1 Kings 16

1 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:

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

2 “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.

“Even though I exalted you from the dust, and I set you as ruler over my people Israel, still you have walked in the way of Jeroboam, and you have caused my people Israel to sin, so that you have provoked me by their sins.

3 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.

Behold, I will cut down the posterity of Baasha, and the posterity of his house. And I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat.

4 [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.”

Whoever will have died of Baasha in the city, the dogs will consume him. And whoever will have died of him in the countryside, the birds of the air will consume him.”

5 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’.

Now the rest of the words of Baasha, and whatever he did, and his battles, were these not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

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

Then Baasha slept with his fathers, and he was buried at Tirzah. And Elah, his son, reigned in his place.

7 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.

And when the word of the Lord had arrived by the hand of the prophet Jehu, the son of Hanani, against Baasha, and against his house, and against every evil that he had done before the Lord, so that he provoked him by the works of his hands, so that he became like the house of Jeroboam: for this reason, he killed him, that is, the prophet Jehu, the son of Hanani.

8 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.

In the twenty-sixth year of Asa, the king of Judah, Elah, the son of Baasha, reigned over Israel, at Tirzah, for two years.

9 [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.

And his servant Zimri, the commander of one half part of the horsemen, rebelled against him. Now Elah was drinking at Tirzah, and he became inebriated in the house of Arza, the prefect of Tirzah.

10 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.

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

11 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.

And when he had reigned and had sat upon his throne, he struck down the entire house of Baasha. And he did not leave behind of them anything that urinates against a wall, among both close relatives and his friends.

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

And so, Zimri destroyed the entire house of Baasha, in accord with the word of the Lord, which he had spoken to Baasha, by the hand the prophet of Jehu,

13 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.

because of all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah, his son, who sinned and caused Israel to sin, provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, with their vanities.

14 Everything else that Elah did is written in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Israel’.

But the rest of the words of Elah, and all that he did, were these not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

15 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.

In the twenty-seventh year of Asa, the king of Judah, Zimri reigned for seven days in Tirzah. For the army was besieging Gibbethon, a city of the Philistines.

16 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.

And when they had heard that Zimri had rebelled, and that he had killed the king, all of Israel made Omri as a king for themselves; he was the leader of the military over Israel in the encampment in that day.

17 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.

Therefore, Omri ascended, and all of Israel with him, from Gibbethon, and they besieged Tirzah.

18 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].

Then Zimri, seeing that the city was about to be taken, entered the palace, and he set fire to himself along with the royal house. And he died

19 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.

in his sins, which he had sinned, doing evil before the Lord, and walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin, by which he caused Israel to sin.

20 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’.

But the rest of the words of Zimri, and of his treachery and tyranny, were these not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

21 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].

Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts: one half part of the people followed Tibni, the son of Ginath, having appointed him as king, and one half part followed Omri.

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

But the people who were with Omri prevailed over the people who were following Tibni, the son of Ginath. And Tibni died, and Omri reigned.

23 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.

In the thirty-first year of Asa, the king of Judah, Omri reigned over Israel for twelve years; he reigned for six years at Tirzah.

24 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.

And he bought the mount of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver. And he built upon it, and he called the name of the city that he had built, Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the mount.

25 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.

But Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, and he wrought wickedness, beyond all who had been before him.

26 [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.

And he walked in all the ways of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and in his sins, by which he had caused Israel to sin, so that he provoked the Lord, the God of Israel, by their vanities.

27 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’.

Now the rest of the words of Omri, and his battles that he carried out, were these not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

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

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

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

Truly, Ahab, the son of Omri, reigned over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa, the king of Judah. And Ahab, the son of Omri, reigned over Israel at Samaria for twenty-two years.

30 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.

And Ahab, the son of Omri, did evil in the sight of the Lord, beyond all who had been before him.

31 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].

And it was not enough for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. In addition, he took as a wife Jezebel, the daughter of Eth-baal, the king of the Sidonians. And he went astray, and he served Baal, and adored him.

32 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.

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

33 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.

And he planted a sacred grove. And Ahab added to his works, provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, beyond all the kings of Israel who had been before him.

34 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].

In his days, Hiel from Bethel built up Jericho. With Abiram, his firstborn, he founded it, and with Segub, his youngest son, he set up its gates, in accord with the word of the Lord, which he had spoken by the hand of Joshua, the son of Nun.