1 Kings 16–18

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 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 of the kings who had ruled before him. ²⁶He lived the way Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had lived. He sinned as Jeroboam had sinned. Jeroboam had also caused Israel to commit the same sins. 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 down. All of those things are written in the official records of the kings of Israel. ²⁸Omri joined the members of his family who had already died. His body was buried in Samaria. His son Ahab became the next king after him.

Ahab Becomes 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 got married to Jezebel. She was Ethbaal’s daughter. Ethbaal was king of the people of Sidon. Ahab began to serve the god 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 that was used to worship the goddess Asherah.

He made the Lord very angry. He did more to make him angry than all of 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.

Elijah Is Fed by Ravens

17Elijah was from Tishbe in the land of Gilead. He said to Ahab, “I serve the Lord. He is the God of Israel. You can be sure that he lives. And you can be just as sure that there won’t be any dew or rain on the whole land. There won’t be any during the next few years. It won’t come until I say so.”

²Then a message from the Lord came to Elijah. It said, ³“Leave this place. Go east and hide in the Kerith Valley. It is east of the Jordan River. ⁴You will drink water from the brook. I have ordered some ravens to feed you there.”

⁵So Elijah did what the Lord had told him to do. He went to the Kerith Valley. It was east of the Jordan River. He stayed there. ⁶The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning. They also brought him bread and meat in the evening. He drank water from the brook.

Elijah Visits a Widow at Zarephath

⁷Some time later the brook dried up. It hadn’t rained in the land for quite a while. ⁸A message came to Elijah from the Lord. He said, ⁹“Go right away to Zarephath in the territory of Sidon. Stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.”

¹⁰So Elijah went to Zarephath. He came to the town gate. A widow was there gathering sticks. He called out to her. He asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar? I need a drink.”

¹¹She went to get the water.

Then he called out to her, “Please bring me a piece of bread too.”

¹²“I don’t have any bread,” she replied. “And that’s just as sure as the Lord your God is alive. All I have is a small amount of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I’m gathering a few sticks to take home. I’ll make one last meal for myself and my son. We’ll eat it. After that, we’ll die.”

¹³Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home. Do what you have said. But first make a little bread for me. Make it out of what you have. Bring it to me. Then make some for yourself and your son.

¹⁴“The Lord is the God of Israel. He says, ‘The jar of flour will not be used up. The jug will always have oil in it. You will have flour and oil until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’ ”

¹⁵She went away and did what Elijah had told her to do. So Elijah had food every day. There was also food for the woman and her family. ¹⁶The jar of flour wasn’t used up. The jug always had oil in it. That’s what the Lord had said would happen. He had spoken that message through Elijah.

¹⁷Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. He got worse and worse. Finally he stopped breathing.

¹⁸The woman said to Elijah, “You are a man of God. What do you have against me? Did you come to bring my sin out into the open? Did you come to kill my son?”

¹⁹“Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms. He carried him to the upstairs room where he was staying. He put him down on his bed.

²⁰Then Elijah cried out to the Lord. He said, “Lord my God, I’m staying with this widow. Have you brought pain and sorrow to her? Have you caused her son to die?”

²¹Then he lay down on the boy three times. He cried out to the Lord. He said, “Lord my God, give this boy’s life back to him!”

²²The Lord answered Elijah’s prayer. He gave the boy’s life back to him. So the boy lived. ²³Elijah picked up the boy. He carried him down from the upstairs room into the house. He gave him to his mother. He said, “Look! Your son is alive!”

²⁴Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God. I know that the message you have brought from the Lord is true.”

Elijah Gives Obadiah a Message for Ahab

18It was now three years since it had rained. A message came to Elijah from the Lord. He said, “Go. Speak to Ahab. Then I will send rain on the land.”

²So Elijah went to speak to Ahab.

There wasn’t enough food in Samaria. The people there were very…