1 Kings 21

1 And after these things, in that time, there was a vineyard of Naboth, the Jezreelite, who was in Jezreel, beside the palace of Ahab, the king of Samaria.

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.

2 Therefore, Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying: “Give your vineyard to me, so that I may make for myself a garden of herbs. For it is nearby and is beside my house. And I will give to you, in place of it, a better vineyard. Or if you consider it to be more convenient for you, I will give you the price in silver, whatever it is worth.”

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.

3 Naboth responded to him, “May the Lord be gracious to me, lest I give to you the inheritance of my fathers.”

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.

4 Then Ahab went into his house, angry and gnashing his teeth over the word that Naboth, the Jezreelite, had spoken to him, saying, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And casting himself on his bed, he turned away his face to the wall, and he would not eat bread.

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

5 Then Jezebel, his wife, entered to him, and she said to him: “What is this matter, by which your soul has been saddened? And why do you not eat bread?”

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

6 And he responded to her: “I spoke to Naboth, the Jezreelite, and I said to him: ‘Give your vineyard to me, and accept money. Or if it pleases you, I will give to you a better vineyard, in place of it.’ And he said, ‘I will not give my vineyard to you.’”

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.

7 Then Jezebel, his wife, said to him: “You are of great authority, and you rule well in the kingdom of Israel. Rise up and eat bread, and be even-tempered. I will give the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezreelite, to you.”

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.

8 And so, she wrote letters in the name of Ahab, and she sealed these with his ring. And she sent to those greater by birth, and to the nobles who were in his city and living with Naboth.

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.

9 And this was the judgment of the letters: “Proclaim a fast, and cause Naboth to sit among the first rulers of the people.

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.

10 And send out two men, sons of Belial, against him. And let them speak the false testimony: ‘He has blasphemed God and king.’ And then lead him away, and stone him, and so let him die.”

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

11 Then his fellow citizens, those greater by birth and the nobles who were living with him in the city, did just as Jezebel had instructed them, and just as it was written in the letters that she had sent to them.

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.

12 They proclaimed a fast, and they caused Naboth to sit among the first rulers of the people.

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.

13 And bringing forward two men, sons of the devil, they caused them to sit opposite him. And they, acting indeed like diabolical men, spoke testimony against him before the multitude: “Naboth has blasphemed God and king.” For this reason, they led him away, beyond the city, and they put him to death by stoning.

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.

14 And they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned, and he has died.”

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.

15 Then it happened that, when Jezebel had heard that Naboth was stoned and was dead, she said to Ahab: “Rise up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezreelite, who was not willing to acquiesce to you, and to give it to you in exchange for money. For Naboth is not alive, but dead.”

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.

16 And when Ahab had heard this, namely, that Naboth was dead, he rose up and descended to the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezreelite, so that he might take possession of it.

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.

17 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah, the Tishbite, saying:

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.

18 “Rise up, and descend to meet Ahab, the king of Israel, who is in Samaria. Behold, he is descending to the vineyard of Naboth, so that he may take possession of it.

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.

19 And you shall speak to him, saying: ‘Thus says the Lord: You have killed. Moreover you have also taken possession.’ And after this, you shall add: ‘Thus says the Lord: In this place, where the dogs have licked the blood of Naboth, they shall also lick your blood.’”

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.

20 And Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you discovered me to be your enemy?” And he said: “I have discovered you to have been sold, so that you would do evil in the sight of the Lord:

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.

21 ‘Behold, I will lead evil over you. And I will cut down your posterity. And I will put to death of Ahab whatever urinates against a wall, and whatever is lame, and whatever is last in Israel.

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

22 And I will cause your house to be like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha, the son of Ahijah. For you have acted so that you provoked me to anger, and so that you caused Israel to sin.’

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.

23 And about Jezebel also, the Lord spoke, saying: ‘The dogs shall consume Jezebel in the field of Jezreel.

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

24 If Ahab will have died in the city, the dogs will consume him. But if he will have died in the field, the birds of the air will consume him.’”

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

25 And so, there was no other person similar to Ahab, who was sold so that he did evil in the sight of the Lord. For his wife, Jezebel, urged him on.

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.

26 And he became abominable, so much so that he followed the idols that the Amorites had made, whom the Lord consumed before the face of the sons of Israel.

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.

27 Then, when Ahab had heard these words, he tore his garments, and he put haircloth on his body, and he fasted, and he slept in sackcloth, and he walked with his head downcast.

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.

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

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.

29 “Have you not seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Therefore, since he has humbled himself because of me, I will not lead in the evil during his days. Instead, during the days of his son, I will bring in the evil to his house.”

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