1 Kings 21

1 And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab, 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 And Ahab spoke unto Naboth, saying: 'Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house; and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.'

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 And Naboth said to Ahab: 'The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.'

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 And Ahab came into his house sullen and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said: 'I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers.' And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no 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 But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him: 'Why is thy spirit so sullen, that thou eatest no 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 said unto her: 'Because I spoke unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him: Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it; and he answered: I will not give thee my vineyard.'

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 And Jezebel his wife said unto him: 'Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thy heart be merry; I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.'

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 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, and that dwelt 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 she wrote in the letters, saying: 'Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head 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 set two men, base fellows, before him, and let them bear witness against him, saying: Thou didst curse God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he die.'

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

11 And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who dwelt in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, according as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto 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 set Naboth at the head 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 the two men, the base fellows, came in and sat before him; and the base fellows bore witness against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying: 'Naboth did curse God and the king.' Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.

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 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying: 'Naboth is stoned, and is dead.'

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 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 Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee 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 it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to 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 And 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 'Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who dwelleth in Samaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to 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 thou shalt speak unto him, saying: Thus saith the LORD: Hast thou killed, and also taken possessions? and thou shalt speak unto him, saying: Thus saith the LORD: In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.'

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: 'Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?' And he answered: 'I have found thee; because thou hast given thyself over to do that which is 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 bring evil upon thee, and will utterly sweep thee away, and will cut off from Ahab every man-child, and him that is shut up and him that is left at large 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 make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasa the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked Me, and hast made 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 of Jezebel also spoke the LORD, saying: The dogs shall eat Jezebel in the moat 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 Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat.'

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

25 But there was none like unto Ahab, who did give himself over to do that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.

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 did very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites did, whom the LORD cast out before the children 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 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softy.

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

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