Naboth’s Vineyard

21 Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth^(A) the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in Jezreel,^(B) close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. ² Ahab said to Naboth, “Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth.”

³ But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance^(C) of my ancestors.”

⁴ So Ahab went home, sullen and angry^(D) because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my ancestors.” He lay on his bed sulking and refused^(E) to eat.

⁵ His wife Jezebel came in and asked him, “Why are you so sullen? Why won’t you eat?”

⁶ He answered her, “Because I said to Naboth the Jezreelite, ‘Sell me your vineyard; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’”

⁷ Jezebel his wife said, “Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I’ll get you the vineyard^(F) of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

⁸ So she wrote letters^(G) in Ahab’s name, placed his seal^(H) on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city with him. ⁹ In those letters she wrote:

¹¹ So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city did as Jezebel directed in the letters she had written to them. ¹² They proclaimed a fast^(K) and seated Naboth in a prominent place among the people. ¹³ Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.^{(L) 14} Then they sent word to Jezebel: “Naboth has been stoned to death.”

¹⁵ As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard^(M) of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you. He is no longer alive, but dead.” ¹⁶ When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth’s vineyard.

¹⁷ Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: ¹⁸ “Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now in Naboth’s vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it. ¹⁹ Say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?’^(N) Then say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood,^(O) dogs^(P) will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’”

²⁰ Ahab said to Elijah, “So you have found me, my enemy!”^(Q)

“I have found you,” he answered, “because you have sold^(R) yourself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord. ²¹ He says, ‘I am going to bring disaster on you. I will wipe out your descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male^(S) in Israel—slave or free.^{[a](T) 22} I will make your house^(U) like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have aroused my anger and have caused Israel to sin.’^(V)

²³ “And also concerning Jezebel the Lord says: ‘Dogs^(W) will devour Jezebel by the wall of^[b] Jezreel.’

²⁴ “Dogs^(X) will eat those belonging to Ahab who die in the city, and the birds^(Y) will feed on those who die in the country.”

³⁰ The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will enter the battle in disguise,^(A) but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.

³¹ Now the king of Aram^(B) had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king^(C) of Israel.” ³² When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought, “Surely this is the king of Israel.” So they turned to attack him, but when Jehoshaphat cried out, ³³ the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel and stopped pursuing him.

³⁴ But someone drew his bow^(D) at random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armor. The king told his chariot driver, “Wheel around and get me out of the fighting. I’ve been wounded.” ³⁵ All day long the battle raged, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans. The blood from his wound ran onto the floor of the chariot, and that evening he died. ³⁶ As the sun was setting, a cry spread through the army: “Every man to his town. Every man to his land!”^(E)

³⁷ So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried him there. ³⁸ They washed the chariot at a pool in Samaria (where the prostitutes bathed),^[a] and the dogs^(F) licked up his blood, as the word of the Lord had declared.

Jezebel Killed

³⁰ Then Jehu went to Jezreel. When Jezebel heard about it, she put on eye makeup,^(A) arranged her hair and looked out of a window. ³¹ As Jehu entered the gate, she asked, “Have you come in peace, you Zimri,^(B) you murderer of your master?”^[a]

³² He looked up at the window and called out, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked down at him. ³³ “Throw her down!” Jehu said. So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered the wall and the horses as they trampled her underfoot.^(C)

³⁴ Jehu went in and ate and drank. “Take care of that cursed woman,” he said, “and bury her, for she was a king’s daughter.”^{(D) 35} But when they went out to bury her, they found nothing except her skull, her feet and her hands. ³⁶ They went back and told Jehu, who said, “This is the word of the Lord that he spoke through his servant Elijah the Tishbite: On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs^(E) will devour Jezebel’s flesh.^{[b](F) 37} Jezebel’s body will be like dung^(G) on the ground in the plot at Jezreel, so that no one will be able to say, ‘This is Jezebel.’”