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Nadab’s Reign over Israel
25 In the second year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Jeroboam’s son Nadab became the king of Israel; he ruled Israel for two years. 26 He did evil in the sight of[a] the Lord. He followed in his father’s footsteps and encouraged Israel to sin.[b]
27 Baasha son of Ahijah, from the tribe of Issachar, conspired against Nadab[c] and assassinated him in Gibbethon, which was in Philistine territory. This happened while Nadab and all the Israelite army were besieging Gibbethon. 28 Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa’s reign over Judah and replaced him as king. 29 When he became king, he executed Jeroboam’s entire family.[d] He wiped out[e] everyone who breathed, in keeping with the Lord’s message that he had spoken through his servant Ahijah the Shilonite. 30 This happened because of the sins which Jeroboam committed and which he made Israel commit. These sins angered the Lord God of Israel.[f]
31 The rest of the events of Nadab’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.[g] 32 Asa and King Baasha of Israel were continually at war with each other.
Baasha’s Reign over Israel
33 In the third year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king over all Israel in Tirzah; he ruled for twenty-four years. 34 He did evil in the sight of[h] the Lord; he followed in Jeroboam’s footsteps and encouraged Israel to sin.[i]
16 The Lord’s message against Baasha came to[j] Jehu son of Hanani: 2 “I raised you up[k] from the dust and made you ruler over my people Israel. Yet you followed in Jeroboam’s footsteps[l] and encouraged my people Israel to sin; their sins have made me angry.[m] 3 So I am ready to burn up[n] Baasha and his family, and make your family[o] like the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat. 4 Dogs will eat the members of Baasha’s family[p] who die in the city, and the birds of the sky will eat the ones who die in the country.”
5 The rest of the events of Baasha’s reign, including his accomplishments and successes, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.[q] 6 Baasha passed away[r] and was buried in Tirzah. His son Elah replaced him as king. 7 And so it was the Lord’s message came through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha and his family.[s] This was because of all the evil he had done in the Lord’s view, by angering him with his deeds and becoming like Jeroboam’s dynasty,[t] and because of how he had destroyed Jeroboam’s dynasty.[u]
Elah’s Reign over Israel
8 In the twenty-sixth year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Baasha’s son Elah became king over Israel; he ruled in Tirzah for two years. 9 His servant Zimri, a commander of half of his chariot force, conspired against him. While Elah was in Tirzah drinking heavily[v] at the house of Arza, who supervised the palace in Tirzah, 10 Zimri came in and struck him dead. (This happened in the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah.) Zimri replaced Elah as king.[w] 11 When he became king and occupied the throne, he killed Baasha’s entire family. He did not spare any male belonging to him; he killed his relatives and his friends.[x] 12 Zimri destroyed Baasha’s entire family, in keeping with the Lord’s message which he had spoken against Baasha through Jehu the prophet. 13 This happened because of all the sins which Baasha and his son Elah committed and which they made Israel commit. They angered the Lord God of Israel with their worthless idols.[y]
14 The rest of the events of Elah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.[z]
Zimri’s Reign over Israel
15 In the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Zimri became king over Israel; he ruled for seven days in Tirzah. Zimri’s revolt took place while the army was deployed[aa] in Gibbethon, which was in Philistine territory. 16 While deployed there, the army received this report:[ab] “Zimri has conspired against the king and assassinated him.”[ac] So all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that very day in the camp. 17 Omri and all Israel went up from Gibbethon and besieged Tirzah. 18 When Zimri saw that the city was captured, he went into the fortified area of the royal palace. He set the palace on fire and died in the flames.[ad] 19 This happened because of the sins he committed. He did evil in the sight of[ae] the Lord and followed in Jeroboam’s footsteps and encouraged Israel to continue sinning.[af]
20 The rest of the events of Zimri’s reign, including the details of his revolt, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.[ag]
Omri’s Reign over Israel
21 At that time the people of Israel were divided in their loyalties. Half the people supported Tibni son of Ginath and wanted to make him king; the other half supported Omri. 22 Omri’s supporters were stronger than those who supported Tibni son of Ginath. Tibni died; Omri became king.
23 In the thirty-first year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Omri became king over Israel. He ruled for twelve years, six of them in Tirzah. 24 He purchased the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents[ah] of silver. He launched a construction project there[ai] and named the city he built after Shemer, the former owner of the hill of Samaria. 25 Omri did more evil in the sight of[aj] the Lord than all who were before him. 26 He followed in the footsteps of Jeroboam son of Nebat and encouraged Israel to sin;[ak] they angered the Lord God of Israel with their worthless idols.[al]
27 The rest of the events of Omri’s reign, including his accomplishments and successes, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.[am] 28 Omri passed away[an] and was buried in Samaria. His son Ahab replaced him as king.[ao]
Ahab Promotes Idolatry
29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Omri’s son Ahab became king over Israel. Ahab son of Omri ruled over Israel for twenty-two years in Samaria. 30 Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the sight of[ap] the Lord than all who were before him. 31 As if following in the sinful footsteps of Jeroboam son of Nebat were not bad enough, he married Jezebel the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians. Then he worshiped and bowed to Baal.[aq] 32 He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal he had built in Samaria. 33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole; he[ar] did more to anger the Lord God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
34 During Ahab’s reign,[as] Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho. Abiram, his firstborn son, died when he laid the foundation;[at] Segub, his youngest son, died when he erected its gates,[au] in keeping with the Lord’s message that he had spoken through Joshua son of Nun.[av]
Elijah Visits a Widow in Sidonian Territory
17 Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As certainly as the Lord God of Israel lives (whom I serve),[aw] there will be no dew or rain in the years ahead unless I give the command.”[ax] 2 The Lord’s message came to him: 3 “Leave here and travel eastward. Hide out in the Kerith Valley near the Jordan. 4 Drink from the stream; I have already told[ay] the ravens to bring you food[az] there.” 5 So he carried out[ba] the Lord’s message; he went and lived in the Kerith Valley near the Jordan. 6 The ravens would bring him bread and meat each morning and evening, and he would drink from the stream.
