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.

And it came to pass after these things, [that] Naboth the Jizreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jizreel, by the side of 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.

And Ahab spoke to Naboth saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, for it is near, by the side of my house; and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; if it seem good to thee, I will give thee its value 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.

And Naboth said to Ahab, Jehovah forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to thee!

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

And Ahab came into his house sullen and vexed because of the word that Naboth the Jizreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he lay down on his bed, and turned away his face, and ate 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

And Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, Why is thy spirit sullen, and thou eatest no bread?

6 struck each one the man next to him; and each one a second time struck 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.

And he said to her, Because I spoke to Naboth the Jizreelite and said to him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee a vineyard for it; and he said, I will not give thee my vineyard.

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

And Jezebel his wife said to him, Dost thou now exercise sovereignty over Israel? arise, eat bread, and let thy heart be glad: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jizreelite.

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

And she wrote a letter in Ahab's name, and sealed it with his seal, and sent the letter to the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling 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.

And she wrote in the letter saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people;

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

and set two men, sons of Belial, before him, and they shall bear witness against him saying, Thou didst curse God and the king; and carry him out, and stone him, that he may die.

11 And we will give you [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 listened to their voice, and did so.

And the men of his city, the elders and the nobles that dwelt in his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, as it was written in the letter that she had 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 at the head of 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.

And there came the two men, sons of Belial, and sat before him; and the men of Belial witnessed against him, against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth blasphemed God and the king. And they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.

14 And there came the man of God, and said to the king of Israel, Thus says 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 your hand, and you shall know that I [am] the Lord.

And they sent to Jezebel saying, Naboth is 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 struck Syria, [even] a hundred thousand footmen in one day.

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 Jizreelite, which he refused to give thee 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.

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 Jizreelite, 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.

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

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

Arise, go down to meet Ahab 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 And the men divined, and offered drink-offerings; and they caught the word out of his mouth, and said, Your brother the son of Ader. And he said, Go you 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.

And thou shalt speak unto him saying, Thus saith Jehovah: Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him saying, Thus saith Jehovah: In the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall the dogs lick thy blood, even thine.

20 And he said to him, The cities which my father took from your father I will restore to you; and you shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made streets in Samaria; and I will let you go with a covenant. And he made a covenant with him, and let him go.

And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, mine enemy? And he said, I have found [thee]; because thou hast sold thyself to do evil in the sight of Jehovah.

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

Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab every male, and him that is shut up and left in Israel;

22 And he said to him, Because you have not listened to the voice of the Lord, therefore, behold, as you depart from me, a lion shall strike you: and he departed from him, and a lion found him, and struck him.

and I will make thy 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 he finds another man, and says, Strike me, I pray you. And the man struck him, and in striking wounded [him].

And of Jezebel also spoke Jehovah saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the moat of Jizreel.

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

Him that dieth of Ahab in the city shall the dogs eat, and him that dieth in the field shall the fowl of the heavens eat.

25 And it came to pass as the king passed by, that he cried aloud to the king, and said, Your 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 your life shall go for his life, or you shall pay a talent of silver.

(Surely there was none like to Ahab, who did sell himself to do evil in the sight of Jehovah, Jezebel his wife urging him on.

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

And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites did, whom Jehovah had dispossessed before the children of Israel.)

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

And it came to pass when Ahab heard these words, that he rent his garments, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.

28 And he said to him, Thus says the Lord, Because you have suffered to escape out of your hand a man appointed to destruction, therefore your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people.

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

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

Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.