16 Then the Lord spoke to Jehu son of Hanani. The Lord was speaking against King Baasha. ²“I made you an important person. I made you a prince over my people Israel. But you have followed the ways of Jeroboam. You have caused my people Israel to sin. They have made me angry with their sins. ³So I will destroy you, Baasha, and your family. I will do the same to you that I did to the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat. ⁴The people in your family will die in the streets of the city. And dogs will eat their bodies. Some of the people in your family will die in the fields. And the birds will eat their bodies.” ⁵All the other things about Baasha and the great things he did are written in the book The History of the Kings of Israel. ⁶Baasha died and was buried in Tirzah. His son Elah became the new king after him. ⁷So the Lord gave a message to Jehu the prophet. This message was against Baasha and his family. Baasha had done much evil against the Lord. This made the Lord very angry. Baasha did the same things that Jeroboam’s family had done before him. The Lord was also angry because Baasha killed all of Jeroboam’s family.

Elah, King of Israel

⁸Elah became king during the 26th year that Asa was the king of Judah. Elah was the son of Baasha. He ruled in Tirzah for two years. ⁹Zimri was one of King Elah’s officers. Zimri commanded half of Elah’s chariots.* But Zimri made plans against Elah. King Elah was in Tirzah. He was drinking and getting drunk at Arza’s home. Arza was the man in charge of the palace* at Tirzah. ¹⁰Zimri went into that house and killed King Elah. This was during the 27th year that Asa was king in Judah. Then Zimri became the new king of Israel after Elah.

Zimri, King of Israel

¹¹After Zimri became the new king, he killed all of Baasha’s family. He did not let any of the men in Baasha’s family live. Zimri also killed Baasha’s friends. ¹²So Zimri destroyed Baasha’s family. This happened the way the Lord said it would when the Lord used the prophet Jehu to speak against Baasha. ¹³This happened because of all the sins of Baasha and his son, Elah. They sinned and caused the people of Israel to sin. The Lord was angry because they had many idols. ¹⁴The other things that Elah did are written in the book The History of the Kings of Israel. ¹⁵Zimri became king of Israel during the 27th year that Asa was king of Judah. Zimri ruled in Tirzah seven days. This is what happened: The army of Israel was camped near the Philistines from Gibbethon. {They were prepared for war.} ¹⁶The men in the camp heard that Zimri had made secret plans against the king. They heard that he killed the king. So all Israel made Omri king over Israel that day in the camp. Omri was the commander of the army. ¹⁷So Omri and all Israel left Gibbethon and attacked Tirzah. ¹⁸Zimri saw that the city had been captured. So he went into the palace* and started a fire. He burned the palace and himself. ¹⁹So Zimri died because he had sinned. Zimri did the things the Lord said were wrong. He sinned in the same way that Jeroboam had sinned. And Jeroboam caused the people of Israel to sin. ²⁰The story about Zimri’s secret plans and the other things that Zimri did are written in the book The History of the Kings of Israel. And the things that happened when Zimri turned against King Elah are also written in that book.

Omri, King of Israel

²¹The people of Israel were divided into two groups. Half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath and wanted to make him king. The other half of the people followed Omri. ²²But Omri’s followers were stronger than the followers of Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni was killed and Omri became king. ²³During the 31st year that Asa was the king of Judah, Omri became king of Israel. Omri ruled over Israel for 12 years. Six of those years he ruled in the town of Tirzah. ²⁴But Omri bought the hill of Samaria. He bought it from Shemer for about 150 pounds* of silver. Omri built a city on that hill. He called the city Samaria after the name of its owner, Shemer. ²⁵Omri did the things that the Lord said were wrong. Omri was worse than all the kings that were before him. ²⁶He did all the same sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat did. Jeroboam caused the people of Israel to sin. So they made the Lord, the God of Israel, very angry. The Lord was angry because they worshiped worthless idols. ²⁷The other things about Omri and the great things he did are written in the book The History of the Kings of Israel. ²⁸Omri died and was buried in Samaria. His son Ahab became the new king after him.