7 After a while,[bb] the stream dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 The Lord’s message came to him, 9 “Get up, go to Zarephath in Sidonian territory, and live there. I have already told[bc] a widow who lives there to provide for you.” 10 So he got up and went to Zarephath. When he went through the city gate, there was a widow gathering wood. He called out to her, “Please give me a little water in a cup, so I can take a drink.” 11 As she went to get it, he called out to her, “Please bring me a piece of bread.”[bd] 12 She said, “As certainly as the Lord your God lives, I have no food, except for a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. Right now I am gathering a couple of sticks for a fire. Then I’m going home to make one final meal for my son and myself. After we have eaten that, we will die of starvation.”[be] 13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go and do as you planned.[bf] But first make me a small cake[bg] and bring it to me; then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord God of Israel has said: ‘The jar of flour will not be empty and the jug of oil will not run out until the day the Lord makes it rain on the surface of the ground.’” 15 She went and did as Elijah told her; there was always enough food for Elijah and for her and her family.[bh] 16 The jar of flour was never empty and the jug of oil never ran out, in keeping with the Lord’s message that he had spoken through Elijah.
17 After this[bi] the son of the woman who owned the house got sick. His illness was so severe he could no longer breathe. 18 She asked Elijah, “Why, prophet, have you come[bj] to me to confront me with[bk] my sin and kill my son?” 19 He said to her, “Hand me your son.” He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him down on his bed. 20 Then he called out to the Lord, “O Lord, my God, are you also bringing disaster on this widow I am staying with by killing her son?” 21 He stretched out over the boy three times and called out to the Lord, “O Lord, my God, please let this boy’s breath return to him.” 22 The Lord answered Elijah’s prayer; the boy’s breath returned to him and he lived. 23 Elijah took the boy, brought him down from the upper room to the house, and handed him to his mother. Elijah then said, “See, your son is alive!” 24 The woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a prophet[bl] and that the Lord’s message really does come through you.”[bm]
24 The following day[a] he entered Caesarea.[b] Now Cornelius was waiting anxiously[c] for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 So when[d] Peter came in, Cornelius met[e] him, fell[f] at his feet, and worshiped[g] him. 26 But Peter helped him up,[h] saying, “Stand up. I too am a mere mortal.”[i] 27 Peter[j] continued talking with him as he went in, and he found many people gathered together.[k] 28 He said to them, “You know that[l] it is unlawful[m] for a Jew[n] to associate with or visit a Gentile,[o] yet God has shown me that I should call no person[p] defiled or ritually unclean.[q] 29 Therefore when you sent for me,[r] I came without any objection. Now may I ask why[s] you sent for me?” 30 Cornelius[t] replied,[u] “Four days ago at this very hour, at three o’clock in the afternoon,[v] I was praying in my house, and suddenly[w] a man in shining clothing stood before me 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your acts of charity[x] have been remembered before God.[y] 32 Therefore send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter. This man is staying as a guest in the house of Simon the tanner,[z] by the sea.’ 33 Therefore I sent for you at once, and you were kind enough to come.[aa] So now we are all here in the presence of God[ab] to listen[ac] to everything the Lord has commanded you to say to us.”[ad]
34 Then Peter started speaking:[ae] “I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism in dealing with people,[af] 35 but in every nation[ag] the person who fears him[ah] and does what is right[ai] is welcomed before him. 36 You know[aj] the message[ak] he sent to the people[al] of Israel, proclaiming the good news of peace[am] through[an] Jesus Christ[ao] (he is Lord[ap] of all)— 37 you know what happened throughout Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John announced:[aq] 38 with respect to Jesus from Nazareth,[ar] that[as] God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power. He[at] went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil,[au] because God was with him.[av] 39 We[aw] are witnesses of all the things he did both in Judea[ax] and in Jerusalem. They[ay] killed him by hanging him on a tree,[az] 40 but[ba] God raised him up on the third day and caused him to be seen,[bb] 41 not by all the people, but by us, the witnesses God had already chosen,[bc] who ate and drank[bd] with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He[be] commanded us to preach to the people and to warn[bf] them[bg] that he is the one[bh] appointed[bi] by God as judge[bj] of the living and the dead. 43 About him all the prophets testify,[bk] that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins[bl] through his name.”
The Gentiles Receive the Holy Spirit
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell on[bm] all those who heard the message.[bn] 45 The[bo] circumcised believers[bp] who had accompanied Peter were greatly astonished[bq] that[br] the gift of the Holy Spirit[bs] had been poured out[bt] even on the Gentiles, 46 for they heard them speaking in tongues and praising[bu] God. Then Peter said, 47 “No one can withhold the water for these people to be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did,[bv] can he?”[bw] 48 So he gave orders to have them baptized[bx] in the name of Jesus Christ.[by] Then they asked him to stay for several days.
9 The one who forgives[a] an offense seeks[b] love,
but whoever repeats a matter separates close friends.[c]
10 A rebuke makes a greater impression on[d] a discerning person
than a hundred blows on a fool.[e]
11 An evil person seeks only rebellion,[f]
and so[g] a cruel messenger[h] will be sent against him.
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