However, Ahab son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him.
Parallel translations
- WEB Ahab the son of Omri did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight above all that were before him.
- KJV And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him.
- NKJV Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him.
- NASB Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before him.
- NLT But Ahab son of Omri did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, even more than any of the kings before him.
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
Ahab did more evil in God's sight than all the kings of Israel before him.
Overview
Ahab surpasses even Omri in wickedness, marking him as the worst northern king to this point. This superlative verdict prepares the reader for the unprecedented idolatry his reign will introduce. It frames the coming Elijah narratives as God's dramatic confrontation with Israel's deepest apostasy.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- 1 Kgs 16:25But Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD and acted more wickedly than all who were before him.
- 1 Kgs 21:25(Surely there was never one like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, incited by his wife Jezebel.
- 1 Kgs 14:9You have done more evil than all who came before you. You have proceeded to make for yourself other gods and molten images to provoke Me, and you have flung Me behind your back.
- 2 Kgs 3:2And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as his father and mother had done. He removed the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had made.
- 1 Kgs 16:33Then he set up an Asherah pole. Thus Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel before him.
- 1 Kgs 16:31And as if it were not enough for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, he even married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and he then proceeded to serve and worship Baal.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 16:30 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.