Kings III 20
1 And Nabuthai the Jezraelite had a vineyard, near the threshingfloor of Achaab king of Samaria.
And Ben-Hadad king of Aram hath gathered all his force, and thirty and two kings [are] with him, and horse and chariot, and he goeth up and layeth siege against Samaria, and fighteth with it,
2 And Achaab spoke to Nabuthai, saying, Give me thy vineyard, and I will have it for a garden of herbs, for it [is] near my house: and I will give thee another vineyard better than it; or if it please thee, I will give thee money, the price of this thy vineyard, and I will have it for a garden of herbs.
and sendeth messengers unto Ahab king of Israel, to the city,
3 And Nabuthai said to Achaab, My God forbid me that I should give thee the inheritance of my fathers.
and saith to him, 'Thus said Ben-Hadad, 'Thy silver and thy gold are mine, and thy wives and thy sons — the best — are mine.'
4 And the spirit of Achaab was troubled, and he lay down upon his bed, and covered his face, and ate no bread.
And the king of Israel answereth and saith, 'According to thy word, my lord, O king: I [am] thine, and all that I have.'
5 And Jezabel his wife went in to him, and spoke to him, [saying], Why [is] thy spirit troubled, and [why] dost thou eat no bread?
And the messengers turn back and say, 'Thus spake Ben-Hadad, saying, Surely I sent unto thee, saying, Thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy sons, to me thou dost give;
6 And he said to her, Because I spoke to Nabuthai the Jezraelite, saying, Give me thy vineyard for money; or if thou wilt, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers.
for if, at this time to-morrow, I send my servants unto thee then they have searched thy house, and the houses of thy servants, and it hath been, every desirable thing of thine eyes they place in their hand, and have taken away.'
7 And Jezabel his wife said to him, Dost thou now thus act the king over Israel? arise, and eat bread, and be thine own [master], and I will give thee the vineyard of Nabuthai the Jezraelite.
And the king of Israel calleth to all the elders of the land, and saith, 'Know, I pray you, and see that evil this [one] is seeking, for he sent unto me for my wives, and for my sons, and for my silver, and for my gold, and I withheld not from him.'
8 And she wrote a letter in the name of Achaab, and sealed it with his seal, and sent the letter to the elders, and to the freemen who dwelt with Nabuthai.
And all the elders and all the people say unto him, 'Do not hearken, nor consent.'
9 And it was written in the letters, saying, Keep a fast, and set Naboth in a chief place among the people.
And he saith to the messengers of Ben-Hadad, 'Say to my lord the king, All that thou didst send for unto thy servant at the first I do, and this thing I am not able to do;' and the messengers go and take him back word.
10 And set two men, sons of transgressors, before him, and let them testify against him, saying, He blessed God and the king: and let them lead him forth, and stone him, and let them die.
And Ben-Hadad sendeth unto him, and saith, 'Thus do the gods to me, and thus do they add, if the dust of Samaria suffice for handfuls for all the people who [are] at my feet.'
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.
And the king of Israel answereth and saith, 'Speak ye: let not him who is girding on boast himself as him who is loosing [his armour].'
12 And they proclaimed a fast, and set Nebuthai in a chief place among the people.
And it cometh to pass at the hearing of this word — and he is drinking, he and the kings, in the booths — that he saith unto his servants, 'Set yourselves;' and they set themselves against the city.
13 And two men, sons of transgressors, came in, and sat opposite him, and bore witness against him, saying, Thou hast blessed God and the king. And they led him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, and he died.
And lo, a certain prophet hath come nigh unto Ahab king of Israel, and saith, 'Thus said Jehovah, 'Hast thou seen all this great multitude? lo, I am giving it into thy hand to-day, and thou hast known that I [am] Jehovah.'
14 And they sent to Jezabel, saying, Nabuthai is stoned, and is dead.
And Ahab saith, 'By whom?' and he saith, 'Thus said Jehovah, By the young men of the heads of the provinces;' and he saith, 'Who doth direct the battle?' and he saith, 'Thou.'
15 And it came to pass, when Jezabel heard [it], that she said to Achaab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Nabuthai the Jezraelite, who would not sell it to thee: for Nebuthai is not alive, for he is dead.
