1 Kings 15–16

Abijah Becomes King of Judah

15Abijah became king of Judah. It was in the 18th year of Jeroboam’s rule over Israel. Jeroboam was the son of Nebat. ²Abijah ruled in Jerusalem for three years. His mother’s name was Maacah. She was Abishalom’s daughter.

³Abijah committed all of the sins his father had committed before him. Abijah didn’t follow the Lord his God with all his heart. He didn’t do what King David had done.

⁴But the Lord still kept the lamp of Abijah’s kingdom burning brightly in Jerusalem. He did it by giving him a son to be the next king after him. He also did it by making Jerusalem strong. The Lord did those things because of David. ⁵David had done what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He had kept all of the Lord’s commands. He had obeyed them all the days of his life. But he hadn’t obeyed the Lord in the case of Uriah, the Hittite.

⁶There was war between Jeroboam and Abijah’s father Rehoboam. The war continued all through Abijah’s life. ⁷The other events of Abijah’s rule are written down. Everything he did is written down. All of those things are written in the official records of the kings of Judah. There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.

⁸Abijah joined the members of his family who had already died. His body was buried in the City of David. His son Asa became the next king after him.

Asa Becomes King of Judah

⁹Asa became king of Judah. It was in the 20th year that Jeroboam was king of Israel. ¹⁰Asa ruled in Jerusalem for 41 years. His grandmother’s name was Maacah. She was Abishalom’s daughter.

¹¹Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. That’s what King David had done.

¹²Asa threw out of the land the male prostitutes who were at the temples. He got rid of all of the statues of gods his people before him had made. ¹³He even removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother. That’s because she had made a pole that was used to worship the goddess Asherah. The Lord hated it. So Asa cut it down. He burned it in the Kidron Valley.

¹⁴Asa didn’t remove the high places from Israel. But he committed his whole life completely to the Lord. ¹⁵He and his father had set apart silver, gold and other articles to the Lord. He brought them into the Lord’s temple.

¹⁶There was war between Asa and Baasha, the king of Israel. It lasted the whole time they were kings. ¹⁷Baasha was king of Israel. He marched out against Judah. He built up the walls of Ramah. He did it to keep people from leaving or entering the territory of Asa, the king of Judah.

¹⁸Asa took all of the silver and gold that was left among the treasures of the Lord’s temple and his own palace. He put his officials in charge of it. He sent the officials to Ben-Hadad. Ben-Hadad was king of Aram. He was ruling in Damascus. He was the son of Tabrimmon and the grandson of Hezion.

¹⁹“Let’s make a peace treaty between us,” Asa said. “My father and your father had made a peace treaty between them. Now I’m sending you a gift of silver and gold. So break your treaty with Baasha, the king of Israel. Then he’ll go back home.”

²⁰Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa. He sent his army commanders against the towns of Israel. He attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maacah and the whole area of Kinnereth in addition to Naphtali.

²¹Baasha heard about it. So he stopped building up Ramah. He went back home to Tirzah.

²²Then King Asa gave an order to all of the men of Judah. Everyone was required to help. They carried away from Ramah the stones and wood Baasha had been using there. King Asa used them to build up Geba in the territory of Benjamin. He also used them to build up Mizpah.

²³All of the other events of Asa’s rule are written down. Everything he accomplished is written down. Everything he did and the cities he built are written down. They are written in the official records of the kings of Judah. But when Asa became old, his feet began to give him trouble. ²⁴He joined the members of his family who had already died. His body was buried in his family tomb. It was in the city of King David. Asa’s son Jehoshaphat became the next king after him.

Nadab Becomes King of Israel

²⁵Nadab became king of Israel. It was in the second year that Asa was king of Judah. Nadab ruled over Israel for two years. He was the son of Jeroboam. ²⁶Nadab did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He lived the way his father had lived. He sinned as his father had sinned. Jeroboam had also caused Israel to commit the same sins.

²⁷Baasha was from the tribe of Issachar. He was the son of Ahijah. Baasha made plans against Nadab and struck him down at Gibbethon. It was a Philistine town. Baasha struck him down while Nadab and all of the men of Israel were getting ready to attack Gibbethon. ²⁸He killed Nadab in the third year that Asa was king of Judah. Baasha became the next king after Nadab.

²⁹As soon as Baasha became king, he killed Jeroboam’s whole family. He didn’t leave any of them alive. He destroyed every one of them. He did what the Lord had said would happen. The Lord had spoken that message through his servant Ahijah from Shiloh.

³⁰The Lord judged Jeroboam’s family because of the sins Jeroboam had committed. He had also caused Israel to commit those same sins. He had made the Lord very angry. The Lord is the God of Israel.

³¹The other events of Nadab’s rule are written down. Everything he did is written down. All of those things are written in the official records of the kings of Israel.

³²There was war between Asa and Baasha, the king of Israel. It lasted the whole time they were kings.

Baasha Becomes King of Israel

³³Baasha became king of Israel in Tirzah. It was in the third year that Asa was king of Judah. Baasha ruled for 24 years. He was the son of Ahijah. ³⁴Baasha did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He lived the way Jeroboam had lived. He sinned as Jeroboam had sinned. Jeroboam had also caused Israel to commit the same sins.

16The Lord’s message against Baasha came to Jehu. Jehu was the son of Hanani. The Lord said, ²“I lifted you up from the dust. I made you leader of 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.

³“So I am about to destroy you 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 of the air will eat them.”

⁵The other events of Baasha’s rule are written down. What he did and what he accomplished are written down. All of those things are written in the official records of the kings of Israel. ⁶Baasha joined the members of his family who had already died. His body was buried in Tirzah. His 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. What he did had made the Lord very angry. So Baasha had become as sinful as the royal house of Jeroboam had been. He had also destroyed it.

Elah Becomes 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 the prophet Jehu.

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 down. All of those things are written in the official records of the kings of Israel.

Zimri Becomes 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 people of Israel who were 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 very day in the camp.

¹⁷Then Omri and all of 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 sinned as Jeroboam had sinned. Jeroboam had also caused Israel to commit the same sins.

²⁰The other events of Zimri’s rule are written down. The way he turned against King Elah and killed him is written down. All of those things are written in the official records of the kings of Israel.

Omri Becomes King of Israel

²¹The people of Israel 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…