Beginning
Naboth’s Vineyard
21 A man named Naboth owned a vineyard. It was in Jezreel, near the palace of Ahab king of Israel. 2 One day Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard. It is near my palace. I want to make it into a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard in its place. Or, if you prefer, I will pay you what it is worth.”
3 Naboth answered, “May the Lord keep me from ever giving my land to you. It belongs to my family.”
4 So Ahab went home, angry and upset. He did not like what Naboth from Jezreel had said. (Naboth had said, “I will not give you my family’s land.”) So Ahab lay down on his bed. He turned his face to the wall and refused to eat.
5 His wife, Jezebel, came in. She asked him, “Why are you upset? Why do you refuse to eat?”
6 Ahab answered, “I talked to Naboth, the man from Jezreel. I said, ‘Sell me your vineyard. Or, if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ But Naboth refused.”
7 Jezebel answered, “Is this how you rule as king over Israel? Get out of bed. Eat something. Cheer up. I will get Naboth’s vineyard for you.”
8 So Jezebel wrote some letters and signed Ahab’s name to them. And she used his own seal to seal them. Then she sent them to the elders and important men who lived in Naboth’s town. 9 The letter she wrote said: “Declare a day during which the people are to give up eating. Call the people together. And give Naboth a place of honor among them. 10 Seat two troublemakers across from him. Have them say they heard Naboth speak against God and the king. Then take Naboth out of the city and kill him with stones.”
11 So the elders and important men of Jezreel obeyed Jezebel’s command. 12 They declared a special day. On that day the people were to give up eating. They called the people together. And they put Naboth in a place of honor before the people. 13 Then two troublemakers sat across from Naboth. They said they had heard Naboth speak against God and the king. So the people carried Naboth out of the city. And they killed him with stones. 14 Then the leaders sent a message to Jezebel. It said, “Naboth has been killed.”
15 When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been killed, she told Ahab. She said, “Naboth of Jezreel is dead. Now you may go and take for yourself his vineyard you wanted.” 16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he left. He went to the vineyard to take it for his own.
17 At this time the Lord spoke his word to Elijah. (Elijah was the prophet from Tishbe.) The Lord said, 18 “Go to Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is at Naboth’s vineyard to take it as his own. 19 Tell Ahab that I, the Lord, say to him, ‘Ahab! You have murdered Naboth and have taken his land. So I tell you this! In the same place that Naboth died, you will also die. The dogs that licked up Naboth’s blood will lick up your blood in the same place!’”
20 When Ahab saw Elijah, he said, “So you have found me, my enemy!”
Elijah answered, “Yes, I have found you. You have always chosen to do what the Lord says is wrong. 21 So the Lord says to you, ‘I will destroy you. I will kill you and every male in your family, both slave and free. 22 Your family will be like the family of King Jeroboam son of Nebat. And it will be like the family of King Baasha son of Ahijah. Both of these families were completely destroyed. I will do this to you because you have made me angry. And you have caused the people of Israel to sin.’
23 “And the Lord also says, ‘Dogs will eat the body of Jezebel in the city of Jezreel.’
24 “Anyone in your family who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs. Anyone who dies in the fields will be eaten by birds.”
25 There was no one like Ahab. No one had so often chosen to do what the Lord said was wrong. His wife Jezebel influenced him to do evil. 26 Ahab sinned terribly by worshiping idols. This was the same thing the Amorite people did. So the Lord took their land away from them. And he gave it to the people of Israel.
27 After Elijah finished speaking, Ahab tore his clothes. He put on rough cloth and refused to eat. He even slept in the rough cloth. He did this to show how sad and upset he was.
28 The Lord spoke his word to Elijah from Tishbe: 29 “I see that Ahab is now sorry for what he has done. So I will not cause the trouble to come to him during his life. I will wait until his son is king. Then I will bring this trouble to Ahab’s family.”
The Death of Ahab
22 For three years there was peace between Israel and Aram. 2 During the third year Jehoshaphat king of Judah went to visit Ahab king of Israel.
3 At this same time Ahab asked his officers, “Remember that the king of Aram took Ramoth in Gilead from us? Why have we done nothing to get it back?” 4 So Ahab asked King Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with us? Will you fight against the army of Aram at Ramoth in Gilead?”
Jehoshaphat answered, “I will go with you. My soldiers and my horses are ready to join with your army. 5 But first we should ask the Lord to guide us.”
6 So Ahab called the prophets together. There were about 400 men. He asked them, “Should I go to war against the army of Aram at Ramoth in Gilead? Or should I wait?”
The prophets answered, “Go, because the Lord will let you defeat them.”
7 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn’t there a prophet of the Lord here? Let’s ask him what we should do.”
8 King Ahab answered, “There is one other prophet. We could ask the Lord through him. But I hate him. When he prophesies, he never says anything good about me. He always says something bad. He is Micaiah, Imlah’s son.”
Jehoshaphat said, “King Ahab, you shouldn’t say that!”
9 So Ahab king of Israel told one of his officers to bring Micaiah to him at once.
10 Ahab king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah had on their royal robes. They were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor. This was near the entrance to the gate of Samaria. All the prophets were standing before them, speaking messages from the Lord. 11 One of the prophets was Zedekiah son of Kenaanah. He had made some iron horns. He said to Ahab, “This is what the Lord says, ‘You will use these horns to fight the Arameans. And you will destroy them.’”
12 All the other prophets said the same thing. They said, “Attack Ramoth in Gilead and win. The Lord will let you defeat the Arameans.”
