1 Kings 21 | King James Version

King James Version

1 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' 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' days will I bring the evil upon his house.

New International Reader’s Version

Naboth’s vineyard

1 Some time later King Ahab wanted a certain vineyard. It belonged to Naboth from Jezreel. The vineyard was in Jezreel. It was close to the palace of Ahab, the king of Samaria. 2 Ahab said to Naboth, ‘Let me have your vineyard. It’s close to my palace. I want to use it for a vegetable garden. I’ll trade you a better vineyard for it. Or, if you prefer, I’ll pay you what it’s worth.’ 3 But Naboth replied, ‘May the LORD keep me from giving you the land my family handed down to me.’ 4 So Ahab went home. He was angry. He was in a bad mood because of what Naboth from Jezreel had said. He had told Ahab, ‘I won’t give you the land my family handed down to me.’ So Ahab lay on his bed. He was in a very bad mood. He wouldn’t even eat anything. 5 His wife Jezebel came in. She asked him, ‘Why are you in such a bad mood? Why won’t you eat anything?’ 6 He answered her, ‘Because I spoke to Naboth from Jezreel. I said, “Sell me your vineyard. Or, if you prefer, I’ll give you another vineyard in its place.” But he said, “I won’t sell you my vineyard.” ’ 7 His wife Jezebel said, ‘Is this how the king of Israel acts? Get up! Eat something! Cheer up. I’ll get you the vineyard of Naboth from Jezreel.’ 8 So she wrote some letters in Ahab’s name. She stamped them with his royal seal. Then she sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in the city where Naboth lived. 9 In those letters she wrote, ‘Announce a day when people are supposed to go without eating. Have Naboth sit in an important place among the people. 10 But put two worthless and evil men in seats opposite him. Get them to bring charges that he has cursed God and the king. Then take him out of the city. Kill him by throwing stones at him.’ 11 So the elders and nobles who lived in that city did what Jezebel wanted. They did everything she instructed in the letters she had written to them. 12 They announced a day of fasting. They had Naboth sit in an important place among the people. 13 Then two worthless and evil men came and sat opposite him. They brought charges against Naboth in front of the people. The two men said, ‘Naboth has cursed God and the king.’ So they took him outside the city. They killed him by throwing stones at him. 14 Then they sent a message to Jezebel. They said, ‘Naboth is dead. We killed him by throwing stones at him.’ 15 Jezebel heard that Naboth had been killed. As soon as she heard it, she said to Ahab, ‘Get up. Take over the vineyard of Naboth from Jezreel. It’s the one he wouldn’t sell to you. He isn’t alive anymore. He’s dead.’ 16 Ahab heard that Naboth was dead. So Ahab got up and went down to take over Naboth’s vineyard. 17 Then a message from the LORD came to Elijah, who was from Tishbe. The LORD said, 18 ‘Go down to see Ahab, the king of Israel. He rules in Samaria. You will find him in Naboth’s vineyard. Ahab has gone there to take it over. 19 Tell him, “The LORD says, ‘Haven’t you murdered a man? Haven’t you taken over his property?’ ” Then tell Ahab, “The LORD says, ‘Dogs licked up Naboth’s blood. In that same place dogs will lick up your blood. Yes, I said your blood!’ ” ’ 20 Ahab said to Elijah, ‘My enemy! You have found me!’ ‘I have found you,’ he answered. ‘That’s because you gave yourself over to do evil things. You did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. 21 So the LORD says, “I am going to bring horrible trouble on you. I will destroy your children after you. I will destroy every male in Israel who is related to you. It does not matter whether they are slaves or free. 22 I will make your royal house like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. I will make it like the house of Baasha, the son of Ahijah. You have made me very angry. You have caused Israel to sin.” 23 ‘The LORD also says, “Dogs will eat up Jezebel near the wall of Jezreel.” 24 ‘Some of the people who belong to Ahab will die in the city. Dogs will eat them up. Others will die in the country. The birds will eat them.’ 25 There was never anyone like Ahab. He gave himself over to do what was evil in the sight of the LORD. His wife Jezebel talked him into it. 26 He acted in the most evil way. He worshipped statues of gods. He acted like the Amorites. The LORD drove them out to make room for Israel. 27 When Ahab heard what Elijah had said, he tore his clothes. He put on the rough clothing people wear when they’re sad. He went without eating. He even slept in his clothes. He went around looking sad. 28 Then a message from the LORD came to Elijah, who was from Tishbe. The LORD said, 29 ‘Have you seen how Ahab has made himself humble in my sight? Because he has done that, I will not bring trouble on him while he lives. But I will bring it on his royal house when his son is king.’