1En mand, som hed Nabot, havde en vingård i Jizre’el i nærheden af et af kong Ahabs paladser.2En dag sagde kongen til ham: „Jeg vil have, at du sælger mig din vingård! Jeg har planer om at bruge den til køkkenhave, for den ligger jo lige ved mit palads. Jeg kan give dig en bedre vingård i bytte eller betale for den kontant, hvis du ønsker det.”3Men Nabot svarede: „Gud forbyde, at jeg skulle sælge min slægtsgård!”4Så måtte Ahab gå hjem til paladset med uforrettet sag. Han var godt sur over Nabots afslag, og han ville ikke spise, men lagde sig i sin seng og vendte ansigtet ind mod væggen.5„Hvad i alverden er der i vejen med dig?” spurgte hans kone, Jezabel. „Hvorfor har du mistet appetitten? Hvad er du så vred over?”6„Jeg snakkede med Nabot om, at jeg ville købe hans vingård eller bytte den med en anden,” forklarede Ahab. „Men han ville ikke af med den!”7„Ahab!” udbrød Jezabel. „Er det dig, der er konge i Israel, eller hvad? Hvis du ikke kan få fat i en sølle vingård, så skal jeg nok sørge for at få den til dig! Spis nu og hold op med at være sur.”8Derpå skrev Jezabel et brev i Ahabs navn, forseglede det med det kongelige segl og sendte det til de ledende mænd i byen.9I brevet stod der: „Udråb en fastedag og sørg for at anbringe Nabot på en fremtrædende plads i forsamlingen.10Sørg for at få to slyngler til at sidde over for ham og få dem til at anklage Nabot for at have forbandet Gud og kongen. Før ham derefter bort og sten ham til døde.”11Byens ledere fulgte Jezabels instrukser.12De sammenkaldte til et møde og anbragte Nabot på en fremtrædende plads.13Så kom de to slyngler, og efter at have sat sig over for Nabot fremførte de deres anklager, som gik ud på, at han skulle have forbandet Gud og kongen. Derefter førte man ham uden for byen, stenede ham til døde14og underrettede straks Jezabel om hans død.15Så snart Jezabel hørte, at Nabot var død, gik hun til kong Ahab og sagde: „Nu kan du godt stå op. Nabot er nemlig død, så du kan roligt gå ned og overtage den vingård, han ikke ville sælge til dig!”16Så gik Ahab ned til vingården for at overtage den.17Men Herren sagde til Elias:18„Opsøg kong Ahab! Du vil finde ham i færd med at overtage Nabots vingård.19Giv ham så følgende budskab fra mig: Er det ikke nok, at du har myrdet Nabot? Vil du gøre ondt værre ved at stjæle hans ejendom? Som straf for din synd skal hundene slikke dit blod uden for byen, ligesom de slikkede Nabots!”20Elias gik derfor hen til kongen. „Nå, så min gamle fjende er ude efter mig!” sagde Ahab gnavent til Elias. „Ja,” svarede Elias, „jeg er ude efter dig, fordi du har solgt din sjæl til at gøre, hvad der er ondt i Herrens øjne!21Herren vil ramme dig med ulykke og fjerne din slægt som affald. Han vil udrydde hver og en af dine mandlige slægtninge, uden undtagelse!22Herren vil udrydde din slægt, som han udryddede Jeroboams slægt og Bashas slægt, for du har gjort oprør mod ham og ført Israel ud i synd.23Herren har også fortalt mig, at hundene skal æde Jezabels lig ved Jizre’els bymur.24Dem fra din slægt, der bliver dræbt i byen, vil hundene æde, og dem, som bliver dræbt på landet, vil fuglene æde.”25Aldrig har der været nogen konge, der som Ahab solgte sin sjæl til at gøre, hvad der var ondt i Herrens øjne. Det var hans kone Jezabel, der forførte ham til det.26Hans skyld blev ikke mindre ved, at han tilbad de samme afskyelige afguder som amoritterne—det folk, som Herren engang havde jaget ud af landet for at skaffe plads for Israels folk.27Da Ahab hørte Elias’ profetier, rev han desperat sit tøj i stykker, tog en sæk om sig på den bare krop og fastede. Han sov endda med sækken på og gik tavs og nedtrykt omkring.28Da sagde Herren til Elias:29„Har du set, hvordan Ahab ydmyger sig for mig? Fordi han ydmyger sig, vil jeg ikke udrydde hans slægt i hans egen levetid, men vente til hans søn overtager magten.”
1Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. (1.Kong 18,45)2And after this Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house, and I will give you a better vineyard for it; or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value in money.” (1.Sam 8,14)3But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.” (3.Mos 25,23; 4.Mos 36,7; Ez 46,18)4And Ahab went into his house vexed and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said 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. (1.Kong 20,43)5But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, “Why is your spirit so vexed that you eat no food?”6And 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 please you, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’”7And Jezebel his wife said to him, “Do you now govern Israel? Arise and eat bread and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”8So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and she sent the letters to the elders and the leaders who lived with Naboth in his city. (Ruth 4,2; 1.Kong 20,7; Ester 3,12)9And she wrote in the letters, “Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people.10And set two worthless men opposite him, and let them bring a charge against him, saying, ‘You have cursed[1] God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.” (2.Mos 22,28; 3.Mos 24,16; 5.Mos 13,13; Ap G 6,11; Ap G 23,5)11And the men of his city, the elders and the leaders who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them. As it was written in the letters that she had sent to them, (1.Kong 21,8)12they proclaimed a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people. (Es 58,4)13And the two worthless men came in and sat opposite him. And the worthless men brought a charge against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones.14Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned; he is dead.”15As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, 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 dead.”16And as soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
The Lord Condemns Ahab
17Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, (Salm 9,12)18“Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession. (1.Kong 16,24)19And you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Have you killed and also taken possession?”’ And you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your own blood.”’” (1.Kong 22,38; 2.Kong 9,26)20Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord. (1.Kong 18,17; 1.Kong 21,25; 2.Kong 17,17; Rom 7,14)21Behold, I will bring disaster upon you. I will utterly burn you up, and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel. (1.Kong 14,10; 2.Kong 9,8)22And I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the anger to which you have provoked me, and because you have made Israel to sin. (1.Kong 14,16; 1.Kong 15,29; 1.Kong 16,3; 1.Kong 16,11)23And of Jezebel the Lord also said, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel within the walls of Jezreel.’ (2.Sam 20,15; 2.Kong 9,36)24Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone of his who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat.” (1.Kong 14,11; 1.Kong 16,4)
Ahab’s Repentance
25(There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited. (1.Kong 16,30)26He acted very abominably in going after idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord cast out before the people of Israel.) (1.Mos 15,16; 1.Kong 15,12; 2.Kong 17,12; 2.Kong 21,11)27And when Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly. (2.Sam 3,31; 2.Sam 12,16; 2.Kong 6,30)28And the word of the Lord 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 the disaster in his days; but in his son’s days I will bring the disaster upon his house.” (2.Kong 9,25)