Kings III 21

1 And Achaab numbered the young men the heads of the districts, and they were two hundred and thirty: and afterwards he numbered the people, [even] every man fit for war, seven thousand.

And it cometh to pass, after these things, a vineyard hath been to Naboth the Jezreelite, that [is] in Jezreel, near the palace of Ahab king of Samaria,

2 And he went forth at noon, an the son of Ader was drinking [and] getting drunk in Socchoth, he and the kings, [even] thirty and two kings, his allies.

and Ahab speaketh unto Naboth, saying, 'Give to me thy vineyard, and it is to me for a garden of green herbs, for it [is] near by my house, and I give to thee in its stead a better vineyard than it; if good in thine eyes, I give to thee silver — its price.'

3 And the young men the heads of the districts went forth first; and they send and report to the king of Syria, saying, There are men come forth out of Samaria.

And Naboth saith unto Ahab, 'Far be it from me, by Jehovah, my giving the inheritance of my fathers to thee;'

4 And he said to them, If they come forth peaceably, take them alive; and if they come forth to war, take them alive:

and Ahab cometh in unto his house, sulky and wroth, because of the word that Naboth the Jezreelite hath spoken unto him when he saith, 'I do not give to thee the inheritance of my fathers,' and he lieth down on his bed, and turneth round his face, and hath not eaten bread.

5 and let not the young men the heads of the districts go forth of the city. And the force that was behind them

And Jezebel his wife cometh in unto him, and speaketh unto him, 'What [is] this? — thy spirit sulky, and thou art not eating bread!'

6 smote each one the man next to him; and each one a second time smote the man next to him: and Syria fled, and Israel pursued them; and the son of Ader, [even] the king of Syria, escapes on the horse of a horseman.

And he saith unto her, 'Because I speak unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and say to him, Give to me thy vineyard for money, or if thou desire, I give to thee a vineyard in its stead; and he saith, I do not give to thee my vineyard.'

7 And the king of Israel went forth, and took all the horses and the chariots, and smote [the enemy] with a great slaughter in Syria.

And Jezebel his wife saith unto him, 'Thou now dost execute rule over Israel! rise, eat bread, and let thy heart be glad, — I do give to thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.'

8 And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said, Strengthen thyself, and observe, and see what thou shalt do; for at the return of the year the son of Ader king of Syria comes up against thee.

And she writeth letters in the name of Ahab, and sealeth with his seal, and sendeth the letters unto the elders, and unto the freemen, who are in his city, those dwelling with Naboth,

9 And the servants of the king of Syria, even they said, The God of Israel [is] a God of mountains, and not a God of valleys; therefore has he prevailed against us: but if we should fight against them in the plain, verily we shall prevail against them.

and she writeth in the letters, saying, 'Proclaim a fast, and cause Naboth to sit at the head of the people,

10 And do thou this thing: Send away the kings, each one to his place, and set princes in their stead.

and cause two men — sons of worthlessness — to sit over-against him, and they testify of him, saying, Thou hast blessed God and Melech; and they have brought him out, and stoned him, and he dieth.'

11 And we will give thee [another] army according to the army that was destroyed, and cavalry according to the cavalry, and chariots according to the chariots, and we will fight against them in the plain, and we shall prevail against them. And he hearkened to their voice, and did so.

And the men of his city, the elders and the freemen who are dwelling in his city, do as Jezebel hath sent unto them, as written in the letters that she sent unto them,

12 And it came to pass at the return of the year, that the son of Ader reviewed Syria, and went up to Apheca to war against Israel.

they have proclaimed a fast, and caused Naboth to sit at the head of the people,

13 And the children of Israel were numbered, and came to meet them: and Israel encamped before them as two little flocks of goats, but Syria filled the land.

and two men — sons of worthlessness — come in, and sit over-against him, and the men of worthlessness testify of him, even Naboth, before the people, saying, 'Naboth blessed God and Melech;' and they take him out to the outside of the city, and stone him with stones, and he dieth;

14 And there came the man of God, and said to the king of Israel, Thus saith the Lord, Because Syria has said, The Lord God of Israel [is] a God of the hills, and he [is] not a God of the valleys, therefore will I give this great army into thy hand, and thou shalt know that I [am] the Lord.

and they send unto Jezebel, saying, 'Naboth was stoned, and is dead.'

