1 Kings 21
21
1 Kings 21
1¶ And it came to pass after these things that Naboth of Jezreel had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, next to the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria.
2And Ahab spoke unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard that I may have it for a garden of herbs because it is next to my house, and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or if it seems good unto thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.
3And Naboth replied unto Ahab, The Lord keep me from giving thee the inheritance of my fathers.
4And Ahab came into his house, sad and angry, because of the word which Naboth of Jezreel had spoken to him, for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he lay down upon his bed and turned away his face and would eat no bread.
5¶ And Jezebel, his wife, came to him and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad that thou dost eat no bread?
6And he said unto her, Because I spoke with Naboth of Jezreel 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.
7And 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 of Jezreel.
8So 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 dwelling with Naboth.
9And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people
10and set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out and stone him that he may die.
11And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them.
12They proclaimed a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people.
13Then the two men, sons of Belial, came in and sat before him; and those men of Belial witnessed against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth blasphemed God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones that he died.
14Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth has been stoned and is dead.
15And it came to pass when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead that she said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth of Jezreel which he refused to give thee for money, for Naboth is not alive, but dead.
16And it came to pass when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth of Jezreel, to take possession of it.
17¶ Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah, the Tishbite, saying,
18Arise, go down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, who is in Samaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he is gone down to possess it.
19And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus hath the Lord said, Hast thou murdered and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him again, saying, Thus hath the Lord said, In the same place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall the dogs also lick thy blood, even thine.
20And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O my enemy? And he answered, I have found thee because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the Lord.
21Behold, I will bring evil upon thee and will burn away thy posterity and will cut off from Ahab him that pisses against the wall and he that is kept and he that is left in Israel.
22And I will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha, the son of Ahijah, for the provocation with which thou hast provoked me to anger and made Israel to sin.
23And of Jezebel, the Lord has also spoken, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel.
24Him that dies of Ahab in the city, the dogs shall eat, and him that dies in the field, shall the fowls of the air eat.
25(Truly there was none like unto Ahab, who sold himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel his wife incited him.
26He was very abominable, following idols, according to all the things that the Amorites did, whom the Lord cast out before the sons of Israel.)
27And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh and fasted and slept in sackcloth and went softly.
28Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah, the Tishbite, saying,
29Seest thou how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days, but in his son’s days I will bring the evil upon his house.
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The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International
1 Kings 21
21
Naboth’s Vineyard
1Now there was a man named Naboth, from Jezreel, who owned a vineyard in Jezreel beside the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. 2One day Ahab said to Naboth, “Since your vineyard is so convenient to my palace, I would like to buy it to use as a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard in exchange, or if you prefer, I will pay you for it.”
3But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance that was passed down by my ancestors.”
4So Ahab went home angry and sullen because of Naboth’s answer. The king went to bed with his face to the wall and refused to eat!
5“What’s the matter?” his wife Jezebel asked him. “What’s made you so upset that you’re not eating?”
6“I asked Naboth to sell me his vineyard or trade it, but he refused!” Ahab told her.
7“Are you the king of Israel or not?” Jezebel demanded. “Get up and eat something, and don’t worry about it. I’ll get you Naboth’s vineyard!”
8So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and other leaders of the town where Naboth lived. 9In her letters she commanded: “Call the citizens together for a time of fasting, and give Naboth a place of honor. 10And then seat two scoundrels across from him who will accuse him of cursing God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.”
11So the elders and other town leaders followed the instructions Jezebel had written in the letters. 12They called for a fast and put Naboth at a prominent place before the people. 13Then the two scoundrels came and sat down across from him. And they accused Naboth before all the people, saying, “He cursed God and the king.” So he was dragged outside the town and stoned to death. 14The town leaders then sent word to Jezebel, “Naboth has been stoned to death.”
15When Jezebel heard the news, she said to Ahab, “You know the vineyard Naboth wouldn’t sell you? Well, you can have it now! He’s dead!” 16So Ahab immediately went down to the vineyard of Naboth to claim it.
17But the Lord said to Elijah,#21:17 Hebrew Elijah the Tishbite; also in 21:28. 18“Go down to meet King Ahab of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He will be at Naboth’s vineyard in Jezreel, claiming it for himself. 19Give him this message: ‘This is what the Lord says: Wasn’t it enough that you killed Naboth? Must you rob him, too? Because you have done this, dogs will lick your blood at the very place where they licked the blood of Naboth!’”
20“So, my enemy, you have found me!” Ahab exclaimed to Elijah.
“Yes,” Elijah answered, “I have come because you have sold yourself to what is evil in the Lord’s sight. 21So now the Lord says,#21:21 As in Greek version; Hebrew lacks So now the Lord says. ‘I will bring disaster on you and consume you. I will destroy every one of your male descendants, slave and free alike, anywhere in Israel! 22I am going to destroy your family as I did the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat and the family of Baasha son of Ahijah, for you have made me very angry and have led Israel into sin.’
23“And regarding Jezebel, the Lord says, ‘Dogs will eat Jezebel’s body at the plot of land in Jezreel.#21:23 As in several Hebrew manuscripts, Syriac, and Latin Vulgate (see also 2 Kgs 9:26, 36); most Hebrew manuscripts read at the city wall.’
24“The members of Ahab’s family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by vultures.”
25(No one else so completely sold himself to what was evil in the Lord’s sight as Ahab did under the influence of his wife Jezebel. 26His worst outrage was worshiping idols#21:26 The Hebrew term (literally round things) probably alludes to dung. just as the Amorites had done—the people whom the Lord had driven out from the land ahead of the Israelites.)
27But when Ahab heard this message, he tore his clothing, dressed in burlap, and fasted. He even slept in burlap and went about in deep mourning.
28Then another message from the Lord came to Elijah: 29“Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has done this, I will not do what I promised during his lifetime. It will happen to his sons; I will destroy his dynasty.”
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