1 Kings 21

1 Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vine-garden in Jezreel, near the house of Ahab, king of Samaria.

And it came to pass after these events, that Naboth the Yizre'elite had a vineyard, which was in Yizre'el, near the palace of Achab the king of Samaria.

2 And Ahab said to Naboth, Give me your vine-garden so that I may have it for a garden of sweet plants, for it is near my house; and let me give you a better vine-garden in exchange, or, if it seems good to you, let me give you its value in money.

And Achab spoke unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that it may serve me for a herb-garden, because it is near unto my house; and I will give thee in its stead a vineyard better than it; [or, ] if it seem good in thy eyes, I will give thee the money, the value of the same.

3 But Naboth said to Ahab, By the Lord, far be it from me to give you the heritage of my fathers.

And Naboth said to Achab, Far be it from me before the Lord, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.

4 So Ahab came into his house bitter and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him, I will not give you the heritage of my fathers. And stretching himself on the bed with his face turned away, he would take no food.

And Achab came into his house low-spirited and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Yizre'elite had spoken to him, when he said, I will not give unto thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid himself down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no food.

5 But Jezebel, his wife, came to him and said, Why is your spirit so bitter that you have no desire for food?

But Izebel his wife came to him, and spoke unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad! and why eatest thou no food?

6 And he said to her, Because I was talking to Naboth the Jezreelite, and I said to him, Let me have your vine-garden for a price, or, if it is pleasing to you, I will give you another vine-garden for it: and he said, I will not give you my vine-garden.

And he said unto her, Because I spoke unto Naboth the Yizre'elite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee a vineyard in its stead; but he hath said, I will not give unto thee my vineyard.

7 Then Jezebel, his wife, said, Are you now the ruler of Israel? Get up, take food, and let your heart be glad; I will give you the vine-garden of Naboth the Jezreelite.

Then said unto him Izebel his wife, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, eat bread, and let thy heart be merry: I will myself give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Yizre'elite.

8 So she sent a letter in Ahab's name, stamped with his stamp, to the responsible men and the chiefs who were in authority with Naboth.

So she wrote letters in Achab's name, and sealed them with his seal; and she sent the letters unto the elders and unto the nobles who were in his city, and who dwelt near Naboth.

9 And in the letter she said, Let a time of public sorrow be fixed, and put Naboth at the head of the people;

And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and cause Naboth to sit at the head of the people;

10 And get two good-for-nothing persons to come before him and give witness that he has been cursing God and the king. Then take him out and have him stoned to death.

And seat two men, worthless fellows, opposite to him, and let them bear witness against him, saying, Thou hast blasphemed God and the king; and then lead him forth, and stone him, that he may die.

11 So the responsible men and the chiefs who were in authority in his town, did as Jezebel had said in the letter she sent them.

And the men of his city, the elders and the nobles, those who dwelt in his city, did as Izebel had sent unto them, as was written in the letters which she had sent unto them.

12 They gave orders for a day of public sorrow, and put Naboth at the head of the people.

They proclaimed a fast, and caused Naboth to sit at the head of the people.

13 And the two good-for-nothing persons came in and took their seats before him and gave witness against Naboth, in front of the people, saying, Naboth has been cursing God and the king. Then they took him outside the town and had him stoned to death.

And there came in two men, worthless fellows, and seated themselves opposite to him; and these worthless men testified against him, against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth hath blasphemed God and the king. Then they led him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.

14 And they sent word to Jezebel, saying, Naboth has been stoned and is dead.

And they sent to Izebel, saying, Naboth hath been stoned, and is dead.

15 Then Jezebel, hearing that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, said to Ahab, Get up and take as your heritage the vine-garden of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he would not give you for money, for Naboth is no longer living but is dead.

And it came to pass, when Izebel heard that Naboth had been stoned, and was dead, that Izebel said to Achab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Yizre'elite, which he refused to give thee for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.

16 So Ahab, hearing that Naboth was dead, went down to the vine-garden of Naboth the Jezreelite to take it as his heritage.

And it came to pass, when Achab heard that Naboth was dead, that Achab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Yizre'elite, to take possession of it.

17 And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

18 Go down to Ahab, king of Israel, in Samaria; see, he is in the vine-garden of Naboth the Jezreelite, where he has gone to take it as his heritage.

Arise, go down to meet Achab the king of Israel, who is in Samaria; behold he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to take possession of it.

19 Say to him, The Lord says, Have you put a man to death and taken his heritage? Then say to him, The Lord says, In the place where dogs have been drinking the blood of Naboth, there will your blood become the drink of dogs.

And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus hath said the Lord, Hast thou murdered, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus hath said the Lord, In the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall the dogs lick thy blood, yes, thine also.

20 And Ahab said to Elijah, Have you come face to face with me, O my hater? And he said, I have come to you because you have given yourself up to do evil in the eyes of the Lord.

And Achab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O my enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to do what is evil in the eyes of the Lord.

21 See, I will send evil on you and put an end to you completely, cutting off from Ahab every male child, him who is shut up and him who goes free in Israel;

Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and I will sweep out after thee, and will cut off from Achab every male, and the guarded and fortified in Israel,

22 And I will make your family like the family of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and like the family of Baasha, the son of Ahijah, because you have made me angry, and have made Israel do evil.

And I will make thy house like the house of Jerobo'am the son of Nebat, and like the house of Ba'sha the son of Achiyah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked [me] to anger, and induced Israel to sin.

23 And of Jezebel the Lord said, Jezebel will become food for dogs in the heritage of Jezreel.

And also concerning Izebel hath the Lord spoken, saying, The dogs shall eat Izebel in the valley of Yizre'el.

24 Any man of the family of Ahab who comes to his death in the town will become food for the dogs; and he who comes to his death in the open country will be food for the birds of the air.

Him that dieth of Achab in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the heavens eat.

25 (There was no one like Ahab, who gave himself up to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, moved to it by Jezebel his wife.

But indeed there was none like unto Achab, who sold himself to do what is evil in the eyes of the Lord, to which Izebel his wife incited him.

26 He did a very disgusting thing in going after false gods, doing all the things the Amorites did, whom the Lord sent out before the children of Israel.)

And he acted very abominably in following the idols, in all things just as had done the Emorites, whom the Lord had driven out from before the children of Israel.

27 Hearing these words, Ahab, in great grief, put haircloth on his flesh and went without food, sleeping in haircloth, and going about quietly.

And it came to pass, when Achab heard these words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and slept in the sackcloth, and walked about barefooted.

28 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

29 Do you see how Ahab has made himself low before me? because he has made himself low before me, I will not send the evil in his life-time, but in his son's time I will send the evil on his family.

Hast thou seen how Achab hath humbled himself before me? therefore, because he hath humbled himself before me, will I not bring the evil in his days: in the days of his son will I bring the evil upon his house.