Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
1 Kings 16:18 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 18. 18And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the palace of the king’s house, and burnt the king’s house over him with fire, and died,
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence: “And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Omri's army corners Zimri's seven-day reign.”
Seven days in Tirzah, while the army is still at Gibbethon
This verse is one part of that explanation in 1 Kings 16:15–20. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- 1 Kings 16:15–20
Read 1 Kings 16:18 with 16:15–20. The selected wording supplies one step in the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Dates Zimri's seven-day rule while Israel's army besieges Gibbethon; points to the northern annals for Zimri's conspiracy and other acts.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Omri's army corners Zimri's seven-day reign,” 1 Kings 16:18 advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence through the wording “And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: 1 Kings 16:11–14 establishes this prior movement: Uses the KJV's coarse male idiom while describing Zimri's killing of Baasha's kin and allies; refers readers to the northern annals for Elah's other acts. 1 Kings 16:15–20 escalates the unresolved conflict and its human cost; that demonstrated relationship, rather than database adjacency alone, explains its placement.
Read 1 Kings 16:15–20 together
Why these verses belong together: Omri's army corners Zimri's seven-day reign is the complete reviewed scene, prayer, oracle, list, or regnal notice bounded at 16:15–16:20.
Verse 15. 15 In the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah did Zimri reign seven days in Tirzah. And the people were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines.
Verse 16. 16 And the people that were encamped heard say, Zimri hath conspired, and hath also slain the king: wherefore all Israel made Omri, the captain of the host, king over Israel that day in the camp.
Verse 17. 17 And Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah.
Verse 18. 18 And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the palace of the king’s house, and burnt the king’s house over him with fire, and died,
Verse 19. 19 For his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of the LORD, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, to make Israel to sin.
Verse 20. 20 Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and his treason that he wrought, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
Follow the Context
- Dates Zimri's seven-day rule while Israel's army besieges Gibbethon
- Points to the northern annals for Zimri's conspiracy and other acts
What This Verse Is Not Saying
1 Kings 16:18 does not permit the wording “And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. The unit does not authorize political execution, private vengeance, massacre, siege, collective punishment, or transferring an ancient dynastic and military conflict onto a modern people.
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 Zimri's seven-day rule while Israel's army besieges Gibbethon; points to the northern annals for Zimri's conspiracy and other acts. In 1 Kings 16:18, the concrete line “And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
Teach It Back
In 70–220 words, explain 1 Kings 16:18's role in 16:15–20. Paraphrase “And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the…,” identify one agent or affected person, state one material source or historical limit, and name one conclusion the context does not authorize.
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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 16:15–20 — Omri's army corners Zimri's seven-day reignSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
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 16:15–20, 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 16:15–20
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 16:15–20
Open source ↗