1 Kings 21

21 ¹ After these things, Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, beside Ahab king of Samaria's palace. ² Ahab told Naboth, "Give me your vineyard for a vegetable garden—it's next to my house. I'll give you a better vineyard, or its price in silver, if you prefer."

³ Naboth answered Ahab, "Never, before our Father, would I give you my fathers' inheritance!" ^a a v3 Under our Father's law, family land was a lasting trust handed down through generations and was never to be sold off for good; Naboth refused not out of stubbornness but out of faithfulness.

⁴ Ahab went home sullen and angry over Naboth the Jezreelite's words: "I won't give you my ancestors' inheritance." He lay on his bed, turned his face away, and refused to eat. ⁵ His wife Jezebel came and asked, "Why so sullen you won't eat?"

⁶ He replied, "I told Naboth the Jezreelite, 'Let me buy your vineyard, or if you'd rather, I'll trade you another,' but he said, 'I won't give you my vineyard.'"

⁷ His wife Jezebel said, "Is this how you reign over Israel? Get up, eat, and cheer up — I'll give you Naboth the Jezreelite's vineyard."

⁸ She wrote letters in Ahab's name, sealed with his seal, and sent them to elders and nobles living with Naboth in his city. ⁹ In the letters she wrote: "Proclaim a fast and seat Naboth at the head of the people." ¹⁰ Seat two scoundrels opposite him to testify: 'You cursed God and the king.' Take him out and stone him to death.

¹¹ His city's elders and nobles did just as Jezebel directed in the letters she sent them. ¹² They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth at the head of the people. ¹³ Two scoundrels came, sat facing him, and testified against Naboth before the people: "Naboth cursed God and the king." Then they took him outside the city and stoned him to death. ¹⁴ Then they sent word to Jezebel: "Naboth has been stoned to death."

¹⁵ When Jezebel heard Naboth was stoned, she told Ahab, "Get up, take possession of Naboth the Jezreelite's vineyard he refused to sell you. Naboth isn't alive—he's dead."

¹⁶ When Ahab heard Naboth was dead, he rose and went down to claim Naboth the Jezreelite's vineyard.

¹⁷ Then the word of our Father came to Elijah the Tishbite:

¹⁸ Get up, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel in Samaria. He's in Naboth's vineyard, gone down to take possession of it. ¹⁹ Tell him, 'This is what our Father says: Have you murdered and also seized his property?' Then say, 'This is what our Father says: Where dogs licked Naboth's blood, they will lick yours—yes, yours.'

²⁰ Ahab asked Elijah, "Have you found me, my enemy?" He answered, "I found you, because you sold yourself to do evil in our Father's eyes."

²¹ I will bring disaster on you, consume you, and cut off from Ahab every male in Israel, slave and free. ²² "I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have provoked me to anger and caused Israel to sin." ²³ And concerning Jezebel our Father also spoke: "The dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel." ²⁴ "Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs will eat, and anyone who dies in the open country the birds of the sky will eat."

²⁵ None was like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil before our Father, stirred up by his wife Jezebel. ²⁶ He acted most detestably, chasing idols like the Amorites, whom our Father drove out before Israel.

²⁷ Hearing these words, Ahab tore his clothes, covered his body with sackcloth, fasted, lay in sackcloth, and walked about dejectedly.

²⁸ Then the word of our Father came to Elijah the Tishbite:

²⁹ Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I won't bring disaster in his days; I'll bring it on his house in his son's days.