1 Kings 21

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

And it comes to pass after these things, a vineyard has been to Naboth the Jezreelite, that [is] in Jezreel, near the palace of Ahab 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 Ahab speaks to Naboth, saying, “Give your vineyard to me, and it is for a garden of green herbs for me, for it [is] near by my house, and I give to you a better vineyard than it in its stead; if [this is] good in your eyes, I give to you its price [in] silver.”

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

And Naboth says to Ahab, “Far be it from me, by YHWH, my giving the inheritance of my fathers to you”;

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 Ahab comes to his house, sulky and angry, because of the word that Naboth the Jezreelite has spoken to him when he says, “I do not give the inheritance of my fathers to you,” and he lies down on his bed, and turns around his face, and has not eaten bread.

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

And his wife Jezebel comes to him, and speaks to him, “Why [is] this [that] your spirit [is] sulky, and you are not eating bread?”

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 says to her, “Because I speak to Naboth the Jezreelite, and say to him, Give your vineyard to me for money, or if you desire, I give a vineyard to you in its stead; and he says, I do not give my vineyard to you.”

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.

And his wife Jezebel says to him, “You now execute rule over Israel! Rise, eat bread, and let your heart be glad—I give the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite to you.”

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.

And she writes letters in the name of Ahab, and seals with his seal, and sends the letters to the elderly and to the nobles who are in his city, those dwelling with 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 writes 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 cause two men—sons of worthlessness—to sit opposite him, and they testify of him, saying, You have blessed [[or cursed]] God and [the] king; and they have brought him out, and stoned him, and he dies.”

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 elderly and the nobles who are dwelling in his city, do as Jezebel has sent to them, as written in the letters that she sent to them,

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

they have 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 two men—sons of worthlessness—come in, and sit opposite him, and the men of worthlessness testify of him, even Naboth, before the people, saying, “Naboth blessed [[or cursed]] God and [the] king”; and they take him out to the outside of the city, and stone him with stones, and he dies;

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

and they send to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth was 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 comes to pass, at Jezebel’s hearing that Naboth has been stoned, and is dead, that Jezebel says to Ahab, “Rise, possess the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, that he refused to give to you 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 comes to pass, at Ahab’s hearing that Naboth is dead, that Ahab rises to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to possess it.

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

And the word of YHWH is 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.

“Rise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who [is] in Samaria—behold, in the vineyard of Naboth, to where he has gone down to possess 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 you have spoken to him, saying, Thus said YHWH: Have you murdered, and also possessed? And you have spoken to him, saying, Thus said YHWH: In the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, the dogs lick your blood, even yours.”

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 Ahab says to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” And he says, “I have found—because of your selling yourself to do evil in the eyes of YHWH;

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 am bringing calamity on you, and have taken away your posterity, and cut off from Ahab those sitting on the wall, and restrained, and left, 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 given up your house like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah, for the provocation with which you have provoked [Me], and cause Israel to sin.

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

And YHWH has also spoken of Jezebel, saying, The dogs eat Jezebel in the bulwark of Jezreel;

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.

the dogs eat him who dies of Ahab in a city, and [the] bird of the heavens eats him who dies in a field;

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.

surely there has been none like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of YHWH, whom his wife Jezebel has moved,

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 does very abominably to go after the idols, according to all that the Amorite did whom YHWH dispossessed from the presence of the sons 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 comes to pass, at Ahab’s hearing these words, that he tears his garments, and puts sackcloth on his flesh, and fasts, and lies in sackcloth, and goes gently.

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

And the word of YHWH is 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.

“Have you seen that Ahab has been humbled before Me? Because that he has been humbled before Me, I do not bring in the calamity in his days; I bring in the calamity on his house in the days of his son.”