1 Kings 21
New American Standard Bible
Ahab Covets Naboth’s Vineyard
21 Now it came about after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in (A)Jezreel beside the palace of Ahab, the king of Samaria. 2 And Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “(B)Give me your vineyard so that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is close beside my house, and I will give you a better vineyard in place of it; if [a]you prefer, I will give you what [b]it is worth in money.” 3 But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid me (C)that I would give you the inheritance of my fathers!” 4 (D)So Ahab entered his house sullen and furious because of the [c]answer that Naboth the Jezreelite had given to him, since he said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed and turned his face away, and ate no [d]food.
5 But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, “How is it that your spirit is so sullen that you are not eating [e]food?” 6 So he said to her, “It is because I was speaking to Naboth the Jezreelite and saying to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you a vineyard in place of it.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’” 7 Jezebel his wife said to him, “(E)Do you now [f]reign over Israel? Arise, eat bread, and let your heart be joyful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
8 (F)So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to (G)the elders and to the nobles who were living with Naboth in his city. 9 Now she had written in the letters, saying, “Proclaim a fast and seat Naboth at the head of the people; 10 and seat two (H)worthless men opposite him, and have them testify against him, saying, ‘(I)You [g]cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and (J)stone him [h]to death.”
Jezebel’s Plot
11 So the men of his city, the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did just as Jezebel had sent word to them, just as it was written in the letters which she had sent them. 12 They (K)proclaimed a fast, and seated Naboth at the head of the people. 13 Then the two worthless men came in and sat opposite him; and the worthless men testified against him, against Naboth, before the people, saying, “Naboth [i]cursed God and the king.” (L)So they took him outside the city and stoned him [j]to death with stones. 14 Then they sent word to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned and is dead.”
15 And when 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.” 16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab got up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
17 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 18 “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, (M)who is 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, ‘This is what the Lord says: “(N)Have you murdered and also taken possession?”’ And you shall speak to him, saying, ‘The Lord says this: “(O)In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, the dogs will lick up your blood, yours as well.”’”
20 Then Ahab said to Elijah, “(P)Have you found me, enemy of mine?” And he [k]answered, “I have found you, (Q)because you have given yourself over to do evil in the sight of the Lord. 21 Behold, I am bringing disaster upon you, and I (R)will utterly sweep you away, and will eliminate from Ahab every male, both [l]bond and free in Israel; 22 and (S)I will make your house (T)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 because you (U)have misled Israel into sin. 23 The Lord has also spoken of Jezebel, saying, ‘(V)The dogs will eat Jezebel in the [m]territory of Jezreel.’ 24 (W)The one belonging to Ahab, who dies in the city, the dogs will eat; and the one who dies in the field, the birds of the sky will eat.”
25 (X)There certainly was no one like Ahab who gave himself over to do evil in the sight of the Lord, [n]because Jezebel his wife incited him. 26 (Y)He also acted very despicably in following idols, (Z)conforming to everything that the Amorites had done, whom the Lord drove out from the sons of Israel.
27 Yet it came about, when Ahab heard these words, that (AA)he tore his clothes and put [o]on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about despondently. 28 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29 “Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; I will bring the disaster upon his house (AB)in his son’s days.”
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 21:2 Lit it is good in your eyes
- 1 Kings 21:2 Lit this
- 1 Kings 21:4 Lit word...had spoken to him
- 1 Kings 21:4 Lit bread
- 1 Kings 21:5 Lit bread
- 1 Kings 21:7 Lit exercise kingship
- 1 Kings 21:10 Lit blessed, an ancient euphemism to avoid any mention of the cursing of God
- 1 Kings 21:10 Lit so that he dies
- 1 Kings 21:13 See note 1 v 10
- 1 Kings 21:13 Lit with stones so that he died
- 1 Kings 21:20 Lit said
- 1 Kings 21:21 Or child and adult
- 1 Kings 21:23 As in some mss and ancient versions; MT rampart
- 1 Kings 21:25 Or whom Jezebel his wife
- 1 Kings 21:27 Lit sackcloth on his flesh
1 Kings 21
King James Version
21 And 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.
2 And 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.
3 And Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.
4 And 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.
5 But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread?
6 And 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.
7 And 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.
8 So 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.
9 And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people:
10 And 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.
11 And 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.
12 They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.
13 And 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.
14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead.
