1 Reis 21

¹ After these things Naboth the Izreelite had a vineyarde in Izreel, hard by the palace of Ahab King of Samaria.

² And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying,Though Ahab's tyranny is condemned by the Holy Spirit, yet he was not so rigorous that he would take from another man his right without full recompense.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.

³ And Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord keepe me from giuing the inheritance of my father vnto thee.

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 downThus the wicked do not consider what is just and lawful, but fret inwardly when they cannot have their inordinate lusts satisfied.upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.

⁵ Then Iezebel his wife came to him & said vnto him, Why is thy spirit so sad that thou eatest no bread?

⁶ And he said vnto her, Because I spake vnto Naboth the Izreelite, & sayd vnto him, Giue me thy vineyard for money, or if it please thee, I will giue thee another vineyard for it: but he answered, I wil not giue thee my vineyarde.

⁷ And Jezebel his wife said unto him,As though she said, «You do not know what it means to reign. Command and do not beg».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.

⁸ So she wrote letters in Ahabs name, and sealed them with his seale, and sent the letters vnto the Elders, and to the nobles that were in his citie dwelling with Naboth.

⁹ And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim aFor then they used to enquire of men's faults: for no one could truly fast if he was a notorious sinner.fast, and set Naboth on high among the people:

¹⁰ And set two wicked men before him, & let them witnesse against him, saying, Thou diddest blaspheme God and the King: then cary him out, and stone him that he may dye.

¹¹ And theThus the worldlings contrary to God's commandment, who does not consent to the shedding of innocent blood, would rather obey the wicked commandments of princes than the just laws.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.

¹² They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth among the chiefe of the people,

¹³ And there came two wicked men, & sate before him: & the wicked men witnessed against Naboth in the presence of the people saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the King. Then they caried him away out of the citie, and stoned him with stones, that he dyed.

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

¹⁵ And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab,This example of monstrous cruelty the Holy Spirit leaves to us, to the intent that we should abhor all tyranny, and especially in those whom nature and kind should move to be pitiful and inclined to mercy.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.

¹⁶ And when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he rose to go downe to the vineyard of Naboth the Izreelite, to take possession of it.

¹⁷ And the word of the Lord came vnto Eliiah the Tishbite, saying,

¹⁸ Arise, goe downe to meete Ahab King of Israel, which is in Samaria. loe, he is in the vineyarde of Naboth, whither he is gone downe to take possession of it.

¹⁹ And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD,Do you think to have an advantage by murdering an innocent?Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD,This was fulfilled in Joram his son (2Ki_9:25-26).In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.

²⁰ And Ahab sayd to Eliiah, Hast thou found mee, O mine enemie? And he answered, I haue found thee: for thou hast solde thy selfe to worke wickednes in the sight of the Lord.

²¹ Beholde, I will bring euill vpon thee, and wil take away thy posteritie, and wil cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, as well him that is shut vp, as him that is left in Israel,

²² And I wil make thine house like the house of Ieroboam the sonne of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the sonne of Ahiiah, for the prouocation wherewith thou hast prouoked, and made Israel to sinne.

²³ And also of Iezebel spake the Lorde, saying, The dogs shall eate Iezebel, by the wall of Izreel.

²⁴ The dogs shall eate him of Ahabs stocke, that dyeth in the citie: and him that dyeth in the fieldes, shall the foules of the ayre eate.

²⁵ But there was none like unto Ahab, which didBy the wicked counsel of his wife he became a vile idolater, and cruel murderer, as one that gave himself wholly to serve sin.sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.

²⁶ For he did exceeding abominably in following idoles, according to all that the Amorites did, whom the Lord cast out before the children of 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 wentIn token of mourning, or as some read, barefooted.softly.

²⁸ And the worde of the Lord came to Eliiah the Tishbite, saying,

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 hisMeaning, in Joram's time, (2Ki_9:26).son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.