< Kings III 20 >
1 And Nabuthai the Jezraelite had a vineyard, near the threshing floor of Achaab king of Samaria.
2 And Achaab spoke to Nabuthai, saying, Give me your vineyard, and I will have it for a garden of herbs, for it [is] near my house: and I will give you another vineyard better than it; or if it please you, I will give you money, the price of this your vineyard, and I will have it for a garden of herbs.
3 And Nabuthai said to Achaab, My God forbid me that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.
4 And the spirit of Achaab was troubled, and he lay down upon his bed, and covered his face, and ate no bread.
5 And Jezabel his wife went in to him, and spoke to him, [saying], Why [is] your spirit troubled, and [why] do you eat no bread?
6 And he said to her, Because I spoke to Nabuthai the Jezraelite, saying, Give me your vineyard for money; or if you will, I will give you another vineyard for it: and he said, I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.
7 And Jezabel his wife said to him, Do you now thus act the king over Israel? arise, and eat bread, and be your own [master], and I will give you the vineyard of Nabuthai the Jezraelite.
8 And she wrote a letter in the name of Achaab, and sealed it with his seal, and sent the letter to the elders, and to the freemen who lived with Nabuthai.
9 And it was written in the letters, saying, Keep a fast, and set Naboth in a chief place among the people.
10 And set two men, sons of transgressors, before him, and let them testify against him, saying, He blessed God and the king: and let them lead him forth, and stone him, and let them die.
11 And the men of his city, the elders, and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezabel sent to them, and as it had been written in the letters which she sent to them.
12 And they proclaimed a fast, and set Nebuthai in a chief place among the people.
13 And two men, sons of transgressors, came in, and sat opposite him, and bore witness against him, saying, You have blessed God and the king. And they led him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, and he died.
14 And they sent to Jezabel, saying, Nabuthai is stoned, and is dead.
15 And it came to pass, when Jezabel heard [it], that she said to Achaab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Nabuthai the Jezraelite, who would not sell it to you: for Nebuthai is not alive, for he is dead.
16 And it came to pass, when Achaab heard that Nabuthai the Jezraelite was dead, that he tore his garments, and put on sackcloth. And it came to pass afterward, that Achaab arose and went down to the vineyard of Nabuthai the Jezraelite, to take possession of it.
17 And the Lord spoke to Eliu the Thesbite, saying,
18 Arise, and go down to meet Achaab king of Israel, who is in Samaria, for he [is] in the vineyard of Nabuthai, for he has gone down there to take possession of it.
19 And you shall speak to him, saying, Thus says the Lord, Forasmuch as you have slain and taken possession, therefore thus says the Lord, In every place where the swine and the dogs have licked the blood of Nabuthai, there shall the dogs lick your blood; and the harlots shall wash themselves in your blood.
20 And Achaab said to Eliu, Hast you found me, mine enemy? and he said, I have found [you]: because you have wickedly sold yourself to work evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger;
21 behold, I bring evil upon you: and I will kindle a fire after you, and I will utterly destroy every male of Achaab, and him that is shut up and him that is left in Israel.
22 And I will make your house as the house of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, and as the house of Baasa son of Achia, because of the provocations wherewith you have provoked [me], and caused Israel to sin.
23 And the Lord spoke of Jezabel, saying, The dogs shall devour her within the fortification of Jezrael.
24 Him that is dead of Achaab in the city shall the dogs eat, and him that is dead of him in the field shall the birds of the sky eat.
25 But Achaab [did] wickedly, in that he sold himself to do that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as his wife Jezabel led him astray.
26 And he did very abominably in following after the abominations, according to all that the Amorite did, whom the Lord utterly destroyed from before the children of Israel.
27 And because of the word, Achaab was pierced with sorrow before the Lord, and he both went weeping, and tore his garment, and girded sackcloth upon his body, and fasted; he put on sackcloth also in the day that he struck Nabuthai the Jezraelite, and went his way.
28 And the word of the Lord came by the hand of his servant Eliu concerning Achaab, and the Lord said,
29 Hast you seen how Achaab has been pricked [to the heart] before me? I will not bring on the evil in his days, but in his son's days will I bring on the evil.
30 And the son of Ader gathered all his forces, and went up and besieged Samaria, [he] and thirty-two kings with him, and all [his] horse and chariots: and they went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it.
31 And he sent into the city to Achaab king of Israel, and said to him, Thus says the son of Ader,
32 Your silver and your gold are mine, and your wives and your children are mine.
33 And the king of Israel answered and said, As you have said, my lord, O king, I am your, and all mine [also].
34 And the messengers came again, and said, Thus says the son of Ader, I sent to you, saying, You shall give me your silver and your gold, and your wives and your children.
35 For at this time to-morrow I will send my servants to you, and they shall search your house, and the houses of your servants, and it shall be that all the desirable objects of their eyes on which they shall lay their hands, they shall even take [them].
36 And the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Take notice now and consider, that this man seeks mischief: for he has sent to me concerning my wives, and concerning my sons, an concerning my daughters: I have not kept back from him my silver and my gold.
37 And the elders and all the people said to him, Listen not, and consent not.
38 And he said to the messengers of the son of Ader, Say to your master, All things that you have sent to your servant about at first I will do; but this thing I shall not be able to do. And the men departed, and carried back the answer to him.
39 And the son of Ader sent to him, saying, So do God to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for foxes to all the people, even my infantry.
40 And the king of Israel answered and said, Let it be sufficient; let not the humpbacked boast as he that is upright.
41 And it came to pass when he returned him this answer, he and all the kings with him were drinking in tents: and he said to his servants, Form a trench. And they made a trench against the city.
42 And, behold, a prophet came to Achaab king of Israel, and said, Thus says the Lord, Hast you seen this great multitude? behold, I give it this day into your hands; and you shall know that I [am] the Lord.
43 And Achaab said, Whereby? And he said, Thus says the Lord, by the young men of the heads of the districts. And Achaab said, Who shall begin the battle? and he said, You.
