Kings III 21

1 And Achaab numbered the young men the heads of the districts, and they were two hundred and thirty: and afterwards he numbered the people, [even] every man fit for war, seven thousand.

After these things, Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel, next to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.

2 And he went forth at noon, an the son of Ader was drinking [and] getting drunk in Socchoth, he and the kings, [even] thirty and two kings, his allies.

Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near my house; and I will give you for it a better vineyard than it. Or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its worth in money.”

3 And the young men the heads of the districts went forth first; and they send and report to the king of Syria, saying, There are men come forth out of Samaria.

Naboth said to Ahab, “May the LORD forbid me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you!”

4 And he said to them, If they come forth peaceably, take them alive; and if they come forth to war, take them alive:

Ahab came into his house sullen and angry because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him, for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” He laid himself down on his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.

5 and let not the young men the heads of the districts go forth of the city. And the force that was behind them

But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, “Why is your spirit so sad that you eat no bread?”

6 smote each one the man next to him; and each one a second time smote the man next to him: and Syria fled, and Israel pursued them; and the son of Ader, [even] the king of Syria, escapes on the horse of a horseman.

He said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite, and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ He answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’”

7 And the king of Israel went forth, and took all the horses and the chariots, and smote [the enemy] with a great slaughter in Syria.

Jezebel his wife said to him, “Do you now govern the kingdom of Israel? Arise, and eat bread, and let your heart be merry. I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

8 And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said, Strengthen thyself, and observe, and see what thou shalt do; for at the return of the year the son of Ader king of Syria comes up against thee.

So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles who were in his city, who lived with Naboth.

9 And the servants of the king of Syria, even they said, The God of Israel [is] a God of mountains, and not a God of valleys; therefore has he prevailed against us: but if we should fight against them in the plain, verily we shall prevail against them.

She wrote in the letters, saying, “Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high amongst the people.

10 And do thou this thing: Send away the kings, each one to his place, and set princes in their stead.

Set two men, wicked fellows, before him, and let them testify against him, saying, ‘You cursed God and the king!’ Then carry him out, and stone him to death.”

11 And we will give thee [another] army according to the army that was destroyed, and cavalry according to the cavalry, and chariots according to the chariots, and we will fight against them in the plain, and we shall prevail against them. And he hearkened to their voice, and did so.

The men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had instructed them in the letters which she had written and sent to them.

12 And it came to pass at the return of the year, that the son of Ader reviewed Syria, and went up to Apheca to war against Israel.

They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high amongst the people.

13 And the children of Israel were numbered, and came to meet them: and Israel encamped before them as two little flocks of goats, but Syria filled the land.

The two men, the wicked fellows, came in and sat before him. The wicked fellows testified against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king!” Then they carried him out of the city and stoned him to death with stones.

14 And there came the man of God, and said to the king of Israel, Thus saith the Lord, Because Syria has said, The Lord God of Israel [is] a God of the hills, and he [is] not a God of the valleys, therefore will I give this great army into thy hand, and thou shalt know that I [am] the Lord.

Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned and is dead.”

15 And they encamp one over against the other before them seven days. And it came to pass on the seventh day that the battle drew on, and Israel smote Syria, [even] a hundred thousand footmen in one day.

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 And the rest fled to Apheca, into the city; and the wall fell upon twenty-seven thousand men that were left: and the son of Ader fled, and entered into an inner chamber, into a closet.

When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

17 And he said to his servants, I know that the kings of Israel are merciful kings: let us now put sackcloth upon our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and let us go forth to the king of Israel, if by any means he will save our souls alive.

The LORD’s word came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

18 So they girt sackcloth upon their loins, and put ropes upon their heads, and said to the king of Israel, Thy servant the son of Ader says, Let our souls live, I pray thee. And he said, Does he yet live? He is my brother.

“Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who dwells in Samaria. Behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to take possession of it.

19 And the men divined, and offered drink-offerings; and they caught the word out of his mouth, and said, Thy brother the son of Ader. And he said, Go ye in and fetch him. And the son of Ader went out to him, and they cause him to go up to him into the chariot.

You shall speak to him, saying, ‘The LORD says, “Have you killed and also taken possession?”’ You shall speak to him, saying, ‘The LORD says, “In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs will lick your blood, even yours.”’”

20 And he said to him, The cities which my father took from thy father I will restore to thee; and thou shalt make streets for thyself in Damascus, as my father made streets in Samaria; and I will let thee go with a covenant. And he made a covenant with him, and let him go.

Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do that which is evil in the LORD’s sight.

21 And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbour by the word of the Lord, Smite me, I pray, And the man would not smite him.

Behold, I will bring evil on you, and will utterly sweep you away and will cut off from Ahab everyone who urinates against a wall, and him who is shut up and him who is left at large in Israel.

22 And he said to him, Because thou hast not hearkened to the voice of the Lord, therefore, behold, as thou departest from me, a lion shall smite thee: and he departed from him, and a lion found him, and smote him.

I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation with which you have provoked me to anger, and have made Israel to sin.”

23 And he finds another man, and says, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, and in smiting wounded [him].

The LORD also spoke of Jezebel, saying, “The dogs will eat Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel.

24 And the prophet went and stood before the king of Israel by the way, and bound his eyes with a bandage.

The dogs will eat he who dies of Ahab in the city; and the birds of the sky will eat he who dies in the field.”

25 And it came to pass as the king passed by, that he cried aloud to the king, and said, Thy servant went out to war, and, behold, a man brought [another] man to me, and said to me, Keep his man; and if he should by any means escape, then thy life shall go for his life, or thou shalt pay a talent of silver.

But there was no one like Ahab, who sold himself to do that which was evil in the LORD’s sight, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.

26 And it came to pass, that thy servant looked round this way and that way, and the man was gone. And the king of Israel said to him, Behold, thou hast also destroyed snares [set] for me.

He did very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites did, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.

27 And he hasted, and took away the bandage from his eyes; and the king of Israel recognized him, that he was one of the prophets.

When Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his body, fasted, lay in sackcloth, and went about despondently.

28 And he said to him, Thus saith the Lord, Because thou hast suffered to escape out of thine hand a man appointed to destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.

The LORD’s word came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

29 And the king of Israel departed confounded and discouraged, and came to Samaria.

“See how Ahab humbles himself before me? Because he humbles himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days; but I will bring the evil on his house in his son’s day.”