21 Naboth lived in a town called Jezreel. He had a vineyard in Jezreel, near to the palace of Ahab, the king of Samaria. 2 King Ahab said to Naboth, ‘Give me your vineyard. I want to grow vegetables in it, because it is near to my palace. I will give you a better vineyard instead of that one. Or, if you want, I will pay you its value in money.’ 3 Naboth replied to Ahab, ‘The Lord will never allow that to happen! It belongs to me because it belonged to my ancestors.’ [ a ]
4 So Ahab went home to his palace. He was angry and upset because of what Naboth had said. He had said, ‘I will not sell you my vineyard that belonged to my ancestors.’ Ahab lay on his bed. He covered his face and he would not eat any food.
5 Ahab's wife, Jezebel, came in to his room. She asked him, ‘Why are you so upset? Why do you refuse to eat anything?’ 6 Ahab answered her, ‘It is because of Naboth, the man from Jezreel. I said to him, “Sell your vineyard to me. Or, if you want, I will give you another vineyard instead of that one.” But he said, “I will not give you my vineyard.” ’
7 Jezebel said, ‘You are the king who rules Israel! Now get up from your bed and eat something. Do not be upset! I will get Naboth's vineyard for you.’
8 Jezebel wrote some letters as if King Ahab had written them. She used his special seal as a mark on them. Then she sent them to the older leaders and important men who lived in Jezreel with Naboth. 9 This is what she wrote in those letters: ‘Choose a day for everyone to fast. Give Naboth a seat where the people can see him. 10 Put two wicked men in seats near him. Tell them to accuse Naboth that he has insulted God and the king. Then take him out. Throw stones at him until he is dead.’
11 So the leaders and the important men who lived in Naboth's city, obeyed Jezebel. They did what she commanded them to do in the letters that she sent to them. 12 They chose a day for the people to fast. They put Naboth in a seat where the people could see him. 13 Then two wicked men came and they sat near to him. They accused Naboth so that the people could all hear them. They said, ‘Naboth has insulted God and the king.’ So the people took him outside the city. They threw stones at him until he was dead. 14 Then the city's leaders sent a message to Jezebel. They told her, ‘The people have killed Naboth with stones.’
15 When Jezebel heard that Naboth was dead, she said to Ahab, ‘Get up from your bed! Go to Jezreel and take Naboth's vineyard for yourself. He refused to sell it to you when he was alive. But now he is dead.’ 16 When Ahab knew that Naboth was dead, he got up from his bed. He went to Naboth's vineyard to take it for himself.
17 After this, the Lord gave a message to Elijah, the prophet from Tishbe. 18 He said to Elijah, ‘Go now to meet King Ahab of Israel who rules in Samaria. He is at Naboth's vineyard to take it as his own vineyard. 19 Say to Ahab, “This is what the Lord says to you: You have murdered a man. You have taken the dead man's field for yourself.” Then say to him, “This is what the Lord says: In the place where the dogs drank Naboth's blood from the ground, dogs will drink your blood. Yes, they will drink your blood there too!” ’
20 When Elijah met Ahab, Ahab said to him, ‘So, my enemy, now you have found me!’ Elijah answered, ‘Yes, I have found you to warn you! You have decided to do things that the Lord says are evil. 21 So the Lord says, “Now I will bring great trouble on you. I will destroy you and your family. I will kill every male among Ahab's descendants in Israel, whoever they are. 22 I will destroy your family as I did to the family of Nebat's son Jeroboam and the family of Ahijah's son Baasha. I will do this because you have made me angry and you have caused Israel's people to do wrong things.” 23 The Lord says this about Jezebel: “Dogs will eat Jezebel's dead body beside the city wall of Jezreel.” [ b ] 24 If people of Ahab's family die in the city, dogs will eat their bodies. If they die in the country, vultures will eat them.’
25 Ahab had decided to do everything that the Lord said was evil. He was more wicked than any other person who had lived. His wife Jezebel helped him to be like that. 26 Ahab was so wicked that he worshipped useless idols, as the Amorites did. The Lord had chased those people out of the land so that the Israelites could live there.
27 When Ahab heard Elijah's message, he tore his clothes into pieces. He dressed himself in sackcloth and he did not eat any food. He even wore sackcloth when he slept on his bed. He walked slowly with a sad face. [ c ]
28 Then the Lord said to Elijah, 29 ‘You have surely seen that Ahab now respects me. Because he has become humble, I will not destroy his family while he is alive. I will wait until his son rules as king. Then I will bring great trouble on Ahab's descendants.’
21 There was a vineyard near King Ahab’s palace in Samaria. A man from Jezreel named Naboth owned it. 2 One day Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard that is near my palace. I want to make it a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard in its place. Or, if you prefer, I will pay you for it.”
