16 Then God gave a message to Hanani's son Jehu about punishment for King Baasha. 2 This was the message: ‘Even though you were not an important person, I made you the leader of my people, the Israelites. But then you did all the bad things that Jeroboam did! Also, you caused my people the Israelites to do bad things. Their sins have caused me to become very angry. 3 So now I am ready to destroy you and your family. I will remove your family as I did to the family of Nebat's son Jeroboam. 4 If people of your family die in the city, dogs will eat their bodies. If they die in the country, vultures will eat them.’
5 The other things that happened while Baasha was king are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of Israel's kings’. It tells about all the things that Baasha did and about his power. 6 Baasha died and they buried him in Tirzah. His son Elah became king after him.
7 Hanani's son Jehu, the prophet, had received a message from the Lord about Baasha and his family. Baasha had done many things that the Lord said were evil, in the same way that Jeroboam had done. Baasha had even destroyed Jeroboam's whole family. These bad things made the Lord very angry.
8 When Asa had been king of Judah for 26 years, Baasha's son Elah became king of Israel. He ruled as king in Tirzah for two years.
9 Zimri was one of Elah's officers. He had authority over half of Elah's chariots. Zimri decided to kill King Elah. One day, Elah was in the home of a man called Arza, an officer who had authority over the king's palace in Tirzah. Elah was drinking too much wine and he became drunk. 10 Zimri came in to Arza's house. He hit Elah and he killed him. When this happened, Asa had been king of Judah for 27 years. Zimri made himself king instead of Elah.
11 When Zimri began to rule Israel as king, he killed everybody in Baasha's family. He did not leave any of Baasha's male relatives alive. He even killed Baasha's friends. 12 Zimri killed everybody in Baasha's family, as the Lord had said it would happen. The prophet Jehu had spoken the Lord 's message against Baasha. 13 This happened because of all the sins that Baasha and his son Elah had done. They had also caused the Israelites to do bad things. The useless idols that they worshipped had made the Lord , Israel's God, very angry.
14 The other things that happened while Elah was king are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of Israel's kings’. It tells about all the things that Elah did.
15 When Asa had been king of Judah for 27 years, Zimri became king of Israel. He ruled as king in Tirzah for seven days.
When Zimri killed King Elah, Israel's army was attacking a Philistine town called Gibbethon. 16 The army received this message: ‘Zimri has turned against the king and he has killed King Elah.’ Omri was the officer who led Israel's army. That day, Omri's soldiers decided to make Omri the king of Israel, while they were in their camp at Gibbethon. 17 So Omri and all Israel's army left Gibbethon and they went to attack Tirzah. 18 Zimri saw that Omri had taken power over the city. So he went into the strong buildings of the king's palace. He lit a fire to burn the palace all around him. Zimri himself died in the fire. 19 This happened because of the sins that he had done. He did things that the Lord says are evil. He did the same bad things that Jeroboam had done. He also caused the Israelites to continue doing bad things.
20 The other things that happened while Zimri was king are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of Israel's kings’. It tells about how he killed King Elah, as well as the other things that he did.
21 At that time, half of the Israelite people wanted Omri to be their king. But half of the people wanted Ginath's son Tibni to be their king. The two groups of people could not agree together. 22 But the group who wanted Omri to be king was stronger than the other group. As a result, Tibni died. Then Omri became the king of Israel. [ a ]
23 Omri became king of Israel when Asa had been king of Judah for 31 years. Omri ruled Israel as king for 12 years. He lived in Tirzah for the first six years. 24 Then Omri bought a hill from a man called Shemer. He paid Shemer 70 kilograms of silver for it. He built a city on the hill and he called the city Samaria. That was because the hill had belonged to Shemer. [ b ]
25 But Omri did many things that the Lord said were evil. He did more evil things than all the kings of Israel who lived before him. 26 He did the same bad things that Nebat's son Jeroboam had done and that he caused the Israelites to do. The useless idols that they worshipped caused the Lord , Israel's God, to be very angry.
27 The other things that happened while Omri was king are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of Israel's kings’. It tells about the things that he did and the power that he had. 28 Omri died and they buried him in Samaria. His son Ahab became king of Israel after him.
29 Omri's son Ahab became king of Israel when Asa had been king of Judah for 38 years. Ahab ruled Israel as king in Samaria for 22 years.
30 Omri's son Ahab did many things that the Lord said were evil. He did more evil things than all the kings of Israel who lived before him. 31 He did the same bad things that Nebat's son Jeroboam had done. He even did something that was even worse. He married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, the king of Sidon. Ahab served Baal as his god and he worshipped him. 32 Ahab built a temple for Baal in Samaria. He made an altar for Baal in this temple. 33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole to worship. He did many bad things that made the Lord , Israel's God, angry. He did more bad things than all the kings of Israel who lived before him.