And he inspecteth the young men of the heads of the provinces, and they are two hundred, two and thirty, and after them he hath inspecteth the whole of the people, all the sons of Israel, seven thousand,
16 And it came to pass, when Achaab heard that Nabuthai the Jezraelite was dead, that he rent his garments, and put on sackcloth. And it came to pass afterward, that Achaab arose and went down to the vineyard of Nabuthai the Jezraelite, to take possession of it.
and they go out at noon, and Ben-Hadad is drinking — drunk in the booths, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings, helping him.
17 And the Lord spoke to Eliu the Thesbite, saying,
And the young men of the heads of the provinces go out at the first, and Ben-Hadad sendeth, and they declare to him, saying, 'Men have come out of Samaria.'
18 Arise, and go down to meet Achaab king of Israel, who is in Samaria, for he [is] in the vineyard of Nabuthai, for he has gone down thither to take possession of it.
And he saith, 'If for peace they have come out — catch them alive; and if for battle they have come out — alive catch them.'
19 And thou shalt speak to him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast slain and taken possession, therefore thus saith the Lord, In every place where the swine and the dogs have licked the blood of Nabuthai, there shall the dogs lick thy blood; and the harlots shall wash themselves in thy blood.
And these have gone out of the city — the young men of the heads of the provinces — and the force that [is] after them,
20 And Achaab said to Eliu, Hast thou found me, mine enemy? and he said, I have found [thee]: because thou hast wickedly sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger;
and smite each his man, and Aram fleeth, and Israel pursueth them, and Ben-Hadad king of Aram escapeth on a horse, and the horsemen;
21 behold, I bring evil upon thee: and I will kindle a fire after thee, and I will utterly destroy every male of Achaab, and him that is shut up and him that is left in Israel.
and the king of Israel goeth out, and smiteth the horses, and the charioteers, and hath smitten among the Aramaeans a great smiting.
22 And I will make thy house as the house of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, and as the house of Baasa son of Achia, because of the provocations wherewith thou hast provoked [me], and caused Israel to sin.
And the prophet cometh nigh unto the king of Israel, and saith to him, 'Go, strengthen thyself, and know and see that which thou dost, for at the turn of the year the king of Aram is coming up against thee.'
23 And the Lord spoke of Jezabel, saying, The dogs shall devour her within the fortification of Jezrael.
And the servants of the king of Aram said unto him, 'Gods of hills [are] their gods, therefore they were stronger than we; and yet, we fight with them in the plain — are we not stronger than they?
24 Him that is dead of Achaab in the city shall the dogs eat, and him that is dead of him in the field shall the birds of the sky eat.
'And this thing do thou: turn aside the kings each out of his place, and set captains in their stead;
25 But Achaab [did] wickedly, in that he sold himself to do that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as his wife Jezabel led him astray.
and thou, number to thee a force as the force that is fallen from thee, and horse for horse, and chariot for chariot, and we fight with them in the plain; are we not stronger than they?' and he hearkeneth to their voice, and doth so.
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.
And it cometh to pass at the turn of the year, that Ben-Hadad inspecteth the Aramaeans, and goeth up to Aphek, to battle with Israel,
27 And because of the word, Achaab was pierced with sorrow before the Lord, and he both went weeping, and rent his garment, and girt sackcloth upon his body, and fasted; he put on sackcloth also in the day that he smote Nabuthai the Jezraelite, and went his way.
and the sons of Israel have been inspected, and supported, and go to meet them, and the sons of Israel encamp before them, like two flocks of goats, and the Aramaeans have filled the land.
28 And the word of the Lord came by the hand of his servant Eliu concerning Achaab, and the Lord said,
And there cometh nigh a man of God, and speaketh unto the king of Israel, and saith, 'Thus said Jehovah, Because that the Aramaeans have said, God of hills [is] Jehovah, and He [is] not God of valleys — I have given the whole of this great multitude into thy hand, and ye have known that I [am] Jehovah.'
29 Hast thou seen how Achaab 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.
And they encamp one over-against another seven days, and it cometh to pass on the seventh day, that the battle draweth near, and the sons of Israel smite Aram — a hundred thousand footmen in one day.
