1 Kings 16

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

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:

2 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:

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

3 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.

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

4 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.

[The bodies of] those in your family who die in this city [will not be buried; they] will be eaten by dogs; and [the corpses of] those who die in the fields will be eaten by vultures.”

5 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?

The other things that happened during the time that Baasha ruled Israel, and the things that he did, are written [RHQ] in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Israel’.

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

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

7 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.

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

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

After Asa had been the king of Judah for almost 26 years, Elah became the king of Israel. Elah ruled in Tirzah for [only] two years.

9 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.

[A man named] Zimri was one of Elah’s army officers. He commanded the drivers of half of Elah’s army’s (chariots/two-wheeled vehicles pulled by horses). 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.

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.

Zimri went into Arza’s house and killed Elah. Then Zimri became the king of Israel. That was when Asa had been the king of Judah for 27 years.

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.

As soon as Zimri became king [MTY], he killed all of Baasha’s family [MTY]. That included every male [IDM] in Baasha’s family and all of Baasha’s male 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,

That was just what Yahweh told the prophet Jehu would happen.

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.

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

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?

Everything else that Elah did is written in the scroll called ‘The History 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.

So Zimri became the king of Israel after Asa had been king of Judah for 27 years. But Zimri ruled in Tirzah for only seven days. The Israeli army was beseiging/surrounding Gibeah, a town which belonged to the Philistine people-group.

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.

The men in the Israeli 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.

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

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

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

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].

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.

He died because he had sinned by doing the things that Yahweh considered to be evil. Jeroboam had led the Israeli people to sin, and Zimri sinned just like Jeroboam had sinned.

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?

All the other things that Zimri did, and the record of how he rebelled [against King Elah], are written in the scroll called ‘The History 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.

After Zimri died, the Israeli people were divided. One group wanted Tibni, the son of Ginath, to be their king. The other group wanted Omri [to be the king].

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.

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

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

Omri became king when Asa had been king of Judah for almost 31 years. Omri ruled Israel for 12 years. For the first six years he ruled in Tirzah.

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.

Then he bought a hill from [a man named] Shemer and paid him about (150 pounds/70 kg.) 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.

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

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

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.

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

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?

Everything that Omri did, and the record of the victories that his [army] won, are written in the scroll called ‘The History 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.

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

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.

Ahab became king of Israel when Asa had ruled Judah for almost 38 years. Ahab ruled in Samaria [city] for 22 years.

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

Ahab did many things that Yahweh considered to be evil. He did more evil things than any of the kings who ruled Israel before he did.

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.

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 Sidon [city]. Then Ahab started to worship Baal, [the god that the Canaan people-group worshiped].

32 And he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria,

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

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.

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.

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.

During the years that Ahab [ruled], Hiel, a man from Bethel [city], rebuilt Jericho [city]. 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 like Yahweh had told Joshua would happen [to the sons of anyone who would rebuild Jericho].