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.

Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vine-garden in Jezreel, near the house 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 said to Naboth, Give me your vine-garden so that I may have it for a garden of sweet plants, for it is near my house; and let me give you a better vine-garden in exchange, or, if it seems good to you, let me give you its value in money.

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.

But Naboth said to Ahab, By the Lord, far be it from me to give you the heritage of my fathers.

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

So Ahab came into his house bitter and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him, I will not give you the heritage of my fathers. And stretching himself on the bed with his face turned away, he would take no food.

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

But Jezebel, his wife, came to him and said, Why is your spirit so bitter that you have no desire for food?

6 struck each one the man next to him; and each one a second time struck 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 said to her, Because I was talking to Naboth the Jezreelite, and I said to him, Let me have your vine-garden for a price, or, if it is pleasing to you, I will give you another vine-garden for it: and he said, I will not give you my vine-garden.

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

Then Jezebel, his wife, said, Are you now the ruler of Israel? Get up, take food, and let your heart be glad; I will give you the vine-garden of Naboth the Jezreelite.

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

So she sent a letter in Ahab's name, stamped with his stamp, to the responsible men and the chiefs who were in authority 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 in the letter she said, Let a time of public sorrow be fixed, and put Naboth at the head of the people;

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

And get two good-for-nothing persons to come before him and give witness that he has been cursing God and the king. Then take him out and have him stoned to death.

11 And we will give you [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 listened to their voice, and did so.

So the responsible men and the chiefs who were in authority in his town, did as Jezebel had said in the letter she sent 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 gave orders for a day of public sorrow, and put Naboth 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 the two good-for-nothing persons came in and took their seats before him and gave witness against Naboth, in front of the people, saying, Naboth has been cursing God and the king. Then they took him outside the town and had him stoned to death.

14 And there came the man of God, and said to the king of Israel, Thus says 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 your hand, and you shall know that I [am] the Lord.

And they sent word to Jezebel, saying, Naboth has been 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 struck Syria, [even] a hundred thousand footmen in one day.

Then Jezebel, hearing that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, said to Ahab, Get up and take as your heritage the vine-garden of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he would not give you for money, for Naboth is no longer living but is 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.

So Ahab, hearing that Naboth was dead, went down to the vine-garden of Naboth the Jezreelite to take it as his heritage.

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 the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

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

Go down to Ahab, king of Israel, in Samaria; see, he is in the vine-garden of Naboth the Jezreelite, where he has gone to take it as his heritage.

19 And the men divined, and offered drink-offerings; and they caught the word out of his mouth, and said, Your brother the son of Ader. And he said, Go you 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.

Say to him, The Lord says, Have you put a man to death and taken his heritage? Then say to him, The Lord says, In the place where dogs have been drinking the blood of Naboth, there will your blood become the drink of dogs.

20 And he said to him, The cities which my father took from your father I will restore to you; and you shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made streets in Samaria; and I will let you go with a covenant. And he made a covenant with him, and let him go.

And Ahab said to Elijah, Have you come face to face with me, O my hater? And he said, I have come to you because you have given yourself up to do evil in the eyes of the Lord.

21 And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbor by the word of the Lord, Strike me, I pray, And the man would not strike him.

See, I will send evil on you and put an end to you completely, cutting off from Ahab every male child, him who is shut up and him who goes free in Israel;

22 And he said to him, Because you have not listened to the voice of the Lord, therefore, behold, as you depart from me, a lion shall strike you: and he departed from him, and a lion found him, and struck him.

And I will make your family like the family of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and like the family of Baasha, the son of Ahijah, because you have made me angry, and have made Israel do evil.

23 And he finds another man, and says, Strike me, I pray you. And the man struck him, and in striking wounded [him].

And of Jezebel the Lord said, Jezebel will become food for dogs in the heritage of Jezreel.

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

Any man of the family of Ahab who comes to his death in the town will become food for the dogs; and he who comes to his death in the open country will be food for the birds of the air.

25 And it came to pass as the king passed by, that he cried aloud to the king, and said, Your 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 your life shall go for his life, or you shall pay a talent of silver.

(There was no one like Ahab, who gave himself up to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, moved to it by Jezebel his wife.

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

He did a very disgusting thing in going after false gods, doing all the things the Amorites did, whom the Lord sent out before the children 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.

Hearing these words, Ahab, in great grief, put haircloth on his flesh and went without food, sleeping in haircloth, and going about quietly.

28 And he said to him, Thus says the Lord, Because you have suffered to escape out of your hand a man appointed to destruction, therefore your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people.

Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

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

Do you see how Ahab has made himself low before me? because he has made himself low before me, I will not send the evil in his life-time, but in his son's time I will send the evil on his family.