1. Then Jehu son of Hanani spoke the word of the Lord against King Baasha.
2. The Lord said, “You were nothing. Then I took you and made you a leader over my people Israel. But you have followed the ways of Jeroboam. You have caused my people Israel to sin. Their sins have made me angry.
3. So, Baasha, I will destroy you and your family. I will do to you what I did to the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat.
4. Anyone from your family who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs. And anyone from your family who dies in the fields will be eaten by birds.”
5. Everything else Baasha did and all his victories are written down. They are in the book of the history of the kings of Israel.
6. So Baasha died and was buried in Tirzah. His son Elah became king in his place.
7. The Lord spoke his word through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani. The Lord’s message was against Baasha and his family. Baasha had done many things the Lord said were wrong. 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.
8. Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel. This was during Asa’s twenty-sixth year as king of Judah. And Elah ruled in Tirzah for two years.
9. Zimri was one of Elah’s officers. He commanded half of Elah’s chariots. But Zimri made plans against Elah.Elah was in Tirzah, getting drunk at Arza’s home. (Arza was the man in charge of the palace at Tirzah.)
10. So Zimri went into Arza’s house and killed Elah. This was during Asa’s twenty-seventh year as king of Judah. Then Zimri became king of Israel in Elah’s place.
11. As soon as Zimri became king, he killed all of Baasha’s family. He did not let any man of Baasha’s family or friends live.
12. So Zimri destroyed all of Baasha’s family. This happened as the Lord had said it would. The Lord had spoken this against Baasha through the prophet Jehu.
13. This happened because of all the sins of Baasha and his son Elah. They sinned and caused the people of Israel to sin. They also made the Lord, the God of Israel, angry because they had made worthless idols.