1 Kings 16
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 16
1 The word of the Lord came to Jehu, son of Hanani, against Baasha: 2 Inasmuch as I exalted you from the dust and made you ruler of my people Israel, but you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have caused my people Israel to sin, provoking me to anger by their sins, 3 (A)I will burn up what is left of Baasha and his house; I will make your house like that of Jeroboam, son of Nebat:
4 (B)One of Baasha’s line who dies in the city,
dogs will devour;
One who dies in the field,
the birds of the sky will devour.
5 The rest of the acts of Baasha, what he did and his valor, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 6 Baasha rested with his ancestors; he was buried in Tirzah, and his son Elah succeeded him as king. 7 (Through the prophet Jehu, son of Hanani, the word of the Lord came against Baasha and his house, because of all the evil Baasha did in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger by his deeds so that he became like the house of Jeroboam, and because of what he destroyed.)
Reign of Elah. 8 In the twenty-sixth year of Asa, king of Judah, Elah, son of Baasha, became king of Israel in Tirzah for two years.
9 His servant Zimri, commander of half his chariots, plotted against him. As he was in Tirzah, drinking to excess in the house of Arza, master of his palace in Tirzah, 10 (C)Zimri entered; he struck and killed him in the twenty-seventh year of Asa, king of Judah, and succeeded him as king. 11 Once he was king, seated on the throne, he killed the whole house of Baasha, not sparing a single male relative or friend of his. 12 (D)Zimri destroyed the entire house of Baasha, according to the word the Lord spoke against Baasha through Jehu the prophet, 13 because of all the sins which Baasha and his son Elah committed and caused Israel to commit, provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger by their idols.
14 The rest of the acts of Elah, with all that he did, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
Reign of Zimri. 15 In the twenty-seventh year of Asa, king of Judah, Zimri became king for seven days in Tirzah.
The army was encamped at Gibbethon of the Philistines 16 when they heard, “Zimri has formed a conspiracy and has killed the king.” So that day in the camp all Israel made Omri, commander of the army, king of Israel. 17 Omri and all Israel with him marched up from Gibbethon and besieged Tirzah. 18 When Zimri saw that the city was captured, he entered the citadel of the king’s house and burned it down over him. He died 19 because of the sins he had committed, doing what was evil in the Lord’s sight by walking in the way of Jeroboam and the sin he had caused Israel to commit.
20 The rest of the acts of Zimri, with the conspiracy he carried out, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
Civil War. 21 At that time the people of Israel were divided in two, half following Tibni, son of Ginath, to make him king, and half for Omri. 22 The partisans of Omri prevailed over those of Tibni, son of Ginath. Tibni died and Omri became king.
Reign of Omri. 23 In the thirty-first year of Asa, king of Judah, Omri became king of Israel for twelve years; the first six of them he reigned in Tirzah.
24 He then bought the mountain of Samaria from Shemer for two silver talents and built upon the mountain the city he named Samaria, after Shemer, the former owner. 25 But Omri did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, more than any of his predecessors. 26 In every way he imitated the sinful conduct of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, and the sin he had caused Israel to commit, thus provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger by their idols.
27 The rest of the acts of Omri, what he did and his valor, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 28 Omri rested with his ancestors; he was buried in Samaria, and Ahab his son succeeded him as king.
Reign of Ahab. 29 Ahab, son of Omri, became king of Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa, king of Judah. Ahab, son of Omri, reigned over Israel in Samaria for twenty-two years.
30 Ahab, son of Omri, did what was evil in the Lord’s sight more than any of his predecessors. 31 It was not enough for him to follow the sins of Jeroboam, son of Nebat. He even married Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal, and worship him. 32 Ahab set up an altar to Baal in the house of Baal which he built in Samaria, 33 and also made an asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than any of the kings of Israel before him. 34 (E)During his reign, Hiel from Bethel rebuilt Jericho. At the cost of Abiram, his firstborn son, he laid the foundation, and at the cost of Segub, his youngest son, he set up the gates, according to the word of the Lord spoken through Joshua, son of Nun.[a]
1 Kings 16
English Standard Version
16 And the word of the Lord came to (A)Jehu the son of (B)Hanani against Baasha, saying, 2 “Since I (C)exalted you out of the dust and made you leader over my people Israel, and (D)you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have made my people Israel to sin, provoking me to anger with their sins, 3 behold, I will utterly (E)sweep away (F)Baasha and his house, and I will make your house (G)like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 4 (H)Anyone belonging to Baasha who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone of his who dies in the field the birds of the heavens shall 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 And Baasha slept with his fathers and was buried at (I)Tirzah, and Elah his son reigned in his place. 7 Moreover, the word of the Lord came by the prophet (J)Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha and his house, both because of all the evil that he did in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam, and also because (K)he destroyed it.
Elah Reigns in Israel
8 In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah the son of Baasha began to reign over Israel in Tirzah, and he reigned two years. 9 But his servant (L)Zimri, commander of half his chariots, conspired against him. When he was at Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, (M)who was over the household in Tirzah, 10 Zimri came in and struck him down and killed him, in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his place.
11 When he began to reign, as soon as he had seated himself on his throne, he struck down (N)all the house of Baasha. He (O)did not leave him a single male of his relatives or his friends. 12 Thus Zimri destroyed all the house of Baasha, (P)according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke against Baasha by (Q)Jehu the prophet, 13 for all the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah his son, which they sinned and which they made Israel to sin, (R)provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their idols. 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?
Zimri Reigns in Israel
15 In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned seven days in Tirzah. Now the troops were encamped against (S)Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, 16 and the troops who were encamped heard it said, “Zimri has conspired, and he has killed the king.” Therefore all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp. 17 So Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah. 18 And when Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the king's house and burned the king's house over him with fire and died, 19 because of his sins that he committed, doing evil in the sight of the Lord, (T)walking in the way of Jeroboam, and for his sin which he committed, making Israel to sin. 20 Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and the conspiracy that he made, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
Omri Reigns in Israel
21 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. 22 But the people who followed Omri overcame the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath. So Tibni died, and Omri became king. 23 In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri began to reign over Israel, and he reigned for twelve years; six years he reigned in Tirzah. 24 He bought the hill of (U)Samaria from Shemer for two talents[a] of silver, and he fortified the hill and called the name of the city that he built (V)Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill.
25 (W)Omri did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did more evil (X)than all who were before him. 26 For (Y)he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in the sins that he made Israel to sin, (Z)provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger by their idols. 27 Now the rest of the acts of Omri that he did, and the might that he showed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 28 And Omri slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria, and Ahab his son reigned in his place.
Ahab Reigns in Israel
29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri began to reign over Israel, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. 30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, (AA)more than all who were before him. 31 And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, (AB)he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the (AC)Sidonians, (AD)and went and served Baal and worshiped him. 32 He erected an altar for Baal in (AE)the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. 33 And Ahab made an (AF)Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger (AG)than all the kings of Israel who were before him. 34 (AH)In his days Hiel of Bethel built (AI)Jericho. He laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 16:24 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
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