34 While Ahab ruled as king, Hiel built Jericho city again. Hiel came from Bethel. Abiram, his firstborn son, died when Hiel built the city's foundation. Segub, his youngest son, died when he built the gates in the city's wall. The Lord had told Nun's son Joshua that this would happen. [ c ]
16 Then the Lord spoke against King Baasha through the prophet, Jehu son of Hanani. He said, 2 “I made you an important prince over my people Israel. But you have done the same things Jeroboam did. You have caused my people Israel to sin. Their sins have made me angry. 3 So Baasha, I will destroy you and your family, just as I did Jeroboam son of Nebat and his family. 4 Dogs will eat the bodies of those in your family who die in the city. And wild birds will eat the bodies of those who die out in the fields.”
5 The rest of the story about Baasha and the great things he did are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel . 6 Baasha died and was buried in Tirzah. His son Elah became the new king after him.
7 That book also has the story of the time the Lord gave the message to Jehu the prophet about Baasha and his family. Baasha did many things the Lord said were wrong, just as Jeroboam and his family had done. This and the fact that Baasha had killed everyone in Jeroboam’s family made the Lord very angry.
8 Elah son of Baasha became king during the 26th year that Asa was the king of Judah. He ruled in Tirzah for two years.
9 Zimri was one of King Elah’s officers. Zimri commanded half of Elah’s chariots, but Zimri plotted against Elah. King Elah was in Tirzah, drinking and getting drunk at Arza’s home. Arza was the man in charge of the palace at Tirzah. 10 Zimri went into the house and killed King Elah. Then Zimri became the new king of Israel after Elah. This was during the 27th year that Asa was king in Judah.
11 After Zimri became the new king, he killed all of Baasha’s family and friends. He did not let any male in Baasha’s family live. 12 So Zimri destroyed Baasha’s family just as the Lord said he would when he spoke against Baasha through the prophet Jehu. 13 This happened because of all the sins of Baasha and his son, Elah. They sinned and they caused the Israelites to sin. They worshiped worthless idols, and this made the Lord angry.
14 The rest of what that Elah did is written in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel .
15 Zimri became king of Israel during the 27th year that Asa was king of Judah. Zimri ruled in Tirzah only seven days. This is what happened: The army of Israel was at Gibbethon, which was under Philistine control. 16 Omri was the commander of the army of Israel. The men in the camp heard that Zimri had made secret plans against the king and killed him. So in the camp all the soldiers made Omri the new king. 17 Then Omri and all the soldiers of Israel left Gibbethon and went to Tirzah. They surrounded the city and attacked it. 18 When Zimri saw the city had been captured, he ran to the palace fortress, but the soldiers burned it down with him still in it. 19 So Zimri died because he sinned and did what the Lord said was wrong, just as Jeroboam did when he caused the Israelites to sin.
20 The story about Zimri’s secret plans and the other things that he did are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel .
21 Then the Israelites were divided. Half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath and wanted to make him king. The other half of the people followed Omri. 22 But Omri’s followers were stronger than the followers of Tibni son of Ginath. Tibni died, and Omri became king.
23 Omri became king of Israel during Asa’s 31st year as the king of Judah. Omri ruled over Israel for 12 years. Six of those years he ruled from Tirzah. 24 Then Omri bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for about 150 pounds [ a ] of silver. Omri built a city on that hill. He named the city Samaria after the name of its owner, Shemer.
25 Omri did what the Lord said was wrong. He was worse than all the kings who were before him. 26 He committed all the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had committed when he caused the Israelites to sin. They worshiped worthless idols, and this made the Lord , the God of Israel, very angry.
27 The rest of the story about Omri and the great things he did are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel . 28 Omri died and was buried in Samaria. His son Ahab became the new king after him.
29 Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel during the 38th year that Asa was king of Judah. Ahab ruled Israel from the town of Samaria for 22 years. 30 He did what the Lord said was wrong. Ahab was worse than all the kings who were before him. 31 It was not enough for Ahab to commit the same sins that Jeroboam, son of Nebat, had done. Ahab also married Jezebel, daughter of King Ethbaal of Sidon. Then Ahab began to serve and worship Baal. 32 He built a temple and an altar in Samaria for worshiping Baal. 33 He also set up a sacred pole. [ b ] Ahab did more to make the Lord , the God of Israel, angry than all the other kings who were before him.
