1 Kings 21

1 And after these things, Naboth the Jezrahelite, who was in Jezrahel, had at that time a vineyard near the palace of Achab king of Samaria.

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

2 And Achab spoke to Naboth, saying: Give me thy vineyard, that I may make me a garden of herbs, because it is nigh, and adjoining to my house, and I will give thee for it a better vineyard: or if thou think it more convenient for thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.

and Ahab speaks to Naboth, saying, “Give your vineyard to me, and it is for a garden of green herbs for me, for it [is] near by my house, and I give to you a better vineyard than it in its stead; if [this is] good in your eyes, I give to you its price [in] silver.”

3 Naboth answered him: The Lord be merciful to me, and not let me give thee the inheritance of my fathers.

And Naboth says to Ahab, “Far be it from me, by YHWH, my giving the inheritance of my fathers to you”;

4 And Achab came into his house angry and fretting, because of the word that Naboth the Jezrahelite had spoken to him, saying: I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And casting himself upon his bed, he turned away his face to the wall, and would eat no bread.

and Ahab comes to his house, sulky and angry, because of the word that Naboth the Jezreelite has spoken to him when he says, “I do not give the inheritance of my fathers to you,” and he lies down on his bed, and turns around his face, and has not eaten bread.

5 And Jezabel his wife went in to him, and said to him: What is the matter that thy soul is so grieved? and why eatest thou no bread?

And his wife Jezebel comes to him, and speaks to him, “Why [is] this [that] your spirit [is] sulky, and you are not eating bread?”

6 And he answered her: I spoke to Naboth the Jezrahelite, and said to him: Give me thy vineyard, and take money for it: or if it please thee, I will give thee a better vineyard for it. And he said: I will not give thee my vineyard.

And he says to her, “Because I speak to Naboth the Jezreelite, and say to him, Give your vineyard to me for money, or if you desire, I give a vineyard to you in its stead; and he says, I do not give my vineyard to you.”

7 Then Jezabel his wife said to him: Thou art of great authority indeed, and governest well the kingdom of Israel. Arise, and eat bread, and be of good cheer, I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezrahelite.

And his wife Jezebel says to him, “You now execute rule over Israel! Rise, eat bread, and let your heart be glad—I give the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite to you.”

8 So she wrote letter’s in Achab’s name, and sealed them with his ring, and sent them to the ancients, and the chief men that were in his city, and that dwelt with Naboth.

And she writes letters in the name of Ahab, and seals with his seal, and sends the letters to the elderly and to the nobles who are in his city, those dwelling with Naboth,

9 And this was the tenor of the letters: Proclaim a fast, and make Naboth sit among the chief of the people,

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

10 And suborn two men, sons of Belial against him, and let them bear false witness: that he hath blasphemed God and the king: and then carry him out, and stone him, and so let him die.

and cause two men—sons of worthlessness—to sit opposite him, and they testify of him, saying, You have blessed [[or cursed]] God and [the] king; and they have brought him out, and stoned him, and he dies.”

11 And the men of his city, the ancients and nobles, that dwelt with him in the city, did as Jezabel had commanded them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them:

And the men of his city, the elderly and the nobles who are dwelling in his city, do as Jezebel has sent to them, as written in the letters that she sent to them,

12 They proclaimed a fast, and made Naboth sit among the chief of the people.

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

13 And bringing two men, sons of the devil, they made them sit against him: and they, like men of the devil, bore witness against him before the people, saying: Naboth hath blasphemed God and the king: wherefore they brought him forth without the city, and stoned him to death.

and two men—sons of worthlessness—come in, and sit opposite him, and the men of worthlessness testify of him, even Naboth, before the people, saying, “Naboth blessed [[or cursed]] God and [the] king”; and they take him out to the outside of the city, and stone him with stones, and he dies;

14 And they sent to Jezabel, saying: Naboth is stoned, and is dead.

and they send to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth was stoned, and is dead.”

15 And it came to pass when Jezabel heard that Naboth was stoned, and dead, that she said to Achab: Arise and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezrahelite, who would not agree with thee, and give it thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead.

And it comes to pass, at Jezebel’s hearing that Naboth has been stoned, and is dead, that Jezebel says to Ahab, “Rise, possess the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, that he refused to give to you for money, for Naboth is not alive but dead.”

16 And when Achab heard this, to wit, that Naboth was dead, he arose, and went down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezrahelite, to take possession of it.

And it comes to pass, at Ahab’s hearing that Naboth is dead, that Ahab rises to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to possess it.

17 And the word of the Lord came to Elias the Thesbite, saying:

And the word of YHWH is to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

18 Arise, and go down to meet Achab king of Israel, who is in Samaria: behold he is going down to the vineyard of Naboth, to take possession of it:

“Rise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who [is] in Samaria—behold, in the vineyard of Naboth, to where he has gone down to possess it,

19 And thou shalt speak to him, saying: Thus saith the Lord: Thou hast slain, moreover also thou hast taken possession. And after these words thou shalt add: Thus saith the Lord: In this place, wherein the dogs have licked the blood of Naboth, they shall lick thy blood also.

and you have spoken to him, saying, Thus said YHWH: Have you murdered, and also possessed? And you have spoken to him, saying, Thus said YHWH: In the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, the dogs lick your blood, even yours.”

20 And Achab said to Elias: Hast thou found me thy enemy? He said: I have found thee, because thou art sold, to do evil in the sight of the Lord.

And Ahab says to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” And he says, “I have found—because of your selling yourself to do evil in the eyes of YHWH;

21 Behold I will bring evil upon thee, and I will cut down thy posterity, and I will kill of Achab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up, and the last in Israel.

behold, I am bringing calamity on you, and have taken away your posterity, and cut off from Ahab those sitting on the wall, and restrained, and left, in Israel,

22 And I will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, and like the house of Baasa the son of Ahias: for what thou hast done, to provoke me to anger, and for making Israel to sin.

and given up your house like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah, for the provocation with which you have provoked [Me], and cause Israel to sin.

23 And of Jezabel also the Lord spoke, saying: The dogs shall eat Jezabel in the field of Jezrahel.

And YHWH has also spoken of Jezebel, saying, The dogs eat Jezebel in the bulwark of Jezreel;

24 If Achab die in the city, the dogs shall eat him: but if he die in the field, the birds of the air shall eat him.

the dogs eat him who dies of Ahab in a city, and [the] bird of the heavens eats him who dies in a field;

25 Now there was not such another as Achab, who was sold to do evil in the sight of the Lord: for his wife Jezabel set him on,

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

26 And he became abominable, insomuch that he followed the idols which the Amorrhites had made, whom the Lord destroyed before the face of the children of Israel.

and he does very abominably to go after the idols, according to all that the Amorite did whom YHWH dispossessed from the presence of the sons of Israel.”

27 And when Achab had heard these words, he rent his garments, and put haircloth upon his flesh, and fasted and slept in sackcloth, and walked with his head cast down.

And it comes to pass, at Ahab’s hearing these words, that he tears his garments, and puts sackcloth on his flesh, and fasts, and lies in sackcloth, and goes gently.

28 And the word of the Lord came to Elias the Thesbite, saying:

And the word of YHWH is to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

29 Hast thou not seen Achab humbled before me? therefore, because he hath humbled himself for my sake, I will not bring the evil in his days, but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.

“Have you seen that Ahab has been humbled before Me? Because that he has been humbled before Me, I do not bring in the calamity in his days; I bring in the calamity on his house in the days of his son.”