1Then the word of the Lord came to Jehu son of Hanani concerning Baasha: 2“I lifted you up from the dust and appointed you ruler over my people Israel, but you followed the ways of Jeroboam and caused my people Israel to sin and to arouse my anger by their sins. 3So I am about to wipe out Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat. 4Dogs will eat those belonging to Baasha who die in the city, and birds will feed on those who die in the country.”
5As for the other events of Baasha’s reign, what he did and his achievements, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? 6Baasha rested with his ancestors and was buried in Tirzah. And Elah his son succeeded him as king.
7Moreover, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Jehu 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.
Elah King of Israel
8In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah two years.
9Zimri, one of his officials, who had command of half his chariots, plotted against him. Elah was in Tirzah at the time, getting drunk in the home of Arza, the palace administrator at Tirzah. 10Zimri came in, struck him down and killed him in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah. Then he succeeded him as king.
11As soon as he began to reign and was seated on the throne, he killed off Baasha’s whole family. He did not spare a single male, whether relative or friend. 12So Zimri destroyed the whole family of Baasha, in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken against Baasha through the prophet Jehu— 13because 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.
14As 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?
Zimri King of Israel
15In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned in Tirzah seven days. The army was encamped near Gibbethon, a Philistine town. 16When 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. 17Then Omri and all the Israelites with him withdrew from Gibbethon and laid siege to Tirzah. 18When 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, 19because 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.
20As 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?
Omri King of Israel
21Then the people of Israel were split into two factions; half supported Tibni son of Ginath for king, and the other half supported Omri. 22But Omri’s followers proved stronger than those of Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri became king.
23In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned twelve years, six of them in Tirzah. 24He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents16:24 That is, about 150 pounds or about 68 kilograms of silver and built a city on the hill, calling it Samaria, after Shemer, the name of the former owner of the hill.
25But Omri did evil in the eyes of the Lord and sinned more than all those before him. 26He followed completely the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat, committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit, so that they aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, by their worthless idols.
27As 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? 28Omri rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria. And Ahab his son succeeded him as king.
Ahab Becomes King of Israel
29In 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. 30Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. 31He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. 32He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. 33Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.
34In 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.
1The Lord’s message about Baasha came to Jehu, the son of Hanani. Here is what the Lord said about Baasha. 2“I lifted you up from the dust. I appointed you king over my people Israel. But you lived the way Jeroboam had lived. You also caused my people Israel to sin. And their sins made me very angry. 3So I am about to destroy you, Baasha, and your royal house. I will make your house like the royal house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. 4Some of the people who belong to you will die in the city. Dogs will eat them up. Others will die in the country. The birds will eat them.”
5The other events of Baasha’s rule are written down. What he did and what he accomplished are written in the official records of the kings of Israel. 6Baasha joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried in Tirzah. Baasha’s son Elah became the next king after him.
7The Lord’s message came through the prophet Jehu, the son of Hanani. It was against Baasha and his royal house. Baasha had done all kinds of evil things in the sight of the Lord. Baasha had also destroyed the royal house of Jeroboam. What Baasha did had made the Lord very angry. So Baasha had become as sinful as the royal house of Jeroboam had been.
Elah King of Israel
8Elah became king of Israel. It was in the 26th year that Asa was king of Judah. Elah ruled in Tirzah for two years. He was the son of Baasha.
9Zimri was one of Elah’s officials. He commanded half of Elah’s chariot drivers. He made plans against Elah. Elah was in Tirzah at the time. He was getting drunk in the home of Arza. Arza was in charge of the palace at Tirzah. 10Zimri came in. He struck Elah down and killed him. It was in the 27th year of Asa, the king of Judah. Zimri became the next king after Elah.
11As soon as Zimri was seated on the throne as king, he killed off Baasha’s whole family. He didn’t even spare one male. It didn’t matter whether it was a relative or a friend. 12So Zimri destroyed the whole family of Baasha. That’s what the Lord had said would happen. He had spoken against Baasha through Jehu the prophet. 13Baasha and his son Elah had committed all kinds of sin. They had also caused Israel to commit the same sins. So Israel made the Lord very angry. They did it by worshiping worthless statues of gods. The Lord is the God of Israel.
14The other events of Elah’s rule are written down. Everything he did is written in the official records of the kings of Israel.
Zimri King of Israel
15Zimri ruled in Tirzah for seven days. It was in the 27th year that Asa was king of Judah. The army of Israel had set up camp near Gibbethon. It was a Philistine town. 16The Israelites in the camp heard that Zimri had made plans against King Elah. They also heard that Zimri had murdered him. So they announced that Omri was king over Israel. He was the commander of the army. They made him king that day in the camp. 17Then Omri and all his men pulled back from Gibbethon. They marched to Tirzah and surrounded it. They attacked it and captured it. 18Zimri saw that they had taken over the city. So he went into the safest place in the royal palace. He set the palace on fire all around him. He died there 19because of the sins he had committed. He had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He had lived the way Jeroboam had lived. He had committed the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit.
20The other events of Zimri’s rule are written down. The way he turned against King Elah and killed him is written down. All these things are written in the official records of the kings of Israel.
Omri King of Israel
21The Israelites divided up into two groups. Half of them wanted Tibni to be king. He was the son of Ginath. The other half wanted Omri. 22But Omri’s followers were stronger than those of Tibni, the son of Ginath. So Tibni died. And Omri began to rule.
23Omri became king of Israel. It was in the 31st year that Asa was king of Judah. Omri ruled for 12 years. He ruled in Tirzah for six of those years. 24He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer. He weighed out 150 pounds of silver for it. Then he built a city on the hill. He called it Samaria. He named it after Shemer. Shemer had owned the hill before him.
25But Omri did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He sinned more than all the kings who had ruled before him. 26He lived the way Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had lived. He committed the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit. Israel made the Lord very angry. They did it by worshiping worthless statues of gods. The Lord is the God of Israel.
27The other events of Omri’s rule are written down. Everything he did and the things he accomplished are written in the official records of the kings of Israel. 28Omri joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried in Samaria. Omri’s son Ahab became the next king after him.
Ahab King of Israel
29Ahab became king of Israel. It was in the 38th year that Asa was king of Judah. Ahab ruled over Israel in Samaria for 22 years. He was the son of Omri. 30Ahab, the son of Omri, did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did more evil things than any of the kings who had ruled before him. 31He thought it was only a small thing to commit the sins Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had committed. Ahab also married Jezebel. She was Ethbaal’s daughter. Ethbaal was king of the people of Sidon. Ahab began to serve the god named Baal and worship him. 32He set up an altar to honor Baal. He set it up in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. 33Ahab also made a pole used to worship the female god named Asherah. He made the Lord very angry. Ahab did more to make him angry than all the kings of Israel had done before him. The Lord is the God of Israel.
34In Ahab’s time, Hiel from Bethel rebuilt Jericho. When he laid its foundations, it cost him the life of his oldest son Abiram. When he set up its gates, it cost him the life of his youngest son Segub. That’s what the Lord had said would happen. He had spoken it through Joshua, the son of Nun.