34 During Ahab’s time, Hiel from Bethel rebuilt the town of Jericho. When Hiel started work on the city, his oldest son Abiram died. And when Hiel built the gates of the city, his youngest son Segub died. This happened just as the Lord said it would happen when he spoke through Joshua son of Nun. [ c ]
16 Then the word of the Lord came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying,
2 Forasmuch as I 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;
3 Behold, I will take away the posterity of Baasha, and the posterity of his house; and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
4 Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth of his in the fields shall the fowls of the air 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 So Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried in Tirzah: and Elah his son reigned in his stead.
7 And also by the hand of the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani came the word of the Lord against Baasha, and against his house, even for all the evil that he did in the sight of the Lord , in provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam; and because he killed him.
8 In the twenty and sixth year of Asa king of Judah began Elah the son of Baasha to reign over Israel in Tirzah, two years.
9 And his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him, as he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza steward of his house in Tirzah.
10 And Zimri went in and smote him, and killed him, in the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his stead.
11 And it came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, that he slew all the house of Baasha: he left him not one that pisseth against a wall, neither of his kinsfolks, nor of his friends.
12 Thus did Zimri destroy all the house of Baasha, according to the word of the Lord , which he spake against Baasha by Jehu the prophet.
13 For all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, by which they sinned, and by which they made Israel to sin, in provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their vanities.
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?
15 In the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah did Zimri reign seven days in Tirzah. And the people were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines.
16 And the people that were encamped heard say, Zimri hath conspired, and hath also slain the king: wherefore all Israel made Omri, the captain of the host, king over Israel that day in the camp.
17 And Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah.
18 And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the palace of the king's house, and burnt the king's house over him with fire, and died.
19 For his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of the Lord , in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, to make Israel to sin.
20 Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and his treason that he wrought, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
21 Then were the people of Israel 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 that followed Omri prevailed against the people that followed Tibni the son of Ginath: so Tibni died, and Omri reigned.
23 In the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah began Omri to reign over Israel, twelve years: six years reigned he in Tirzah.
24 And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver, and built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Samaria.
25 But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the Lord , and did worse than all that were before him.
26 For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger with their vanities.
27 Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and his might that he shewed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
28 So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria: and Ahab his son reigned in his stead.
29 And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel: and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years.
30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him.
31 And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.
32 And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.
33 And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.
34 In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho: he laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord , which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun.
16 Now the word of the Lord came to ( A ) Jehu the son of ( B ) Hanani against Baasha, saying, 2 “Since I ( C ) exalted you from the dust and made you leader over My people Israel, and ( D ) you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have misled My people Israel into sin, provoking Me to anger with their sins, 3 behold, ( E ) I am going to [ a ] burn ( F ) Baasha and his house, and ( G ) I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 4 ( H ) Anyone belonging to Baasha who dies in the city, the dogs will eat; and anyone belonging to him who dies in the field, the birds of the sky will eat.”
5 ( I ) Now as for 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 [ b ] lay down with his fathers and was buried in ( J ) Tirzah, and his son Elah became king in his place. 7 Moreover, the word of the Lord through ( K ) the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani came against Baasha and his household, both because of all the evil that he did in the sight of the Lord , provoking Him to anger with ( L ) the work of his hands, by being like the house of Jeroboam, and because ( M ) he struck [ c ] it.
8 In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah the son of Baasha became king over Israel at Tirzah, and reigned for two years. 9 And his servant ( N ) Zimri, commander of half his chariots, conspired against him. Now [ d ] Elah was in Tirzah drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, ( O ) who was in charge of the household in Tirzah. 10 Then Zimri came in and struck him and put him to death in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and he became king in his place. 11 And when he became king, as soon as he sat on his throne, ( P ) he [ e ] killed all the household of Baasha; he did not leave [ f ] a single male alive, either of his [ g ] relatives or of his friends.
12 So Zimri eliminated all the household of Baasha, ( Q ) in accordance with the word of the Lord which He spoke against Baasha through ( R ) Jehu the prophet, 13 for all the sins of Baasha and the sins of his son Elah, which they [ h ] committed and into which they misled Israel, ( S ) provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their [ i ] idols. 14 ( T ) Now as for 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?
15 In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned for seven days in Tirzah. Now the people were camped against ( U ) Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines. 16 And the people who were camped heard [ j ] it being said, “Zimri has conspired and has also struck and killed the king!” Therefore all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp. 17 Then Omri and all Israel with him went up from Gibbethon and besieged Tirzah. 18 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 himself with fire, and ( V ) died, 19 because of his sins which he [ k ] committed, doing evil in the sight of the Lord , ( W ) walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he committed, misleading Israel into sin. 20 ( X ) Now as for the rest of the acts of Zimri and his conspiracy which he [ l ] carried out, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of 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; the other half followed Omri. 22 But the people who followed Omri prevailed over the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath. And Tibni died and Omri became king. 23 In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king over Israel and reigned for twelve years; he reigned for six years at ( Y ) Tirzah. 24 And he purchased the hill [ m ] Samaria from Shemer for [ n ] two talents of silver; and he built on the hill, and named the city which he built [ o ] ( Z ) Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill.
