1
And Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, near the threshing floor of Ahab king of Samaria.
2
And Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, Give me your vineyard, and I will have it for a garden of herbs, for it [is] near my house; and I will give you another vineyard better than [that] one; or if it please you, I will give you money, the price of this your vineyard, and I will have it for a garden of herbs.
3
And Naboth said to Ahab, My God forbid me that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.
4
And the spirit of Ahab was troubled, and he lay down upon his bed, and covered his face, and ate no bread.
5
And Jezebel his wife went in to him, and spoke to him, [saying], Why [is] your spirit troubled, and [why] do you eat no bread?
6
And he said to her, Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite, saying, Give me your vineyard for money; or if you will, I will give you another vineyard for it; and he said, I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.
7
And Jezebel his wife said to him, Do you now thus act [this way, being] king over Israel? Arise, and eat bread, and be your own [master], and I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.
8
And she wrote a letter in the name of Ahab, and sealed it with his seal, and sent the letter to the elders, and to the freemen who dwelt with Naboth.
9
And it was written in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth in a chief place among the people.
10
And set two men, sons of transgressors, before him, and let them testify against him, saying, He blasphemed God and the king: and let them lead him forth, and stone him, and let him die.
11
And the men of his city, the elders, and the nobles who dwelt in his city, did as Jezabel sent to them, and as it had been written in the letters which she sent to them.
12
And they proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth in a chief place among the people.
13
And two men, sons of transgressors, came in, and sat opposite him, and bore witness against him, saying, You have 6blasphemed God and the king. And they led him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, and he died.
14
And they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth has been stoned, and is dead.
15
And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard [it], that she said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, who would not sell it to you; for Naboth is not alive, for he is dead.
16
And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth the Jezreelite was dead, that he tore his clothes, and put on sackcloth. And it came to pass afterward, that Ahab arose and went down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
17
And the Lord spoke to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
18
Arise, and go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria, for he [is] in the vineyard of Naboth, for he has gone down there to take possession of it.
19
And you shall speak to him, saying, Thus says the Lord: Forasmuch as you have slain and taken possession, therefore thus says the Lord, In every place where the swine and the dogs have licked the blood of Naboth, there shall the dogs lick your blood; and the harlots shall wash themselves in your blood.
20
And Ahab said to Elijah, Have you found me, O my enemy? And he said, I have found [you]; because you have wickedly sold yourself to work evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger;
21
behold, I bring evil upon you; and I will kindle a fire after you, and I will utterly destroy every male of Ahab, and him that is shut up and him that is left in Israel.
22
And I will make your house as the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and as the house of Baasha son of Ahijah, because of the provocations in which you have provoked [Me], and caused Israel to sin.
23
And the Lord spoke of Jezebel, saying, The dogs shall devour her within the walls of Jezreel.
24
Him that is dead of Ahab in the city shall the dogs eat, and him that dies in the field of Ahab shall the birds of the sky eat.
25
But Ahab [did] wickedly, in that he sold himself to do that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as his wife Jezebel led him astray.
26
And he did very abominably in following after the abominations, according to all that the Amorite did, whom the Lord utterly destroyed from before the children of Israel.
27
And because of the word, Ahab was pierced with sorrow before the Lord, and he both went weeping, and tore his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his body, and fasted; he put on sackcloth also in the day that he smote Naboth the Jezreelite, and went his way.
28
And the word of the Lord came by the hand of his servant Elijah concerning Ahab, and the Lord said,
29
Have you seen how Ahab has been pricked [to the heart] before Me? I will not bring on the evil in his days, but in his son's days will I bring on the evil.
