1 Kings 21

1And 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.

1Sometime later, Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, right next to the palace of Ahab, the king of Samaria.

2And 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.

2Ahab said to Naboth, 'Give me your vineyard so I can use it for a vegetable garden, since it is so close to my house. I will give you a better vineyard for it, or if you prefer, I will pay you what it is worth in money.'

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

3But Naboth replied to Ahab, 'The LORD forbid that I should give you the land I inherited from my ancestors.'

4And 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.

4Ahab went home irritable and angry because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him. Because Naboth had said, 'I will not give you my family inheritance,' Ahab lay on his bed, turned his face to the wall, and refused to eat anything.

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

5His wife Jezebel came in and asked him, 'Why are you so upset that you won't eat?'

6And 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.

6He answered her, 'Because I talked to Naboth the Jezreelite and told him, "Sell me your vineyard, or if you like, I will give you another vineyard for it." But he said, "I will not give you my vineyard."'

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

7Then his wife Jezebel said to him, 'Are you the king of Israel or not? Get up, eat some food, and cheer up! I will get the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite for you.'

8So 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, and that dwelt with Naboth.

8So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his official seal. She sent them to the elders and the leading citizens who lived in Naboth’s city.

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

9In those letters she wrote: 'Call for a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people.

10and set two men, base fellows, before him, and let them bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst curse God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him to death.

10Find two worthless men to sit across from him and testify that he cursed both God and the king. Then take him outside the city and stone him to death.'

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

11The elders and leading citizens of Naboth’s city did exactly what Jezebel had ordered in the letters she sent them.

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

12They announced a fast and put Naboth in a place of honor among the people.

13And the two men, the base fellows, came in and sat before him: and the base fellows bare witness against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did curse God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him to death with stones.

13Then the two worthless men came in and sat across from him. They accused Naboth in front of everyone, saying, 'Naboth cursed both God and the king!' So the people took him outside the city and stoned him to death.

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

14Then they sent word to Jezebel, saying, 'Naboth has been stoned and is dead.'

15And 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.

15As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she told Ahab, 'Get up and take the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite for yourself. He refused to sell it to you, but now he is not alive; he is dead.'

16And 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.

16When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to Naboth’s vineyard to take it over as his own.

17And the word of Jehovah came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

17Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite:

18Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who dwelleth in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to take possession of it.

18'Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. You will find him in Naboth’s vineyard; he has gone there to take possession of it.

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

19Tell him, "This is what the LORD says: Have you murdered a man and then taken his property?" Then tell him, "This is what the LORD says: In the very place where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, dogs will lick up your own blood!"'

20And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee, because thou hast sold thyself to do that which is evil in the sight of Jehovah.

20Ahab said to Elijah, 'So you have found me, my enemy!' 'I have found you,' Elijah answered, 'because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the eyes of the LORD.

21Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will utterly sweep thee away and will cut off from Ahab every man-child, and him that is shut up and him that is left at large in Israel:

21The LORD says, "I am going to bring disaster on you. I will consume you and your descendants, and I will cut off every male belonging to Ahab’s family in Israel, whether slave or free.

22and I will make thy 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 hast made Israel to sin.

22I will make your family like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have made me very angry and have led Israel into sin."

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

23And regarding Jezebel, the LORD says: "Dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel."

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

24Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone who dies in the open country will be eaten by the birds.'

25(But there was none like unto Ahab, who did sell himself to do that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.

25(There was truly no one like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, because his wife Jezebel urged him on.

26And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites did, whom Jehovah cast out before the children of Israel.)

26He acted in a most disgusting way by following idols, just like the Amorites did, whom the LORD had driven out before the people of Israel.)

27And 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.

27When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted. He even slept in sackcloth and walked around submissively.

28And the word of Jehovah came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

28Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite:

29Seest 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 day will I bring the evil upon his house.

29'Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster during his lifetime, but I will bring it on his family during the reign of his son.'