1 Kings, 21

1. And it came to pass after these things, [that] Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which [was] in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.

1. Now Naboth, a man from Jezreel, owned a vineyard just beside the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria.

2. And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it [is] near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; [or], if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.

2. Ahab asked Naboth, "Give me your vineyard which is near my house that I may use it for a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard in exchange. Or, if you prefer, I will pay you its price."

3. And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.

3. But Naboth said to Ahab, "Yahweh forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers."

4. And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.

4. So Ahab went home angry and sad because of what Naboth had told him, that he would not give him the inheritance of his fathers. So he lay down on his bed with his face turned toward the wall and refused to eat.

5. But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread?

5. His wife Jezebel came to him and said, "Why are you so angry that you refuse to eat?"

6. And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee [another] vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard.

6. He answered, "I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and asked him to sell me his vineyard or to exchange it for another better one but he answered: I will not give you my vineyard."

7. And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, [and] eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.

7. His wife Jezebel said to him, "Are you not king of Israel? Get up and eat and be joyful, for I will give you the vineyard of Naboth of Jezreel."

8. So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed [them] with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that [were] in his city, dwelling with Naboth.

8. So Jezebel wrote letters using Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and important persons living near Naboth.

9. And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people:

9. This is what she wrote in the letters, "Declare a fast and put Naboth on trial.

10. And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And [then] carry him out, and stone him, that he may die.

10. Get two worthless fellows to accuse him in this way: 'You have cursed God and the king.' Then take him out and stone him to death."

11. And the men of his city, [even] the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, [and] as it [was] written in the letters which she had sent unto them.

11. The people, the elders and the important persons who lived in his city did as Jezebel had instructed them in the letters she sent to them.

12. They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.

12. They declared a fast and put Naboth on trial.

13. And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, [even] against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.

13. The two worthless fellows came in and sat facing him, accusing Naboth before the people, "Naboth cursed God and the king!" So the people took him outside the city and stoned him to death.

14. Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead.

14. They then sent word to Jezebel that Naboth had been stoned and was dead.

15. And it came to pass, 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 he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead.

15. As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, she told Ahab, "Now take possession of the vineyard of Naboth, the man of Jezreel who refused to sell it to you, for Naboth is now dead."

16. And it came to pass, 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.

16. As soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he went down to the vineyard of Naboth and took possession of it.

17. And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

17. Then Yahweh spoke to Elijah of Tishbe,

18. Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which [is] in Samaria: behold, [he is] in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it.

18. "Go down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, in Samaria. He is taking possession of the vineyard of Naboth.

19. And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.

19. Say to him: 'Have you killed and have taken possession at the same time?' Then give him this word of mine: 'Dogs shall lick your blood in the very place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth.'"

20. And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found [thee]: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD.

20. Ahab then said to Elijah, "Who, better than my enemy, could find me here and now!" Elijah answered, "I have come to you because you have done what Yahweh abhors.

21. Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel,

21. This is Yahweh's word: I will bring disgrace on you. I will sweep you away and cut off every male of your family, from the lowliest to the greatest.

22. And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked [me] to anger, and made Israel to sin.

22. Your family will disappear like the families of Jeroboam and Baasa, because you have offended me and have dragged Israel into sin.

23. And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.

23. There is another word of Yahweh to Jezebel: 'The dogs shall devour Jezebel within the territory of Jezreel.'

24. Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat.

24. If anyone of Ahab's line dies in the city, he shall be devoured by dogs; if in the green country, the birds of the air shall feed on him."

25. But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.

25. There was no one like Ahab, urged by his wife Jezebel, in doing what Yahweh abhorred.

26. And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all [things] as did the Amorites, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.

26. He did horrible things and ran after unclean idols just as the Amorites had done, from whom Yahweh had taken the land to give it to Israel.

27. And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.

27. On hearing these words, Ahab tore his clothes and put on sackcloth. He fasted as he lay in sackcloth and moved around despondently.

28. And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

28. Then Yahweh said to Elijah the Tishbite, "Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself?

29. Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: [but] in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.

29. Because of this I will not bring about the disaster during his reign; during his son's reign disgrace will fall on his family."