Verse Lens · Concise explanation
1 Kings 16:10 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 10. 10And Zimri went in and smote him, and killed him, in the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his stead.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse closes the thought unit with its stated result or transition: “And Zimri went in and smote him, and killed him, in the twenty and seventh year of Asa….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Zimri assassinates Elah.”
Elah drinks in a steward's house while a commander plots
This verse is one part of that explanation in 1 Kings 16:8–10. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- 1 Kings 16:8–10
Read 1 Kings 16:10 with 16:8–10. The selected wording supplies one closing in the thought unit with its stated result or transition; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Dates Elah's accession and two-year reign at Tirzah; reports Zimri killing Elah and taking the throne.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Zimri assassinates Elah,” 1 Kings 16:10 closes the thought unit with its stated result or transition through the wording “And Zimri went in and smote him, and killed him, in the twenty and seventh year of Asa….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: 1 Kings 16:1–7 establishes this prior movement: Introduces Jehu son of Hanani's prophetic word against Baasha; adds that Baasha's own violence, as well as his idolatry, stands under the prophetic indictment. 1 Kings 16:8–10 escalates the unresolved conflict and its human cost; that demonstrated relationship, rather than database adjacency alone, explains its placement.
Read 1 Kings 16:8–10 together
Why these verses belong together: Zimri assassinates Elah is the complete reviewed scene, prayer, oracle, list, or regnal notice bounded at 16:8–16:10.
Verse 8. 8 In the twenty and sixth year of Asa king of Judah began Elah the son of Baasha to reign over Israel in Tirzah, two years.
Verse 9. 9 And his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him, as he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza steward of his house in Tirzah.
Verse 10. 10 And Zimri went in and smote him, and killed him, in the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his stead.
What Remains True
Public power and worship remain accountable to truth, covenant faithfulness, affected people, and consequences rather than title, success, wealth, or majority support. This unit tests that truth through dates Elah's accession and two-year reign at Tirzah; reports Zimri killing Elah and taking the throne. In 1 Kings 16:10, the concrete line “And Zimri went in and smote him, and killed him, in the twenty and seventh year of Asa…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read 1 Kings 16:8–10 — Zimri assassinates ElahSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 1 Kings 16:8–10, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Kings
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording and morphology used for lexical, grammatical, name, clause, and older-English checks; this is not a critical apparatus or historical proof.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Kgs.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 16:8–10
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: 1 Kings with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Only printed unit-level translation, lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, and verse-numbering notes; silence is not evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible 1 Kings PDF, printed pp. 616–618, translation and translator notes for 16:8–10
Open source ↗