3 Naboth answered, “By the Lord , I will never give my land to you. This land belongs to my family.”
4 So Ahab went home angry and upset because Naboth told him, “I will not give you my family’s land.” Ahab went to bed, turned away from everyone, and refused to eat.
5 His wife Jezebel went to him and asked him, “Why are you upset? Why do you refuse to eat?”
6 Ahab answered, “I asked Naboth from Jezreel to give me his vineyard. I told him that I would pay him the full price. Or, if he preferred, I would give him another vineyard. But he refused to give it to me.”
7 Jezebel answered, “But you are the king over Israel! Get out of bed and eat something, and you will feel better. I will get Naboth’s vineyard for you.”
8 Then Jezebel wrote some letters. She signed Ahab’s name to them and used his seal to seal the letters. Then she sent them to the elders and important men who lived in the same town as Naboth. 9 This is what the letter said:
“Announce that there will be a day of fasting when the people will eat nothing. Then call all the people of the town together for a meeting. At the meeting we will talk about Naboth. 10 Find some men who will tell lies about Naboth. They should say that they heard Naboth speak against the king and against God. Then take Naboth out of the city and kill him with stones.”
11 So the elders and important men of Jezreel obeyed the command. 12 The leaders announced that there would be a day when all the people would eat nothing. On that day they called all the people together for a meeting. They put Naboth in a special place before the people. 13 Then two men told the people that they heard Naboth speak against God and the king. So the people carried Naboth out of the city and killed him with stones. 14 Then the leaders sent a message to Jezebel that said: “Naboth has been killed.”
15 When Jezebel heard this, she said to Ahab, “Naboth is dead. Now you can go and take the vineyard that you wanted.” 16 So Ahab went to the vineyard and took it for his own.
17 Then the Lord spoke to Elijah, the prophet from Tishbe: 18 “Go to King Ahab in Samaria. He will be at Naboth’s vineyard. He is there to take the vineyard as his own. 19 Tell Ahab that I, the Lord , say to him, ‘Ahab! You killed the man Naboth and now you are taking his land. So I, the Lord , tell you this: Where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, they will lick up your blood as well.’”
20 So Elijah went to Ahab. When Ahab saw him, he said, “Well, my enemy has found me again!”
Elijah answered, “Yes, I found you, because you have again sold yourself out to do what the Lord says is evil. 21 So this is what he says to you: ‘I will make something bad happen to you. I will kill you and every male in your family. 22 I will destroy your family just as I destroyed the families of King Jeroboam son of Nebat and King Baasha. I will do this to you because you have made me angry and you have caused the Israelites to sin.’ 23 The Lord also says this about your wife Jezebel: ‘Dogs will eat the body of Jezebel by the wall of the city of Jezreel. 24 As for the family of Ahab, whoever dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and whoever dies in the fields will be eaten by birds.’”
25 So Ahab sold himself out to do what the Lord says is evil. There is no one who did as much evil as Ahab and his wife Jezebel, who caused him to do these things. 26 Ahab committed the terrible sin of worshiping those filthy idols, just as the Amorites did. And that is why the Lord took the land from them and gave it to the Israelites.
27 When Ahab heard what Elijah said, he tore his clothes to show how sad he was. Then he put on sackcloth and refused to eat. He even slept in these clothes. He was very sad and upset.
28 The Lord said to the prophet Elijah from Tishbe, 29 “Look, Ahab has humbled himself before me. So I will not make that disaster happen during his lifetime. I will wait until his son is king. Then I will destroy his family.”
21 And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.
2 And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.
3 And Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.
4 And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.
5 But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread?
6 And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard.
7 And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.
8 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth.
9 And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people:
10 And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die.
11 And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them.
12 They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.
13 And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.
14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead.
15 And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead.
16 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
17 And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
18 Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it.
19 And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord , Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord , In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.
20 And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the Lord .
21 Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel,
22 And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin.
23 And of Jezebel also spake the Lord , saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.
24 Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat.
25 But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord , whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.
26 And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.
27 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.
28 And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
29 Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.
21 Now it came about after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in ( A ) Jezreel beside the palace of Ahab, the king of Samaria. 2 And Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “ ( B ) Give me your vineyard so that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is close beside my house, and I will give you a better vineyard in place of it; if [ a ] you prefer, I will give you what [ b ] it is worth in money.” 3 But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid me ( C ) that I would give you the inheritance of my fathers!” 4 ( D ) So Ahab entered his house sullen and furious because of the [ c ] answer that Naboth the Jezreelite had given to him, since he said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed and turned his face away, and ate no [ d ] food.
