1 Kings 16:18

18 When Zimri saw that the city had fallen, he went into the palace's inner fortress, set the palace on fire, and died in the flames.

1 Kings 16:18 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 16:18

And it came to pass, that when Zimri saw that the city was
taken
That Omri, and the army with him, had got into it, being a place not much fortified, and Zimri not having force enough to defend it against such an army:

that he went into the palace of the king's house;
into the innermost and most splendid, as well as the strongest part of it:

and burnt the king's house over him with fire, and he died;
that he might not fall into the hands of his rival, who he might fear would use him ill, and that he might not enjoy the royal palace; though Kimchi thinks that Omri set fire to the palace, and burnt it over the head of Zimri, in which he perished; and this sense the text will bear.

1 Kings 16:18 In-Context

16 and when they heard that Zimri had plotted against the king and assassinated him, then and there they all proclaimed their commander Omri king of Israel.
17 Omri and his troops left Gibbethon and went and besieged Tirzah.
18 When Zimri saw that the city had fallen, he went into the palace's inner fortress, set the palace on fire, and died in the flames.
19 This happened because of his sins against the Lord. Like his predecessor Jeroboam, he displeased the Lord by his own sins and by leading Israel into sin.
20 Everything else that Zimri did, including the account of his conspiracy, is recorded in [The History of the Kings of Israel.]
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.