1 Kings 21
21
Naboth's Vineyard
1Near King Ahab's palace in Jezreel there was a vineyard owned by a man named Naboth. 2One day Ahab said to Naboth, “Let me have your vineyard; it is close to my palace, and I want to use the land for a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard for it, or, if you prefer, I will pay you a fair price.”
3“I inherited this vineyard from my ancestors,” Naboth replied. “The LORD forbid that I should let you have it!”
4Ahab went home, depressed and angry over what Naboth had said to him. He lay down on his bed, facing the wall, and would not eat. 5His wife Jezebel went to him and asked, “Why are you so depressed? Why won't you eat?”
6He answered, “Because of what Naboth said to me. I offered to buy his vineyard, or, if he preferred, to give him another one for it, but he told me that I couldn't have it!”
7“Well, are you the king or aren't you?” Jezebel replied. “Get out of bed, cheer up and eat. I will get you Naboth's vineyard!”
8Then she wrote some letters, signed them with Ahab's name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the officials and leading citizens of Jezreel. 9The letters said: “Proclaim a day of fasting, call the people together, and give Naboth the place of honour. 10Get a couple of scoundrels to accuse him to his face of cursing God and the king. Then take him out of the city and stone him to death.”
11The officials and leading citizens of Jezreel did what Jezebel had commanded. 12They proclaimed a day of fasting, called the people together, and gave Naboth the place of honour. 13The two scoundrels publicly accused him of cursing God and the king, and so he was taken outside the city and stoned to death. 14The message was sent to Jezebel: “Naboth has been put to death.”
15As soon as Jezebel received the message, she said to Ahab, “Naboth is dead. Now go and take possession of the vineyard which he refused to sell to you.” 16At once Ahab went to the vineyard to take possession of it.
17Then the LORD said to Elijah, the prophet from Tishbe, 18“Go to King Ahab of Samaria. You will find him in Naboth's vineyard, about to take possession of it. 19#1 Kgs 22.38Tell him that I, the LORD, say to him, ‘After murdering the man, are you taking over his property as well?’ Tell him that this is what I say: ‘In the very place that the dogs licked up Naboth's blood they will lick up your blood!’ ”
20When Ahab saw Elijah, he said, “Have you caught up with me, my enemy?”
“Yes, I have,” Elijah answered. “You have devoted yourself completely to doing what is wrong in the LORD's sight. 21So the LORD says to you, ‘I will bring disaster on you. I will do away with you and get rid of every male in your family, young and old alike. 22Your family will become like the family of King Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the family of King Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have stirred up my anger by leading Israel into sin.’ 23#2 Kgs 9.36And concerning Jezebel, the LORD says that dogs will eat her body in the city of Jezreel. 24Any of your relatives who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and any who die in the open country will be eaten by vultures.”
25(There was no one else who had devoted himself so completely to doing wrong in the LORD's sight as Ahab — all at the urging of his wife Jezebel. 26He committed the most shameful sins by worshipping idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the LORD had driven out of the land as the people of Israel advanced.)
27When Elijah finished speaking, Ahab tore his clothes, took them off, and put on sackcloth. He refused food, slept in the sackcloth, and went about gloomy and depressed.
28The LORD said to the prophet Elijah, 29“Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Since he has done this, I will not bring disaster on him during his lifetime; it will be during his son's lifetime that I will bring disaster on Ahab's family.”
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
1 Kings 21
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.
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."
3 Naboth responded to him, "May the Lord be gracious to me, lest I give to you the inheritance of my fathers."
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.
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?"
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.' "
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."
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.
9 And this was the judgment of the letters: "Proclaim a fast, and cause Naboth to sit among the first rulers of the people.
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."
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.
12 They proclaimed a fast, and they caused Naboth to sit among the first rulers of the people.
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.
14 And they sent to Jezebel, saying, "Naboth has been stoned, and he has died."
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."
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.
17 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah, the Tishbite, saying:
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.
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.' "
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:
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.
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.'
23 And about Jezebel also, the Lord spoke, saying: 'The dogs shall consume Jezebel in the field of Jezreel.
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.' "
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.
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.
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.
28 And the word of the Lord came to Elijah, the Tishbite, saying:
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."
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