1And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.2And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or , if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.3And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.4And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.5But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread?6And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, 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 thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.8So she wrote letters in Ahab' 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 on high among 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 on high among the people.13And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme 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 is stoned, and is dead.15And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, 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 the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.17And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,18Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it.19And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.20And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine 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 take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel,22And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin.23And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.24Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat.25But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.26And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the LORD cast out before the children 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 lay in sackcloth, and went softly.28And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,29Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son' days will I bring the evil upon his house.
1 Kings 21
English Standard Version
Naboth’s Vineyard
1Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. (1Ki 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.” (1Sa 8:14)3But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.” (Le 25:23; Nu 36:7; Eze 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. (1Ki 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. (Ru 4:2; 1Ki 20:7; Es 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.” (Ex 22:28; Le 24:16; De 13:13; Ac 6:11; Ac 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, (1Ki 21:8)12they proclaimed a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people. (Isa 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, (Ps 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. (1Ki 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.”’” (1Ki 22:38; 2Ki 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. (1Ki 18:17; 1Ki 21:25; 2Ki 17:17; Ro 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. (1Ki 14:10; 2Ki 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. (1Ki 14:16; 1Ki 15:29; 1Ki 16:3; 1Ki 16:11)23And of Jezebel the Lord also said, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel within the walls of Jezreel.’ (2Sa 20:15; 2Ki 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.” (1Ki 14:11; 1Ki 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. (1Ki 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.) (Ge 15:16; 1Ki 15:12; 2Ki 17:12; 2Ki 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. (2Sa 3:31; 2Sa 12:16; 2Ki 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.” (2Ki 9:25)