30 And the son of Ader gathered all his forces, and went up and besieged Samaria, [he] and thirty-two kings with him, and all [his] horse and chariots: and they went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it.
And those left flee to Aphek, unto the city, and the wall falleth on twenty and seven chief men who are left, and Ben-Hadad hath fled, and cometh in unto the city, into the innermost part.
31 And he sent into the city to Achaab king of Israel, and said to him, Thus says the son of Ader,
And his servants say unto him, 'Lo, we pray thee, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel — that they are kind kings; let us put, we pray thee, sackcloth on our loins, and ropes on our heads, and we go out unto the king of Israel; it may be he doth keep thee alive.'
32 Thy silver and thy gold are mine, and thy wives and thy children are mine.
And they gird sackcloth on their loins, and ropes [are] on their heads, and they come in unto the king of Israel, and say, 'Thy servant Ben-Hadad hath said, Let me live, I pray thee;' and he saith, 'Is he yet alive? he [is] my brother.'
33 And the king of Israel answered and said, As thou hast said, my lord, O king, I am thine, and all mine [also].
And the men observe diligently, and hasten, and catch it from him, and say, 'Thy brother Ben-Hadad;' and he saith, 'Go ye in, bring him;' and Ben-Hadad cometh out unto him, and he causeth him to come up on the chariot.
34 And the messengers came again, and said, Thus says the son of Ader, I sent to thee, saying, Thou shalt give me thy silver and thy gold, and thy wives and thy children.
And he saith unto him, 'The cities that my father took from thy father, I give back, and streets thou dost make for thee in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria;' — 'and I, with a covenant, send thee away;' and he maketh with him a covenant, and sendeth him away.
35 For at this time to-morrow I will send my servants to thee, and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants, and it shall be that all the desirable objects of their eyes on which they shall lay their hands, they shall even take [them].
And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour by the word of Jehovah, 'Smite me, I pray thee;' and the man refuseth to smite him,
36 And the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Take notice now and consider, that this man seeks mischief: for he has sent to me concerning my wives, and concerning my sons, an concerning my daughters: I have not kept back from him my silver and my gold.
and he saith to him, 'Because that thou hast not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah, lo, thou art going from me, and the lion hath smitten thee;' and he goeth from him, and the lion findeth him, and smiteth him.
37 And the elders and all the people said to him, Hearken not, and consent not.
And he findeth another man, and saith, 'Smite me, I pray thee;' and the man smiteth him, smiting and wounding,
38 And he said to the messengers of the son of Ader, Say to your master, All things that thou hast sent to thy servant about at first I will do; but this thing I shall not be able to do. And the men departed, and carried back the answer to him.
and the prophet goeth and standeth for the king on the way, and disguiseth himself with ashes on his eyes.
39 And the son of Ader sent to him, saying, So do God to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for foxes to all the people, even my infantry.
And it cometh to pass — the king is passing by — that he hath cried unto the king, and saith, 'Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle, and lo, a man hath turned aside and bringeth in unto me a man, and saith, Keep this man; if he be at all missing, then hath thy life been for his life, or a talent of silver thou dost weigh out;
40 And the king of Israel answered and said, Let it be sufficient; let not the humpbacked boast as he that is upright.
and it cometh to pass, thy servant is working hither and thither, and he is not!' and the king of Israel saith unto him, Right [is] thy judgment; thou hast determined [it].'
41 And it came to pass when he returned him this answer, he and all the kings with him were drinking in tents: and he said to his servants, Form a trench. And they made a trench against the city.
And he hasteth and turneth aside the ashes from off his eyes, and the king of Israel discerneth him, that he [is] of the prophets,
42 And, behold, a prophet came to Achaab king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou seen this great multitude? behold, I give it this day into thine hands; and thou shalt know that I [am] the Lord.
and he saith unto him, 'Thus said Jehovah, Because thou hast sent away the man I devoted, out of [thy] hand, even thy life hath been for his life, and thy people for his people;'
43 And Achaab said, Whereby? And he said, Thus saith the Lord, by the young men of the heads of the districts. And Achaab said, Who shall begin the battle? and he said, Thou.
and the king of Israel goeth unto his house, sulky and wroth, and cometh in to Samaria.