15 And they encamp one over against the other before them seven days. And it came to pass on the seventh day that the battle drew on, and Israel smote Syria, [even] a hundred thousand footmen in one day.

And it cometh to pass, at Jezebel's hearing that Naboth hath been stoned, and is dead, that Jezebel saith unto Ahab, 'Rise, possess the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, that he refused to give to thee for money, for Naboth is not alive but dead.'

16 And the rest fled to Apheca, into the city; and the wall fell upon twenty-seven thousand men that were left: and the son of Ader fled, and entered into an inner chamber, into a closet.

And it cometh to pass, at Ahab's hearing that Naboth is dead, that Ahab riseth to go down unto the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to possess it.

17 And he said to his servants, I know that the kings of Israel are merciful kings: let us now put sackcloth upon our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and let us go forth to the king of Israel, if by any means he will save our souls alive.

And the word of Jehovah is unto Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

18 So they girt sackcloth upon their loins, and put ropes upon their heads, and said to the king of Israel, Thy servant the son of Ader says, Let our souls live, I pray thee. And he said, Does he yet live? He is my brother.

'Rise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who [is] in Samaria, — lo, in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he hath gone down to possess it,

19 And the men divined, and offered drink-offerings; and they caught the word out of his mouth, and said, Thy brother the son of Ader. And he said, Go ye in and fetch him. And the son of Ader went out to him, and they cause him to go up to him into the chariot.

and thou hast spoken unto him, saying, Thus said Jehovah, Hast thou murdered, and also possessed? and thou hast spoken unto him, saying, Thus said Jehovah, In the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, do the dogs lick thy blood, even thine.'

20 And he said to him, The cities which my father took from thy father I will restore to thee; and thou shalt make streets for thyself in Damascus, as my father made streets in Samaria; and I will let thee go with a covenant. And he made a covenant with him, and let him go.

And Ahab saith unto Elijah, 'Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?' and he saith, 'I have found — because of thy selling thyself to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah;

21 And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbour by the word of the Lord, Smite me, I pray, And the man would not smite him.

lo, I am bringing in unto thee evil, and have taken away thy posterity, and cut off to Ahab those sitting on the wall, and restrained, and left, in Israel,

22 And he said to him, Because thou hast not hearkened to the voice of the Lord, therefore, behold, as thou departest from me, a lion shall smite thee: and he departed from him, and a lion found him, and smote him.

and given up thy house like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah, for the provocation with which thou hast provoked [Me], and dost cause Israel to sin.

23 And he finds another man, and says, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, and in smiting wounded [him].

'And also of Jezebel hath Jehovah spoken, saying, The dogs do eat Jezebel in the bulwark of Jezreel;

24 And the prophet went and stood before the king of Israel by the way, and bound his eyes with a bandage.

him who dieth of Ahab in a city do the dogs eat, and him who dieth in a field do fowl of the heavens eat;

25 And it came to pass as the king passed by, that he cried aloud to the king, and said, Thy servant went out to war, and, behold, a man brought [another] man to me, and said to me, Keep his man; and if he should by any means escape, then thy life shall go for his life, or thou shalt pay a talent of silver.

surely there hath none been like Ahab, who sold himself to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, whom Jezebel his wife hath moved,

26 And it came to pass, that thy servant looked round this way and that way, and the man was gone. And the king of Israel said to him, Behold, thou hast also destroyed snares [set] for me.

and he doth very abominably to go after the idols, according to all that the Amorite did whom Jehovah dispossessed from the presence of the sons of Israel.'

27 And he hasted, and took away the bandage from his eyes; and the king of Israel recognized him, that he was one of the prophets.

And it cometh to pass, at Ahab's hearing these words, that he rendeth his garments, and putteth sackcloth on his flesh, and fasteth, and lieth in sackcloth, and goeth gently.

28 And he said to him, Thus saith the Lord, Because thou hast suffered to escape out of thine hand a man appointed to destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.

And the word of Jehovah is unto Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

29 And the king of Israel departed confounded and discouraged, and came to Samaria.

'Hast thou seen that Ahab hath been humbled before Me? because that he hath been humbled before Me, I bring not in the evil in his days; in the days of his son I bring in the evil on his house.'