5 But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, “How is it that your spirit is so sullen that you are not eating [ e ] food?” 6 So he said to her, “ It is because I was speaking to Naboth the Jezreelite and saying to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you a vineyard in place of it.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’” 7 Jezebel his wife said to him, “ ( E ) Do you now [ f ] reign over Israel? Arise, eat bread, and let your heart be joyful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
8 ( F ) So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to ( G ) the elders and to the nobles who were living with Naboth in his city. 9 Now she had written in the letters, saying, “Proclaim a fast and seat Naboth at the head of the people; 10 and seat two ( H ) worthless men opposite him, and have them testify against him, saying, ‘ ( I ) You [ g ] cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and ( J ) stone him [ h ] to death.”
11 So the men of his city, the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did just as Jezebel had sent word to them, just as it was written in the letters which she had sent them. 12 They ( K ) proclaimed a fast, and seated Naboth at the head of the people. 13 Then the two worthless men came in and sat opposite him; and the worthless men testified against him, against Naboth, before the people, saying, “Naboth [ i ] cursed God and the king.” ( L ) So they took him outside the city and stoned him [ j ] to death with stones. 14 Then they sent word to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned and is dead.”
15 And when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” 16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab got up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
17 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 18 “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, ( M ) who is in Samaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to take possession of it. 19 And you shall speak to him, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says: “ ( N ) Have you murdered and also taken possession?”’ And you shall speak to him, saying, ‘The Lord says this: “ ( O ) In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, the dogs will lick up your blood, yours as well.”’”
20 Then Ahab said to Elijah, “ ( P ) Have you found me, enemy of mine?” And he [ k ] answered, “I have found you , ( Q ) because you have given yourself over to do evil in the sight of the Lord . 21 Behold, I am bringing disaster upon you, and I ( R ) will utterly sweep you away, and will eliminate from Ahab every male, both [ l ] bond and free in Israel; 22 and ( S ) I will make your house ( T ) like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, because of the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger, and because you ( U ) have misled Israel into sin. 23 The Lord has also spoken of Jezebel, saying, ‘ ( V ) The dogs will eat Jezebel in the [ m ] territory of Jezreel.’ 24 ( W ) The one belonging to Ahab, who dies in the city, the dogs will eat; and the one who dies in the field, the birds of the sky will eat.”
25 ( X ) There certainly was no one like Ahab who gave himself over to do evil in the sight of the Lord , [ n ] because Jezebel his wife incited him. 26 ( Y ) He also acted very despicably in following idols, ( Z ) conforming to everything that the Amorites had done, whom the Lord drove out from the sons of Israel.
27 Yet it came about, when Ahab heard these words, that ( AA ) he tore his clothes and put [ o ] on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about despondently. 28 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29 “Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; I will bring the disaster upon his house ( AB ) in his son’s days.”
21 Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth ( A ) the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in Jezreel, ( B ) close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 Ahab said to Naboth, “Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth.”
3 But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance ( C ) of my ancestors.”
4 So Ahab went home, sullen and angry ( D ) because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my ancestors.” He lay on his bed sulking and refused ( E ) to eat.
5 His wife Jezebel came in and asked him, “Why are you so sullen? Why won’t you eat?”
6 He answered her, “Because I said to Naboth the Jezreelite, ‘Sell me your vineyard; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’”
7 Jezebel his wife said, “Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I’ll get you the vineyard ( F ) of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
8 So she wrote letters ( G ) in Ahab’s name, placed his seal ( H ) on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city with him. 9 In those letters she wrote:
“Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 10 But seat two scoundrels ( I ) opposite him and have them bring charges that he has cursed ( J ) both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.”
11 So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city did as Jezebel directed in the letters she had written to them. 12 They proclaimed a fast ( K ) and seated Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 13 Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death. ( L ) 14 Then they sent word to Jezebel: “Naboth has been stoned to death.”
15 As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard ( M ) of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you. He is no longer alive, but dead.” 16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth’s vineyard.
17 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: 18 “Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now in Naboth’s vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it. 19 Say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?’ ( N ) Then say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, ( O ) dogs ( P ) will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’”
20 Ahab said to Elijah, “So you have found me, my enemy!” ( Q )
“I have found you,” he answered, “because you have sold ( R ) yourself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord . 21 He says, ‘I am going to bring disaster on you. I will wipe out your descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male ( S ) in Israel—slave or free. [ a ] ( T ) 22 I will make your house ( U ) like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have aroused my anger and have caused Israel to sin.’ ( V )
23 “And also concerning Jezebel the Lord says: ‘Dogs ( W ) will devour Jezebel by the wall of [ b ] Jezreel.’
24 “Dogs ( X ) will eat those belonging to Ahab who die in the city, and the birds ( Y ) will feed on those who die in the country.”
25 (There was never ( Z ) anyone like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord , urged on by Jezebel his wife. 26 He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites ( AA ) the Lord drove out before Israel.)
27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth ( AB ) and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly. ( AC )
28 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: 29 “Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled ( AD ) himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, ( AE ) but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son.” ( AF )
