1 Reis 21

¹ And it came to pass after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel, next to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.

² And Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near, next to my house; and for it I will give you a vineyard better than it. Or, if it is good in your eyes, I will give you its price in money.

³ But Naboth said to Ahab, Jehovah forbid that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you!

⁴ So Ahab went into his house sullen and angry because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers. And he lay down on his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no food.

⁵ And Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, Why is your spirit so sullen that you are not eating food?

⁶ And he said to her, Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite, and said to him, Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you another vineyard for it. And he answered, I will not give you my vineyard.

⁷ And Jezebel his wife said to him, Do you now rule over Israel? Arise, eat food, and let your heart be joyful. I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.

⁸ And she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who were dwelling in the city with Naboth.

⁹ She wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and seat Naboth at the head of the people;

¹⁰ and seat two men, sons of worthlessness, before him to bear witness against him, saying, You have blasphemed God and the king. Then take him out, and stone him, that he may die.

¹¹ So the men of his city, the elders and nobles who were inhabitants of his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them.

¹² They proclaimed a fast, and seated Naboth at the head of the people.

¹³ And two men, sons of worthlessness, came in and sat before him; and the men of worthlessness testified against him, against Naboth, before the people, saying, Naboth has blasphemed God and the king! Then they took him outside the city and stoned him with stones, so that he died.

¹⁴ Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth has been stoned and is dead.

¹⁵ And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but has died.

¹⁶ So it was, when Ahab heard that Naboth had died, that Ahab got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.

¹⁷ And the Word of Jehovah came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

¹⁸ Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who lives in Samaria. Behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to take possession of it.

¹⁹ And you shall speak to him, saying, Thus says Jehovah: Have you murdered and also taken possession? And you shall speak to him, saying, Thus says Jehovah: In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs shall lick your blood, even yours.

²⁰ So Ahab said to Elijah, Have you found me, O my enemy? And he answered, I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of Jehovah:

²¹ Behold, I shall bring evil upon you. I shall take away your posterity, and shall cut off from Ahab in Israel everyone who urinates against a wall, both bond and free.

²² I have delivered up your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, because of the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger, and made Israel sin.

²³ And concerning Jezebel Jehovah also spoke, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.

²⁴ The dogs shall eat whoever of Ahab dies in the city, and the birds of the heavens shall eat whoever dies in the field.

²⁵ Surely there had not been one like Ahab who had sold himself to do wickedness in the eyes of Jehovah, which his wife Jezebel had instigated.

²⁶ And he did exceedingly abominably to follow after the idols, according to all that the Amorites had done, whom Jehovah had cast out before the children of Israel.

²⁷ So it was, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh, and fasted and lay in sackcloth, and walked about softly.

²⁸ And the Word of Jehovah came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

²⁹ Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring about the evil in his days; but in the days of his son I will bring about the evil upon his house.