| Chapter
21 |
| 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'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. |
