1 Kings 16:13
in 1 Kings 16This happened because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed and had caused Israel to commit, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger with their worthless idols.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
for all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, which they sinned, and wherewith they made Israel to sin, to provoke Jehovah, the God of Israel, to anger with their vanities.
KJV
For all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, by which they sinned, and by which they made Israel to sin, in provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their vanities.
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This verse in 1 Kings 16
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Their vanities - The “calves.” The Hebrews call an idol by terms signifying “emptiness,” “vapor,” or “nothingness.” (Compare marginal references.)
This site's exposition
pisseth against a wall
on 1 Kings 16:11-13
Zimri's purge leaves not one that pisseth against a wall, a coarse idiom for every male of Baasha's line, and the narrator credits the massacre directly to the word of the LORD spoken by Jehu the son of Hanani. Verse 13 sums Baasha and Elah under one word, vanities, the Hebrew term for an idol that means emptiness or breath, the same charge that opened the oracle at verse 2. Zimri carries the sentence out in full, and the text gives him no credit for the deed; his own house is next.
This site's exposition
to anger with their worthless idols
Albert Barnes identifies the worthless idols of this verse as the golden calves Jeroboam set up at Bethel and Dan in 12:28 and 12:29. Baasha and Elah are charged with keeping that worship alive. Father and son share one verdict.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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, 19 For his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of the L ORD , in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, to make Israel to sin.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:97%@v18-19
For all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son,.... By which it appears that the son trod in the steps of his father, and was therefore cut off: by which they sinned, and by which they made Israel to sin, in provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their vanities; their idols, which had nothing in them, and cannot be of any service to their worshippers; and to serve such, and neglect the worship of the true God, and draw others into the same iniquity, must be very provoking to the most High.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
For all the sins of Baasha - We see why it was that God permitted such judgments to fall on this family. Baasha was a grievous offender, and so also was his son Elah; and they caused the people to sin; and they provoked God to anger by their idolatries.
The words behind it
19 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֶ֚ל | ʾel | because of | H413 → | 5510 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| חַטֹּ֣אות | chatot | [the] sins of | H2403 → | 295 times |
| בַּעְשָׁ֔א | ba'sha' | Baasha | H1201 → | 28 times |
| וְחַטֹּ֖אות | vechatot | and [the] sins of | H2403 → | 295 times |
| אֵלָ֣ה | ʾelah | Elah | H425 → | 16 times |
| בְנ֑וֹ | veno | son his | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| חָטְא֗וּ | chateu | they sinned | H2398 → | 238 times |
| וַאֲשֶׁ֤ר | vaasher | and which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הֶחֱטִ֙יאוּ֙ | hechetiu | they caused to sin | H2398 → | 238 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| לְהַכְעִ֗יס | lehakhis | to provoke to anger | H3707 → | 54 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוָ֛ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֥י | ʾelohei | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| בְּהַבְלֵיהֶֽם׃ | behavleihem | with vanities their | H1892 → |
אֶ֚לbecause of
ʾelH413 →5510 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
חַטֹּ֣אות[the] sins of
chatotH2403 →295 times
בַּעְשָׁ֔אBaasha
ba'sha'H1201 →28 times
וְחַטֹּ֖אותand [the] sins of
vechatotH2403 →295 times
אֵלָ֣הElah
ʾelahH425 →16 times
בְנ֑וֹson his
venoH1121 →4930 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
חָטְא֗וּthey sinned
chateuH2398 →238 times
וַאֲשֶׁ֤רand which
vaasherH834 →5497 times
הֶחֱטִ֙יאוּ֙they caused to sin
hechetiuH2398 →238 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
לְהַכְעִ֗יסto provoke to anger
lehakhisH3707 →54 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהוָ֛הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵ֥י[the] God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
בְּהַבְלֵיהֶֽם׃with vanities their
behavleihemH1892 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 32:21They have provoked My jealousy by that which is not God; they have enraged Me with their worthless idols. So I will make them jealous by those who are not a people; I will…
it leads to
- Romans 10:19
I ask instead, did Israel not understand? First, Moses says: “I will make you jealous by those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation without understanding.”
- Romans 9:25
As He says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘My People’ who are not My people, and I will call her ‘My Beloved’ who is not My beloved,”
- Romans 11:11–14
I ask then, did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Certainly not! However, because of their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous.
- 1 Kings 16:26
For he walked in all the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sins, which he caused Israel to commit, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger with their worthless…
- Psalms 78:58
They enraged Him with their high places and provoked His jealousy with their idols.
- Romans 10:19
Through
1 Samuel 12:21Do not turn aside after worthless things that cannot profit you or deliver you, for they are empty.
it leads to
- Habakkuk 2:18
What use is an idol, that a craftsman should carve it—or an image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Habakkuk 2:18
Through
Jeremiah 10:15They are worthless, a work to be mocked. In the time of their punishment they will perish.
it leads to
- Isaiah 41:24
Behold, you are nothing and your work is of no value. Anyone who chooses you is detestable.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 14:22
Can the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies alone send showers? Is this not by You, O LORD our God? So we put our hope in You, for You have…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 41:24
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Kings
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.