25 Now ( AA ) Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord , and ( AB ) acted more wickedly than all who were before him. 26 For he ( AC ) walked [ p ] entirely in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and in his sins into which he misled Israel, provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their [ q ] idols. 27 Now as for the rest of the acts of Omri which he did and his might which he [ r ] displayed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 28 And Omri [ s ] lay down with his fathers and was buried in Samaria; and his son Ahab became king in his place.
29 Now Ahab the son of Omri became king over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria for twenty-two years. 30 Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord ( AD ) more than all who were before him.
31 And as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, ( AE ) he married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the ( AF ) Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshiped him. 32 So he erected an altar for Baal at ( AG ) the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. 33 Ahab also made ( AH ) the [ t ] Asherah. So ( AI ) Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him. 34 ( AJ ) In his days Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho; he laid its foundations with the loss of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the Lord , which He spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.
16 Then the word of the Lord came to Jehu ( A ) son of Hanani ( B ) concerning Baasha: 2 “I lifted you up from the dust ( C ) and appointed you ruler ( D ) over my people Israel, but you followed the ways of Jeroboam and caused ( E ) my people Israel to sin and to arouse my anger by their sins. 3 So I am about to wipe out Baasha ( F ) and his house, ( G ) and I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat. 4 Dogs ( H ) will eat those belonging to Baasha who die in the city, and birds ( I ) will feed on those who die in the country.”
5 As for the other events of Baasha’s reign, what he did and his achievements, are they not written in the book of the annals ( J ) of the kings of Israel? 6 Baasha rested with his ancestors and was buried in Tirzah. ( K ) And Elah his son succeeded him as king.
7 Moreover, the word of the Lord came ( L ) through the prophet Jehu ( M ) son of Hanani to Baasha and his house, because of all the evil he had done in the eyes of the Lord , arousing his anger by the things he did, becoming like the house of Jeroboam—and also because he destroyed it.
8 In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah two years.
9 Zimri, one of his officials, who had command of half his chariots, plotted against him. Elah was in Tirzah at the time, getting drunk ( N ) in the home of Arza, the palace administrator ( O ) at Tirzah. 10 Zimri came in, struck him down and killed him in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah. Then he succeeded him as king. ( P )
11 As soon as he began to reign and was seated on the throne, he killed off Baasha’s whole family. ( Q ) He did not spare a single male, whether relative or friend. 12 So Zimri destroyed the whole family of Baasha, in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken against Baasha through the prophet Jehu— 13 because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed and had caused Israel to commit, so that they aroused the anger of the Lord , the God of Israel, by their worthless idols. ( R )
14 As for the other events of Elah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
15 In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned in Tirzah seven days. The army was encamped near Gibbethon, ( S ) a Philistine town. 16 When the Israelites in the camp heard that Zimri had plotted against the king and murdered him, they proclaimed Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that very day there in the camp. 17 Then Omri and all the Israelites with him withdrew from Gibbethon and laid siege to Tirzah. 18 When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the royal palace and set the palace on fire around him. So he died, 19 because of the sins he had committed, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord and following the ways of Jeroboam and committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit.
20 As for the other events of Zimri’s reign, and the rebellion he carried out, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
21 Then the people of Israel were split into two factions; half supported Tibni son of Ginath for king, and the other half supported Omri. 22 But Omri’s followers proved stronger than those of Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri became king.
23 In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned twelve years, six of them in Tirzah. ( T ) 24 He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents [ a ] of silver and built a city on the hill, calling it Samaria, ( U ) after Shemer, the name of the former owner of the hill.
25 But Omri did evil ( V ) in the eyes of the Lord and sinned more than all those before him. 26 He followed completely the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat, committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused ( W ) Israel to commit, so that they aroused the anger of the Lord , the God of Israel, by their worthless idols. ( X )
27 As for the other events of Omri’s reign, what he did and the things he achieved, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? 28 Omri rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria. ( Y ) And Ahab his son succeeded him as king.
29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. 30 Ahab son of Omri did more ( Z ) evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. 31 He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married ( AA ) Jezebel daughter ( AB ) of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal ( AC ) and worship him. 32 He set up an altar ( AD ) for Baal in the temple ( AE ) of Baal that he built in Samaria. 33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole ( AF ) and did more ( AG ) to arouse the anger of the Lord , the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.
34 In Ahab’s time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken by Joshua son of Nun. ( AH )
