1 Kings 16–18

16Now the word of the Lord came to Jehu ^tson of Hanani ^uagainst Baasha: ²“Because I raised you up from the dust ^vand made you ruler over My people Israel, ^wbut you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have caused My people Israel to sin, ^xprovoking Me with their sins, ³take note: I will sweep away Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat: ^y

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 of the sky will eat.” ^z

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. ^a6Baasha rested with his fathers and was buried in Tirzah. His son Elah became king in his place. ⁷Through the prophet Jehu ^bson of Hanani the word of the Lord also came against Baasha and against his house because of all the evil he had done in the Lord’s sight, provoking Him with the work of his hands and being like the house of Jeroboam, and because Baasha had struck down the house of Jeroboam. ^c

Israel’s King Elah

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

⁹His servant Zimri, ^ecommander of half his chariots, conspired against him while Elah was in Tirzah getting drunk ^fin the house of Arza, who was in charge of the household ^gat Tirzah. ¹⁰In the twenty-seventh year of Judah’s King Asa, Zimri went in, struck Elah down, killing him. Then Zimri became king in his place. ^h

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, ^ijincluding 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 Jehu the prophet. ^k13This happened because of all the sins of Baasha and those of his son Elah, which they committed and caused Israel to commit, provoking the Lord God of Israel ^lwith their worthless idols. ^m

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

Israel’s King Zimri

¹⁵In the twenty-seventh year of Judah’s King Asa, Zimri became king for seven days in Tirzah. ^oNow the troops were encamped against Gibbethon of the Philistines. ^p16When 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. ^q18When 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 following the example of Jeroboam and the sin he caused Israel to commit. ^r

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 reigned 12 years. He reigned six years in Tirzah, ^s24then he bought the hill of Samaria ^tfrom Shemer for 150 pounds ^uof silver, and he built up the hill. He named the city he built Samaria ^vbased 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. ^w26He followed the example of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sins that he caused Israel to commit, provoking the Lord God of Israel with their worthless idols. ^x27The 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 fathers 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 22 years. ³⁰But Ahab son of Omri did what was evil in the Lord’s sight more than all who were before him. ^y31Then, as if following the sin of Jeroboam son of Nebat were a trivial matter, he married Jezebel, ^zthe daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, ^aand then proceeded to serve Baal and worship him. ^b32He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal ^cthat he had built in Samaria. ³³Ahab also made an Asherah pole. ^dAhab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him. ^e

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 set up its gates, according to the word of the Lord He had spoken through Joshua son of Nun. ^f

Elijah Announces Famine

17Now Elijah ^gthe Tishbite, from the Gilead settlers, ^hisaid to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, ^jI stand before Him, and there will be no dew or rain during these years except by my command!” ^k

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

⁵So he did what the Lord commanded. Elijah left and lived by the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. ⁶The ravens kept bringing him bread and meat in the morning and in the evening, ⁿand he drank 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 ^othat 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 woman gathering wood. Elijah called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup and let me drink.” ^p11As 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, ^qI don’t have anything baked—only a handful of flour in the jar and a bit of oil ^rin 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.” ^s

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.” ^t

¹⁵So she proceeded to do according to the word of Elijah. Then the woman, Elijah, and her household ate for many days. ^u16The 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 ^vElijah.

The Widow’s Son Raised

¹⁷After this, the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. His illness became very severe until no breath remained in him. ^w18She said to Elijah, “Man of God, ^xwhat do we have in common? ^yHave you come to remind me of my guilt ^zand to kill my son?”

¹⁹But Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him from her arms, brought him up to the upper room ^awhere he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. ²⁰Then he cried out to the Lord ^band said, “My Lord 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. ^cHe cried out to the Lord and said, “My Lord God, please let this boy’s life return to him!”

²²So the Lord listened to Elijah’s voice, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. ^d23Then Elijah took the boy, brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. ^eElijah said, “Look, your son is alive.”

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

Elijah’s Message to Ahab

18After a long time, the word of the Lord ^hcame to Elijah in the third year: ⁱ“Go and present yourself to Ahab. ^jI will send rain on the surface of the land.” ²So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab.

The famine was severe in Samaria. ^k3Ahab called for Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. ^lObadiah was a man who greatly feared the Lord ^m4and took 100 prophets and hid them, 50 men to a cave, and provided them with food and water when Jezebel ⁿslaughtered the Lord’s prophets. ^o5Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go throughout the land to every spring of water and to every wadi. Perhaps we’ll find grass so we can keep the horses and mules alive and not have to destroy any cattle.” ^p6They divided the land between them in order to cover it. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went the other way by himself.

⁷While Obadiah was walking along the road, Elijah suddenly met him. ^qWhen Obadiah recognized him, he fell with his face to the ground and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?”

⁸“It is I,” he replied. “Go tell your lord, ‘Elijah is here!’ ”

⁹But Obadiah said, “What sin have I committed, ^rthat you are handing your servant over to Ahab to put me to death? ¹⁰As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent someone to search for you. When they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made that kingdom or nation swear they had not found you.

¹¹“Now you say, ‘Go tell your lord, “Elijah is here!” ’ ¹²But when I leave you, the Spirit of the Lord may carry you off ^sto some place I don’t know. Then when I go report to…