1 Kings 16–17

16Now the word of the Lord came to Jehu^b son of Hanani^c against Baasha: ²“Because I raised you up from the dust^d and made you ruler over my people Israel,^e but you have walked in the ways of Jeroboam and have caused my people Israel to sin,^f angering me with their sins, ³take note: I will eradicate Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat:^g

⁴Anyone who belongs to Baasha and dies in the city,

the dogs will eat,

and anyone who is his and dies in the field,

the birds^C will eat.”^h

⁵The rest of the events of Baasha’s reign, along with all his accomplishments and might, are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.^{i 6}Baasha rested with his ancestors and was buried in Tirzah. His son Elah became king in his place. ⁷But through the prophet Jehu^j son of Hanani the word of the Lord also had come against Baasha and against his house because of all the evil he had done in the Lord’s sight. His actions angered the Lord, and Baasha’s house became like the house of Jeroboam, because he had struck it down.^k

ISRAEL’S KING ELAH

⁸In the twenty-sixth year of Judah’s King Asa, Elah son of Baasha became king over Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah^l two years.

⁹His servant Zimri,^m commander of half his chariots, conspired against him while Elah was in Tirzah getting drunkⁿ in the house of Arza, who was in charge of the household^o at Tirzah. ¹⁰In the twenty-seventh year of Judah’s King Asa, Zimri went in and struck Elah down, killing him. Then Zimri became king in his place.^p

¹¹When he became king, as soon as he was seated on his throne, Zimri struck down the entire house of Baasha. He did not leave a single male,^Dq including his kinsmen and his friends. ¹²So Zimri destroyed the entire house of Baasha, according to the word of the Lord he had spoken against Baasha through the prophet Jehu.^{r 13}This happened because of all the sins of Baasha and those of his son Elah, which they committed and caused Israel to commit, angering the Lord God of Israel^s with their worthless idols.^t

¹⁴The rest of the events of Elah’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.^u

ISRAEL’S KING ZIMRI

¹⁵In the twenty-seventh year of Judah’s King Asa, Zimri became king for seven days in Tirzah.^v Now the troops were encamped against Gibbethon of the Philistines.^{w 16}When these troops heard that Zimri had not only conspired but had also struck down the king, then all Israel made Omri, the army commander, king over Israel that very day in the camp. ¹⁷Omri along with all Israel marched up from Gibbethon and besieged Tirzah.^{x 18}When Zimri saw that the city was captured, he entered the citadel of the royal palace and burned it down over himself. He died ¹⁹because of the sin he committed by doing what was evil in the Lord’s sight and by walking in the ways of Jeroboam and the sin he caused Israel to commit.^y

²⁰The rest of the events of Zimri’s reign, along with the conspiracy that he instigated, are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings. ²¹At that time the people of Israel were divided: half the people followed Tibni son of Ginath, to make him king, and half followed Omri. ²²However, the people who followed Omri proved stronger than those who followed Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri became king.

ISRAEL’S KING OMRI

²³In the thirty-first year of Judah’s King Asa, Omri became king over Israel, and he reigned twelve years. He reigned six years in Tirzah,^{z 24}then he bought the hill of Samaria^aa from Shemer for 150 pounds^A of silver, and he built up the hill. He named the city he built Samaria^B based on the name Shemer, the owner of the hill.

²⁵Omri did what was evil in the Lord’s sight; he did more evil than all who were before him.^{ab 26}He walked in all the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat in every respect and continued in his sins that he caused Israel to commit, angering the Lord God of Israel with their worthless idols.^{a 27}The rest of the events of Omri’s reign, along with his accomplishments and the might he exercised, are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings. ²⁸Omri rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria. His son Ahab became king in his place.

ISRAEL’S KING AHAB

²⁹Ahab son of Omri became king over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Judah’s King Asa; Ahab son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. ³⁰But Ahab son of Omri did what was evil in the Lord’s sight more than all who were before him.^{b 31}Then, as if following the sin of Jeroboam son of Nebat were not enough, he married Jezebel,^c the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians,^d and then proceeded to serve Baal and bow in worship to him.^{e 32}He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal^f that he had built in Samaria. ³³Ahab also made an Asherah pole.^g Ahab did more to anger the Lord God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him.^h

³⁴During his reign, Hiel the Bethelite built Jericho. At the cost of Abiram his firstborn, he laid its foundation, and at the cost of Segub his youngest, he finished its gates, according to the word of the Lord he had spoken through Joshua son of Nun.ⁱ

ELIJAH ANNOUNCES FAMINE

17Now Elijah^j the Tishbite, from the Gilead settlers,^Ak said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives,^l in whose presence I stand, there will be no dew or rain during these years except by my command!”^m

²Then the word of the Lord came to him: ³“Leave here, turn eastward, and hideⁿ at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. ⁴You are to drink from the wadi. I have commanded the ravens^o to provide for you there.”

⁵So he proceeded to do what the Lord commanded. Elijah left and lived at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. ⁶The ravens kept bringing him bread and meat in the morning and in the evening,^p and he would drink from the wadi. ⁷After a while, the wadi dried up because there had been no rain in the land.

ELIJAH AND THE WIDOW

⁸Then the word of the Lord came to him: ⁹“Get up, go to Zarephath^q that belongs to Sidon and stay there. Look, I have commanded a woman who is a widow to provide for you there.” ¹⁰So Elijah got up and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the city gate, there was a widow gathering wood. Elijah called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup and let me drink.”^{r 11}As she went to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.”

¹²But she said, “As the Lord your God lives,^s I don’t have anything baked—only a handful of flour in the jar and a bit of oil^t in the jug. Just now, I am gathering a couple of sticks in order to go prepare it for myself and my son so we can eat it and die.”^u

¹³Then Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid; go and do as you have said. But first make me a small loaf from it and bring it out to me. Afterward, you may make some for yourself and your son, ¹⁴for this is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘The flour jar will not become empty and the oil jug will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the surface of the land.’ ”^v

¹⁵So she proceeded to do according to the word of Elijah. Then the woman, Elijah, and her household ate for many days.^{w 16}The flour jar did not become empty, and the oil jug did not run dry, according to the word of the Lord he had spoken through^B Elijah.

THE WIDOW’S SON RAISED

¹⁷After this, the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. His illness got worse until he stopped breathing.^{x 18}She said to Elijah, “Man of God,^y what do you have against me?^z Have you come to call attention to my iniquity^aa so that my son is put to death?”

¹⁹But Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him from her arms, brought him up to the upstairs room^ab where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. ²⁰Then he cried out to the Lord^ac and said, “Lord my God, have you also brought tragedy on the widow I am staying with by killing her son?” ²¹Then he stretched himself out over the boy three times.^ad He cried out to the Lord and said, “Lord my God, please let this boy’s life come into him again!”

²²So the Lord listened to Elijah, and the boy’s life came into him again, and he lived.^{ae 23}Then Elijah took the boy, brought him down from the upstairs room into the house, and gave him to his mother.^a Elijah said, “Look, your son is alive.”

²⁴Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know you are a man of God^b and the Lord’s word from your mouth is true.”^c