First Book of Kings 16

¹ The word of Yahweh came to Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha,

² ‘I raised you from the dust and made you leader of my people Israel, but you have followed Jeroboam’s example and led my people Israel into sins that provoke my anger.

³ Now I will sweep away Baasha and his House; I will make your House like the House of Jeroboam son of Nebat.

⁴ Those of Baasha’s family who die in the city, the dogs will eat; and those who die in the open country, the birds of the air will eat.’

⁵ The rest of the history of Baasha, his career, his valour, is not all this recorded in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?

⁶ Then Baasha slept with his ancestors and was buried in Tirzah; his son Elah succeeded him.

⁷ Furthermore, the word of Yahweh was delivered through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha and his House, firstly because of all the evil he did in the sight of Yahweh, provoking him to anger by his actions and becoming like the House of Jeroboam; secondly because he destroyed that House.

⁸ In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel at Tirzah, for two years.

⁹ Zimri, one of his officers, captain of half his chariotry, plotted against him. While he was at Tirzah, drinking himself senseless in the house of Arza who was master of the palace in Tirzah,

¹⁰ Zimri came in, struck him down and killed him in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and succeeded him.

¹¹ On his accession, as soon as he was seated on the throne, he butchered Baasha’s entire family, not leaving him a single male, or any relations, or friends.

¹² Zimri destroyed the whole House of Baasha, in accordance with the word which Yahweh had spoken through the prophet Jehu,

¹³ because of all the sins of Baasha and his son Elah into which they had led Israel, provoking the anger of Yahweh, the God of Israel, with their useless idols.

¹⁴ The history of Elah, his entire career, is not all this recorded in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?

¹⁵ In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri became king for seven days, in Tirzah. The people were then encamped in front of Gibbethon, a Philistine town.

¹⁶ When news reached the camp of how Zimri had not only plotted against but actually killed the king, all Israel proclaimed Omri, their general, king of Israel in the camp the same day.

¹⁷ Omri, and all Israel with him, raised the siege of Gibbethon and laid siege to Tirzah.

¹⁸ When Zimri saw that the town was captured, he went into the keep of the royal palace, burned the palace over his own head, and died.

¹⁹ This was because of the sin he committed by doing what is displeasing to Yahweh, by copying the example of Jeroboam and the sin into which he had led Israel.

²⁰ The rest of the history of Zimri and the plot he hatched, is not all this recorded in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?

²¹ The people of Israel then split into two factions: one half following Tibni son of Ginath to make him king, the other half following Omri.

²² But the faction of Omri proved stronger than that of Tibni son of Ginath; Tibni died, and Omri became king.

²³ In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king of Israel and reigned for twelve years. He reigned for six years in Tirzah.

²⁴ Then for two talents of silver he bought a hill from Shemer and on it built a town which he named Samaria after Shemer who had owned the hill.

²⁵ Omri did what is displeasing to Yahweh, and was worse than all his predecessors.

²⁶ In every way he copied the example of Jeroboam son of Nebat and the sins into which he had led Israel, provoking the anger of Yahweh, the God of Israel, with their useless idols.

²⁷ The rest of the history of Omri, his career, his valour, is not all this recorded in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?

²⁸ Then Omri slept with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria; his son Ahab succeeded him.

²⁹ Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned over Israel for twenty-two years in Samaria.

³⁰ Ahab son of Omri did what is displeasing to Yahweh, and was worse than all his predecessors.

³¹ The least that he did was to follow the sinful example of Jeroboam son of Nebat: he married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians[*a] and then proceeded to serve Baal and worship him.

³² He erected an altar to him in the temple of Baal which he built in Samaria.

³³ Ahab also put up a sacred pole and committed other crimes as well, provoking the anger of Yahweh, the God of Israel, more than all the kings of Israel who were his predecessors.

³⁴ It was in his time that Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho; he laid its foundations at the price of Abiram, his first-born; its gates he erected at the price of his youngest son Segub,[*b] just as Yahweh had foretold through Joshua son of Nun.