Jeroboam’s wife returned to Tirzah, and the child died just as she walked through the door of her home.

Zimri Rules in Israel

¹⁵ Zimri began to rule over Israel in the twenty-seventh year of King Asa’s reign in Judah, but his reign in Tirzah lasted only seven days. The army of Israel was then attacking the Philistine town of Gibbethon. ¹⁶ When they heard that Zimri had committed treason and had assassinated the king, that very day they chose Omri, commander of the army, as the new king of Israel. ¹⁷ So Omri led the entire army of Israel up from Gibbethon to attack Tirzah, Israel’s capital. ¹⁸ When Zimri saw that the city had been taken, he went into the citadel of the palace and burned it down over himself and died in the flames.

⁵ As soon as Baasha of Israel heard what was happening, he abandoned his project of fortifying Ramah and stopped all work on it.

¹⁷ King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from entering or leaving King Asa’s territory in Judah.