3 Kings 16
16
1Then the word of the Lord came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasa, saying:
2Forasmuch 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:
3Behold, 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.
4Him 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.
5But 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?
6So Baasa slept with his fathers, and was buried in Thersa: and Ela his son reigned in his stead.
7And 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.
8In the six and twentieth year of Asa king of Juda, Ela the son of Baasa reigned over Israel in Thersa two years.
9And 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.
10And 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.
11And 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.
12And 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.
13For 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.
14But the rest of the acts of Ela and that he did, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?
15In the seventh 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.
16And 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.
17And Amri went up, and all Israel with him from Gebbethon: and they besieged Thersa.
18And 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
19In 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.
20But 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?
21Then 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.
22But the people that were with Amri prevailed over the people that followed Thebni the son of Gineth: and Thebni died, and Amri reigned.
23In the one and thirtieth year of Asa, king of Juda, Amri reigned over Israel twelve years. In Thersa he reigned six years.
24And 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.
25And Amri did evil in the sight of the Lord, and acted wickedly above all that were before him.
26And 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.
27Now 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?
28And Amri slept with his fathers: and was buried in Samaria. And Achab his son reigned in his stead.
29Now 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.
30And Achab the son of Amri did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him.
31Nor 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.
32And he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria:
33And 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.
34In 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.
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
1 Kings 16
16
1-4The word of God came to Jehu son of Hanani with this message for Baasha: “I took you from nothing—a complete nobody—and set you up as the leader of my people Israel, but you plodded along in the rut of Jeroboam, making my people Israel sin and making me seethe over their sin. And now the consequences—I will burn Baasha and his regime to cinders, the identical fate of Jeroboam son of Nebat. Baasha’s people who die in the city will be eaten by scavenger dogs; carrion crows will eat the ones who die in the country.”
5-6The rest of Baasha’s life, the record of his regime, is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. Baasha died and was buried with his ancestors in Tirzah. His son Elah was king after him.
7That’s the way it was with Baasha: Through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani, God’s word came to him and his regime because of his life of open evil before God and his making God so angry—a chip off the block of Jeroboam, even though God had destroyed him.
Elah of Israel
8-10In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah son of Baasha began his rule. He was king in Tirzah only two years. One day when he was at the house of Arza the palace manager, drinking himself drunk, Zimri, captain of half his chariot-force, conspired against him. Zimri slipped in, knocked Elah to the ground, and killed him. This happened in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah. Zimri then became the king.
11-13Zimri had no sooner become king than he killed everyone connected with Baasha, got rid of them all like so many stray dogs—relatives and friends alike. Zimri totally wiped out the family of Baasha, just as God’s word delivered by the prophet Jehu had said—wages for the sins of Baasha and his son Elah; not only for their sins but for dragging Israel into their sins and making the God of Israel angry with their stupid idols.
14The rest of Elah’s life, what he said and did, is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
Zimri of Israel
15-19Zimri was king in Tirzah for all of seven days during the twenty-seventh year of the reign of Asa king of Judah. The Israelite army was on maneuvers near the Philistine town of Gibbethon at the time. When they got the report, “Zimri has conspired against the king and killed him,” right there in the camp they made Omri, commander of the army, king. Omri and the army immediately left Gibbethon and attacked Tirzah. When Zimri saw that he was surrounded and as good as dead, he entered the palace citadel, set the place on fire, and died. It was a fit end for his sins, for living a flagrantly evil life before God, walking in the footsteps of Jeroboam, sinning and then dragging Israel into his sins.
20As for the rest of Zimri’s life, along with his infamous conspiracy, it’s all written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
Omri of Israel
21-22After that the people of Israel were split right down the middle: Half favored Tibni son of Ginath as king, and half wanted Omri. Eventually the Omri side proved stronger than the Tibni side. Tibni ended up dead and Omri king.
23-24Omri took over as king of Israel in the thirty-first year of the reign of Asa king of Judah. He ruled for twelve years, the first six in Tirzah. He then bought the hill Samaria from Shemer for 150 pounds of silver. He developed the hill and named the city that he built Samaria, after its original owner Shemer.
25-26But as far as God was concerned, Omri lived an evil life—set new records in evil. He walked in the footsteps of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who not only sinned but dragged Israel into his sins, making God angry—such an empty-headed, empty-hearted life!
27-28The rest of Omri’s life, the mark he made on his times, is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. Omri died and was buried in Samaria. His son Ahab was the next king after him.
Ahab of Israel
29-33Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah. Ahab son of Omri was king over Israel for twenty-two years. He ruled from Samaria. Ahab son of Omri did even more open evil before God than anyone yet—a new champion in evil! It wasn’t enough for him to copy the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat; no, he went all out, first by marrying Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and then by serving and worshiping the god Baal. He built a temple for Baal in Samaria, and then furnished it with an altar for Baal. Worse, he went on and built a shrine to the sacred whore Asherah. He made the God of Israel angrier than all the previous kings of Israel put together.
34It was under Ahab’s rule that Hiel of Bethel refortified Jericho, but at a terrible cost: He ritually sacrificed his firstborn son Abiram at the laying of the foundation, and his youngest son Segub at the setting up of the gates. This is exactly what Joshua son of Nun said would happen.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.