And it happened, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the citadel of the king’s house and burned the king’s house down upon himself with fire, and died,
Parallel translations
- WEB When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the fortified part of the king’s house, and burned the king’s house over him with fire, and died,
- KJV 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,
- BSB When Zimri saw that the city was captured, he entered the citadel of the royal palace and burned it down upon himself. So he died
- NASB When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the king’s house and burned the king’s house over himself with fire, and died,
- NLT When Zimri saw that the city had been taken, he went into the citadel of the palace and burned it down over himself and died in the flames.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Trapped by Omri, Zimri burns the palace down over himself and dies in the flames.
Overview
Rather than surrender, Zimri commits suicide by setting fire to the royal citadel, perishing in his own stronghold. His self-destruction is a fitting picture of the futility of a kingdom built on murder. The man who killed to gain a throne is consumed by it within a week.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- 2 Sam 17:23When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey, arose, and went home, to his city, and set his house in order, and hanged himself; and he died, and was buried in the tomb of his father.
- 1 Sam 31:4–5Then Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me!” But his armor bearer would not; for he was terrified. Therefore Saul took his sword, and fell on it.
- Judg 9:54Then he called hastily to the young man his armor bearer, and said to him, “Draw your sword, and kill me, that men not say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’ His young man thrust him through, and he died.”
- Job 2:9–10Then his wife said to him, “Do you still maintain your integrity? Renounce God, and die.”
- Matt 27:5He threw down the pieces of silver in the sanctuary, and departed. He went away and hanged himself.
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Christ at the center
Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.
How 1 Kings 16:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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