King James Version

1 And it happened after these words that there was a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite, which was in Jezreel, beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 And Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, "Give me your vineyard, and it will be for me as a green garden, for it is near my house, and I will give you in its place a good vineyard, or if it seems good in your eyes, I will pay you its price in silver." 3 And Naboth said to Ahab, "God forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers." 4 And Ahab went to his house sullen and angry because of the word that Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him, and he said, "I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers." And he lay down on his bed and turned his face away and would not eat bread. 5 And Jezebel, his wife, came to him and said to him, "Why is your spirit sad, and you are not eating bread?" 6 And he spoke to her, saying, "As I speak to Naboth the Jezreelite, I will say to him, 'Give me your vineyard for money, or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.'" But he said, "I will not give you my vineyard." 7 And Jezebel said to him, "You will now be king over Israel; arise, eat bread, and let your heart be good; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite." 8 And she wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles who were in his city, dwelling with Naboth. 9 And she wrote in the books, saying, "Proclaim a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people." 10 And they appointed two men, sons of Belial, against him, to testify and say, "You have blessed God and the king," and they brought him out and stoned him, and he died. 11 And the men of the city, the elders and the nobles who lived in the city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, as it is written in the letters which she had sent to them. 12 Proclaim a fast and restore Naboth at the head of the people. 13 And two men, sons of Belial, came in and sat before him, and the men of Belial testified against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him with stones, and he died. 14 And they sent to Jezebel saying, "Naboth has been stoned and he is dead." 15 And it was when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and had died, that Jezebel said to Ahab, "Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money, for Naboth is not alive, but dead." 16 And it was when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite to take possession of it. 17 And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying. 18 "Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to take possession of it." 19 And you spoke to me, saying, "Thus says the Lord: 'Have you murdered and also inherited?' And you spoke to me, saying, "Thus says the Lord: 'In the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, the dogs shall lick your blood, even yours.'" 20 And Ahab said to Elijah, "Have you found me, my enemy?" And he answered, "I have found you because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the Lord." 21 Behold, I am bringing evil upon you, and I will cut off from Ahab anyone who urinates against the wall, both bond and free in Israel. 22 And I will give your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah because of the anger with which you have angered and you have caused Israel to sin. 23 And also concerning Jezebel, the LORD spoke, saying, "The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel." 24 The one who dies in the city, the dogs will eat; and the one who dies in the field, the birds of the air will eat. 25 But there was none like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. 26 And he was very angry to go after the idols like all that the Amorites did whom the Lord drove out before the children of Israel. 27 And it was when Ahab heard these words that he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about softly. 28 And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying: 29 "Did you see that Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days; I will bring the evil upon his house in the days of his son."