13 The messenger who had gone to get Micaiah found him. He said to Micaiah, “All the other prophets are saying the king will succeed. You should agree with them. Give the king a good answer.”
14 But Micaiah answered, “As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what the Lord tells me.”
15 Then Micaiah came to Ahab. The king asked him, “Micaiah, should we attack Ramoth in Gilead or not?”
Micaiah answered, “Attack and win! The Lord will let you defeat them.”
16 But Ahab said to Micaiah, “Tell me only the truth in the name of the Lord. How many times do I have to tell you this?”
17 So Micaiah answered, “I saw the army of Israel. They were scattered over the hills like sheep without a shepherd. The Lord said, ‘They have no leader. They should go home and not fight.’”
18 Then Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I told you! This prophet never says anything good about me. He only says bad things about me.”
19 But Micaiah continued to speak. He said, “Hear the message from the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne. His heavenly army was standing near him on his right and on his left. 20 The Lord said, ‘Who will trick Ahab into attacking Ramoth in Gilead? Do this so he will go and be killed.’
“The spirits did not agree about what they should do. 21 Then one spirit came and stood before the Lord. He said, ‘I will trick him.’
22 “The Lord asked, ‘How will you trick Ahab?’
“The spirit answered, ‘I will go to Ahab’s prophets. I will make them tell lies.’
“So the Lord said, ‘You will succeed in tricking him. Go and do it.’”
23 Micaiah said, “Ahab, this has now happened. The Lord has caused your prophets to lie to you. The Lord has decided that great trouble should come to you.”
24 Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah went up to Micaiah. And he hit Micaiah in the face. Zedekiah said, “Do you really believe the Lord’s spirit has left me and is now speaking through you?”
25 Micaiah answered, “You will find out on the day you go to hide in an inside room.”
26 Then Ahab king of Israel ordered, “Take Micaiah. Send him to Amon, the governor of the city, and to Joash, the king’s son. 27 Tell them I said to put Micaiah in prison. Give him only bread and water for food. Keep him there until I come home from the battle.”
28 Micaiah said, “Ahab, if you come back safely from battle, the Lord has not spoken through me. Remember my words, all you people.”
29 So Ahab king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went to Ramoth in Gilead. 30 Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “I will go into battle. But I will change my appearance so that no one will recognize me. But you wear your royal clothes.” So Ahab changed his appearance and went into battle.
31 The king of Aram had 32 chariot commanders. He ordered them, “Don’t fight with anyone but the king of Israel. It doesn’t matter if they are important or unimportant.” 32 When these commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought he was the king of Israel. So they turned to attack him. But Jehoshaphat began shouting. 33 Then the commanders saw he was not Ahab. So they stopped chasing him. 34 A soldier shot an arrow without aiming at anyone. But he hit Ahab king of Israel. The arrow hit him in a place not covered by his armor. King Ahab said to his chariot driver, “Turn the chariot around. Take me out of the battle. I am hurt!” 35 The battle continued all day. King Ahab was in his chariot, leaning against it to hold himself up. He was facing the Arameans. His blood flowed down and covered the bottom of the chariot. That evening he died. 36 Near sunset a cry went out through the army of Israel: “Each man go back to his own country and city.”
37 So in that way King Ahab died. His body was carried to Samaria and buried there. 38 The men cleaned Ahab’s chariot at a pool in Samaria. This was a pool where prostitutes bathed. And the dogs licked King Ahab’s blood from the chariot. These things happened as the Lord had said they would.
39 Everything else Ahab did is written down. It is in the book of the history of the kings of Israel. That book also tells about the palace Ahab built and decorated with ivory. And it tells about the cities he built. 40 So Ahab died, and his son Ahaziah became king in his place.
Jehoshaphat King of Judah
41 Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king of Judah. This was during Ahab’s fourth year as king over Israel. 42 Jehoshaphat was 35 years old when he became king. And he ruled in Jerusalem for 25 years. His mother was the daughter of Shilhi. She was named Azubah. 43 Jehoshaphat was good like his father before him. He did what the Lord said was right. But Jehoshaphat did not destroy the places where false gods were worshiped. So the people continued offering sacrifices and burning incense there. 44 Jehoshaphat was at peace with the king of Israel. 45 Jehoshaphat fought many wars. These wars and his successes are written down. They are in the book of the history of the kings of Judah. 46 There were prostitutes in the places where false gods were worshiped. Jehoshaphat’s father, Asa, had not forced all of them out. But Jehoshaphat forced the rest of them to leave.
47 During this time the land of Edom had no king. It was ruled by a governor.
48 King Jehoshaphat built trading ships to sail to Ophir for gold. But the ships were destroyed at Ezion Geber. So they never set sail. 49 Ahaziah son of Ahab went to help Jehoshaphat. Ahaziah said he would give Jehoshaphat some men to sail with his men. But Jehoshaphat refused.
50 Jehoshaphat died and was buried with his ancestors. He was buried in Jerusalem, the city of David, his ancestor. And his son Jehoram became king.
Ahaziah King of Israel
51 Ahaziah son of Ahab became king of Israel in Samaria. This was during Jehoshaphat’s seventeenth year as king over Judah. Ahaziah ruled Israel for two years. 52 Ahaziah did what the Lord said was wrong. He did the same things his father Ahab, his mother Jezebel and Jeroboam son of Nebat had done. All these rulers led the people of Israel into more sin. 53 Ahaziah worshiped and served the god Baal. So Ahaziah made the Lord, the God of Israel, very angry. In these ways Ahaziah did what his father had done.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.