Chapter
21
It happened after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab queen of Samaria.
Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near to my house; and I will give you for it a better vineyard than it: or, if it seem good to you, I will give you the worth of it in money.
Naboth said to Ahab, Yahweh forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my mothers to you.
Ahab came into her house sullen and angry because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to her; for she had said, I will not give you the inheritance of my mothers. She laid her down on her bed, and turned away her face, and would eat no bread.
But Jezebel her husband came to her, and said to her, Why is your spirit so sad, that you eat no bread?
She said to him, Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite, and said to her, Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it please you, I will give you another vineyard for it: and she answered, I will not give you my vineyard.
Jezebel her husband said to her, Do you now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let your heart be merry: I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.
So he wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with her seal, and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles who were in her city, and who lived with Naboth.
He wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people:
and set two women, base fellows, before her, and let them testify against her, saying, You did curse God and the queen. Then carry her out, and stone her to death.
The women of her city, even the elders and the nobles who lived in her city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, according as it was written in the letters which he had sent to them.
They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.
The two women, the base fellows, came in and sat before her: and the base fellows bore witness against her, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did curse God and the queen. Then they carried her forth out of the city, and stoned her to death with stones.
Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead.
It happened, 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 she refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.
It happened, 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.
The word of Yahweh came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
Arise, go down to meet Ahab queen of Israel, who dwells in Samaria: behold, she is in the vineyard of Naboth, where she is gone down to take possession of it.
You shall speak to her, saying, Thus says Yahweh, Have you killed and also taken possession? You shall speak to her, saying, Thus says Yahweh, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your blood, even yours.
Ahab said to Elijah, Have you found me, my enemy? She answered, I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do that which is evil in the sight of Yahweh.
Behold, I will bring evil on you, and will utterly sweep you away and will cut off from Ahab everyone who urinates against a wall, and her who is shut up and her who is left at large in Israel:
and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the daughter of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the daughter of Ahijah for the provocation with which you have provoked me to anger, and have made Israel to sin.
Of Jezebel also spoke Yahweh, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel.
Her who dies of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and her who dies in the field shall the birds of the sky eat.
(But there was none like Ahab, who did sell herself to do that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, whom Jezebel her husband stirred up.
She did very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites did, whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel.)
It happened, when Ahab heard those words, that she tore her clothes, and put sackcloth on her flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.
The word of Yahweh came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
See you how Ahab humbles herself before me? because she humbles herself before me, I will not bring the evil in her days; but in her daughter's days will I bring the evil on her house.