1 Kings 16:8–20

Elah Reigns over Israel

⁸In the twenty-sixth year of King Asa of Judah, Elah son of Baasha began to reign over Israel in Tirzah; he reigned two years. ⁹But his servant Zimri, commander of half his chariots, conspired against him. When he was at Tirzah drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was in charge of the palace at Tirzah,^{* 10}Zimri came in and struck him down and killed him, in the twenty-seventh year of King Asa of Judah, and succeeded him.

¹¹When he began to reign, as soon as he had seated himself on his throne, he killed all the house of Baasha; he did not leave him a single male of his kindred or his friends. ¹²Thus Zimri destroyed all the house of Baasha, according to the word of the Lord, which he had spoken against Baasha by the prophet Jehu,^{* 13}because of all the sins of Baasha and the sins of his son Elah that they committed and that they caused Israel to commit, provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their idols.^{* 14}Now the rest of the acts of Elah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?^*

Third Dynasty: Zimri Reigns over Israel

¹⁵In the twenty-seventh year of King Asa of Judah, Zimri reigned seven days in Tirzah. Now the troops were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines,^{* 16}and the troops who were encamped heard it said, “Zimri has conspired, and he has killed the king”; therefore all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp. ¹⁷So Omri went up from Gibbethon and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah. ¹⁸When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the king’s house; he burned down the king’s house over himself with fire and died^*—¹⁹because of the sins that he committed, doing evil in the sight of the Lord, walking in the way of Jeroboam, and for the sin that he committed, causing Israel to sin.^{* 20}Now the rest of the acts of Zimri and the conspiracy that he made, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?^*