1 Kings 21:1-16

GOD’S WORD Translation

Ahab Takes Naboth’s Vineyard

21 This is what happened next. Naboth from Jezreel had a vineyard in Jezreel next to the palace of King Ahab of Samaria.

² Ahab told Naboth, “Give me your vineyard. It will become my vegetable garden because it is near my house. I will give you a better vineyard for it. Or if you prefer, I will pay you a fair price for it.”

³ Naboth told Ahab, “The Lord has forbidden me to give you what I inherited from my ancestors.”

⁴ Resentful and upset, Ahab went home because of what Naboth from Jezreel had told him. (⌞Naboth had said,⌟ “I will not give you what I inherited from my ancestors.”) So Ahab lay on the couch, turned his face ⌞from everyone⌟, and refused to eat.

⁵ His wife Jezebel came to him and asked, “Why are you so resentful of everything? Why don’t you eat?”

⁶ He told her, “I talked to Naboth from Jezreel. I said to him, ‘Sell me your vineyard. Or, if you like, I’ll give you another vineyard for it.’ But he said, ‘I won’t give you my vineyard.’ ”

⁷ His wife Jezebel said to him, “Aren’t you king of Israel? Get up, eat, and cheer up. I’ll give you the vineyard belonging to Naboth from Jezreel.”

⁸ So Jezebel wrote letters, signed them with Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal. She sent them to the respected leaders and nobles living in Naboth’s city. ⁹ In these letters she wrote: “Announce a fast. Seat Naboth as leader of the people. ¹⁰ Have two good-for-nothing men sit opposite him and accuse him of cursing God and the king. Then stone him to death outside the city.”

¹¹ The men in Naboth’s city—the respected leaders and nobles who lived there—did what Jezebel asked them to do. They did just as she had written in the letters she sent. ¹² They announced a fast and had Naboth seated as the leader of the people. ¹³ The two good-for-nothing men came in and sat opposite him. In front of the people, these men accused Naboth of cursing God and the king. So the people stoned him to death outside the city. ¹⁴ Then the leaders sent ⌞this message⌟ to Jezebel: “Naboth has been stoned to death.”

¹⁵ Jezebel received the message and said to Ahab, “Get up! Confiscate the vineyard which Naboth from Jezreel refused to sell you. He’s dead now.”

¹⁶ When he heard about Naboth’s death, Ahab went to confiscate the vineyard.