Ahab, King of Israel

²⁹Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel during the 38th year that Asa was king of Judah. Ahab ruled Israel in the town of Samaria for 22 years. ³⁰Ahab did the things that the Lord said were wrong. And Ahab was worse than all the kings that were before him. ³¹It was not enough for Ahab to do the same sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had done. So Ahab also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal. Ethbaal was the king of the people of Sidon. Then Ahab began to serve and worship Baal.* ³²Ahab built a temple in Samaria for worshiping Baal. He put an altar in that temple. ³³Ahab also set up a special pole for worshiping Asherah.* Ahab did more things to make the Lord the God of Israel angry than all the other kings who were before him. ³⁴During the time of Ahab, Hiel from Bethel built the town of Jericho again. At the time Hiel started work on the city, his oldest son, Abiram died. And when Hiel built the gates of the city, his youngest son, Segub, died. This happened the way that the Lord said it would happen when he spoke through Joshua son of Nun.*

chariot(s) A small wagon used in war. palace A large house for the king and his family. 150 pounds Or, “68kg” Literally, “2 talents.” Baal Baal was the main god of Sidon. People thought he could make people have many children and good crops. Asherah An important Canaanite goddess. At this time, the people thought she was the wife of Baal. This happened … Joshua son of Nun See Joshua 6:26.

Elijah and The Time Without Rain

17 Elijah was a prophet from the town of Tishbe in Gilead. Elijah said to King Ahab, “I serve the Lord God of Israel. By his power, I promise that no dew or rain will fall during the next few years. The rain will fall only if I command it to fall.” ²Then the Lord said to Elijah, ³“Leave this place and go east. Hide near Kerith Ravine. This ravine is east of the Jordan River. ⁴You can drink from that stream. I have commanded ravens* to bring food to you in that place.” ⁵So Elijah did what the Lord told him to do. He went to live near Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan River. ⁶Ravens brought Elijah food every morning and every evening. Elijah drank water from that stream. ⁷There was no rain, so after a time the stream became dry. ⁸Then the Lord said to Elijah, ⁹“Go to Zarephath in Sidon. Live there. There is a woman whose husband is dead that lives in that place. I have commanded her to give you food.” ¹⁰So Elijah went to Zarephath. He went to the town gate and saw a woman there. Her husband was dead. The woman was gathering wood for a fire. Elijah said to her, “Will you bring me a little water in a cup so I can drink?” ¹¹The woman was going to get his water, and Elijah said, “Bring me a piece of bread too, please.” ¹²The woman answered, “I promise you before the Lord your God that I have no bread. I have only a little flour in a jar. And I have only a little olive oil in a jug. I came to this place to gather a couple of pieces of wood for a fire. I will take it back home and cook our last meal. My son and I will eat it and then die from hunger.” ¹³Elijah said to the woman, “Don’t worry. Go home and cook your food as you said. But first make a small loaf of bread from the flour that you have. Bring that bread to me. Then cook for yourself and your son. ¹⁴The Lord God of Israel says, ‘That jar of flour will never become empty. The jug will always have oil in it. This will continue until the day the Lord sends rain to the land.’” ¹⁵So the woman went to her home. She did what Elijah told her to do. Elijah, the woman, and her son had enough food for many days. ¹⁶The jar of flour and the jug of oil were never empty. This happened just like the Lord said it would. The Lord spoke through Elijah. ¹⁷Some time later the woman’s son became sick. He became more and more sick. Finally the boy stopped breathing. ¹⁸And the woman said to Elijah, “You are a man of God.* Can you help me? Or did you come here only to cause me to remember all of my sins? Did you come here only to cause my son to die?” ¹⁹Elijah said to her, “Give your son to me.” Elijah took the boy from her and carried him upstairs. He laid him on the bed in the room where he was staying. ²⁰Then Elijah prayed, “Lord my God. This widow* is letting me stay in her house. Will you do this bad thing to her? Will you cause her son to die? ²¹Then Elijah lay on top of the boy three times. Elijah prayed, “Lord my God. Allow this boy to live again!” ²²The Lord answered Elijah’s prayer. The boy began breathing again. He was alive! ²³Elijah carried the boy downstairs. Elijah gave the boy to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!” ²⁴The woman answered, “Now I know that you really are a man from God. I know that the Lord truly speaks through you!”

ravens Black birds. man of God Another name for a prophet. widow A woman whose husband has died.