15 And 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.
16 And 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.
17 And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
18 Arise, 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.
19 And 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.
20 And 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.
21 Behold, 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,
22 And 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.
23 And of Jezebel also spake the Lord, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.
24 Him 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.
25 But 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.
26 And 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.
27 And 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.
28 And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
29 Seest 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's days will I bring the evil upon his house.
1 Kings 21
Living Bible
21 Naboth, a man from Jezreel, had a vineyard on the outskirts of the city near King Ahab’s palace. 2 One day the king talked to him about selling him this land.
“I want it for a garden,” the king explained, “because it’s so convenient to the palace.” He offered cash or, if Naboth preferred, a piece of better land in trade.
3 But Naboth replied, “Not on your life! That land has been in my family for generations.”
4 So Ahab went back to the palace angry and sullen. He refused to eat and went to bed with his face to the wall!
5 “What in the world is the matter?” his wife, Jezebel, asked him. “Why aren’t you eating? What has made you so upset and angry?”
6 “I asked Naboth to sell me his vineyard or to trade it, and he refused!” Ahab told her.
7 “Are you the king of Israel or not?” Jezebel demanded. “Get up and eat and don’t worry about it. I’ll get you Naboth’s vineyard!”
8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and addressed them to the civic leaders of Jezreel, where Naboth lived. 9 In her letter she commanded: “Call the citizens together for fasting and prayer.[a] Then summon Naboth, 10 and find two scoundrels who will accuse him of cursing God and the king. Then take him out and execute him.”
11 The city fathers followed the queen’s instructions. 12 They called the meeting and put Naboth on trial. 13 Then two men who had no conscience accused him of cursing God and the king; and he was dragged outside the city and stoned to death. 14 The city officials then sent word to Jezebel that Naboth was dead.
15 When 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!”
16 So Ahab went down to the vineyard to claim it.
17 But the Lord said to Elijah, 18 “Go to Samaria to meet King Ahab. He will be at Naboth’s vineyard, taking possession of it. 19 Give him this message from me: ‘Isn’t killing Naboth bad enough? Must you rob him too? Because you have done this, dogs shall lick your blood outside the city just as they licked the blood of Naboth!’”
20 “So my enemy has found me!” Ahab exclaimed to Elijah.
“Yes,” Elijah answered, “I have come to place God’s curse upon you because you have sold yourself to the devil.[b] 21 The Lord is going to bring great harm to you and sweep you away; he will not let a single one of your male descendants survive! 22 He is going to destroy your family as he did the family of King Jeroboam and the family of King Baasha, for you have made him very angry and have led all of Israel into sin. 23 The Lord has also told me that the dogs of Jezreel shall tear apart the body of your wife, Jezebel. 24 The members of your family who die in the city shall be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the country shall be eaten by vultures.”
25 No one else was so completely sold out to the devil as Ahab, for his wife, Jezebel, encouraged him to do every sort of evil. 26 He was especially guilty because he worshiped idols just as the Amorites did—the people whom the Lord had chased out of the land to make room for the people of Israel. 27 When Ahab heard these prophecies, he tore his clothing, put on rags, fasted, slept in sackcloth, and went about in deep humility.
28 Then another message 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 descendants.”
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 21:9 Call the citizens together for fasting and prayer. This inquiry was perhaps ostensibly to discover whose sins had caused the famine.
- 1 Kings 21:20 because you have sold yourself to the devil, literally, “I have found you because you have sold yourself to that which is evil in the sight of the Lord.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.