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 after these things, Naboth the Jezrahelite, who was in Jezrahel, had at that time a vineyard near the palace of Achab 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 Achab spoke to Naboth, saying: Give me thy vineyard, that I may make me a garden of herbs, because it is nigh, and adjoining to my house, and I will give thee for it a better vineyard: or if thou think it more convenient for thee, I will give thee the worth of it 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 answered him: The Lord be merciful to me, and not let me give thee the inheritance of my fathers.

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 Achab came into his house angry and fretting, because of the word that Naboth the Jezrahelite had spoken to him, saying: I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And casting himself upon his bed, he turned away his face to the wall, 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

And Jezabel his wife went in to him, and said to him: What is the matter that thy soul is so grieved? and why eatest thou 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 answered her: I spoke to Naboth the Jezrahelite, and said to him: Give me thy vineyard, and take money for it: or if it please thee, I will give thee a better 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.

Then Jezabel his wife said to him: Thou art of great authority indeed, and governest well the kingdom of Israel. Arise, and eat bread, and be of good cheer, I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezrahelite.

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.

So she wrote letter’s in Achab’s name, and sealed them with his ring, and sent them to the ancients, and the chief men that were in his city, and that dwelt 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 this was the tenor of the letters: Proclaim a fast, and make Naboth sit among the chief 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 suborn two men, sons of Belial against him, and let them bear false witness: that he hath blasphemed God and the king: and then carry him out, and stone him, and so let him 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 ancients and nobles, that dwelt with him in the city, did as Jezabel had commanded them, and as it was written in the letters which 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 made Naboth sit among the chief 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 bringing two men, sons of the devil, they made them sit against him: and they, like men of the devil, bore witness against him before the people, saying: Naboth hath blasphemed God and the king: wherefore they brought him forth without the city, and stoned him to death.

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 Jezabel, 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 Jezabel heard that Naboth was stoned, and dead, that she said to Achab: Arise and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezrahelite, who would not agree with thee, and give it 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 when Achab heard this, to wit, that Naboth was dead, he arose, and went down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezrahelite, 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 the Lord came to Elias the Thesbite, 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, and go down to meet Achab king of Israel, who is in Samaria: behold he is going down to the vineyard of Naboth, 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 to him, saying: Thus saith the Lord: Thou hast slain, moreover also thou hast taken possession. And after these words thou shalt add: Thus saith the Lord: In this place, wherein the dogs have licked the blood of Naboth, they shall lick thy blood also.

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 Achab said to Elias: Hast thou found me thy enemy? He said: I have found thee, because thou art sold, to do evil in the sight of the Lord.

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 I will cut down thy posterity, and I will kill of Achab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up, and the last 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 Nabat, and like the house of Baasa the son of Ahias: for what thou hast done, to provoke me to anger, and for making 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 Jezabel also the Lord spoke, saying: The dogs shall eat Jezabel in the field of Jezrahel.

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

If Achab die in the city, the dogs shall eat him: but if he die in the field, the birds of the air shall eat him.

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.

Now there was not such another as Achab, who was sold to do evil in the sight of the Lord: for his wife Jezabel set 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 became abominable, insomuch that he followed the idols which the Amorrhites had made, whom the Lord destroyed before the face of 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 when Achab had heard these words, he rent his garments, and put haircloth upon his flesh, and fasted and slept in sackcloth, and walked with his head cast down.

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 the Lord came to Elias the Thesbite, saying:

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

Hast thou not seen Achab humbled before me? therefore, because he hath humbled himself for my sake, I will not bring the evil in his days, but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.