Old/New Testament
The Naboth Vineyard Incident
21 Meanwhile, there was a man named Naboth from Jezreel who owned a vineyard that was located contiguous to King Ahab’s palace in Samaria. 2 Ahab addressed Naboth and asked him, “I would like to plant a vegetable garden near my house. Please exchange your vineyard with a better one from me, or if you’d rather have cash, I’ll buy it for its full value.”
3 But Naboth replied to Ahab, “No way! The Lord prohibits the sale to you of the inheritance of my ancestors!”
4 Ahab went back to his palace, sullen and in a foul mood, because Naboth the Jezreelite had turned down Ahab’s offer by saying, “I will not transfer my ancestors’ inheritance to you!” He laid down on his bed, curled up with his face to the wall, and refused to eat.
5 But his wife Jezebel went to him and asked him, “How is it that you’re so sullen and refusing to eat?”
6 “I asked Naboth the Jezreelite, ‘Sell me your vineyard for cash, or if you want, I’ll give you a better one in its place.’ But he refused. He told me, ‘I won’t give you my vineyard!’”
7 “Aren’t you the reigning king of Israel?” his wife Jezebel replied. “Get up, have a meal, and get ready to be happy. I’ll go get you the vineyard that Naboth the Jezreelite owns.” 8 So she wrote some memos in Ahab’s name, set his personal seal to them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived with Naboth in his city. 9 In the memos, she wrote the following directives: “Proclaim a public fast and seat Naboth in the front row. 10 Seat two wicked men in front of him, and make them testify against him. Tell them to claim, ‘You cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”
11 So the leading men of the city, along with the elders and nobles who lived there, did precisely what Jezebel had directed them to do. They followed the instructions that she had set forth in the memos: 12 They proclaimed a public fast and seated Naboth in the front row. 13 Two wicked men came in, sat down in front of them, and testified against Naboth in public, “Naboth cursed God and the king!” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.[a]
14 Afterwards, they sent a message[b] to Jezebel that said, “Naboth has been stoned. He’s dead.”
15 When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she told Ahab, “Get up and confiscate Naboth’s vineyard that he refused to sell you for cash. Naboth the Jezreelite isn’t alive anymore. He’s dead!” 16 So once he heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab got up, went down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, and confiscated it.
Elijah Rebukes Ahab
17 That’s when this message from the Lord came to Elijah the foreigner:[c] 18 “Get up and go down to meet King Ahab of Israel. He’s in Samaria. Look! He’s in Naboth’s vineyard, where he’s gone to confiscate it. 19 Ask the king, ‘Did you commit murder? And now you’re going to steal as well?’ Also tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Where the dogs were licking up Naboth’s blood, dogs will also lick up your blood—that’s right—yours!”’”
20 Later on, Ahab asked Elijah, “Have you found me, my enemy?”
But Elijah answered, “I’ve found you because you sold yourself to do what the Lord considers to be evil! 21 Now pay attention! I’m going to send evil in your direction! I will completely sweep you away and eliminate from Ahab every male, whether indentured servant or free, throughout Israel. 22 I will make your household resemble that of Nebat’s son Jeroboam, or like the household of Ahijah’s son Baasha, because of how you’ve provoked me to anger and made Israel to sin. 23 The Lord also has this to say about Jezebel: ‘Dogs will eat Jezebel within the outer ramparts of Jezreel. 24 Dogs will eat whoever belongs to Ahab and who dies in the city. The birds of the sky will eat whoever dies in the fields.’”
25 It can be truly said that no one else sold himself to practice what the Lord considered to be evil quite like the way Ahab did, because his wife Jezebel incited him. 26 His behavior in pursuing idolatry was detestable, just like the Amorites had done whom the Lord had expelled in front of the army of Israel. 27 Nevertheless, as soon as Ahab heard this message, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted. He even slept in sackcloth and wandered around meekly.
28 Later, this message from the Lord came to Elijah the foreigner:[d] 29 “Have you noticed that Ahab has humbled himself in my presence? Because he has humbled himself in my presence, I will not bring his evil to harvest[e] during his lifetime, but I will bring evil to his household during his son’s lifetime.”
King Ahab Invites Jehoshaphat to Invade Aram(A)
22 Three years passed without war between Aram and Israel. 2 During that third year, King Jehoshaphat of Judah went to visit the king of Israel. 3 The king of Israel asked his servants, “Were you aware that Ramoth-gilead belongs to us, but we aren’t doing anything to remove it from the control of the king of Aram?”
4 Then he asked Jehoshaphat, “Will you join me in battle against Ramoth-gilead?”
“I’m with you,” Jehoshaphat answered the king of Israel. “My army will join yours, and my cavalry will be your cavalry.” 5 But Jehoshaphat also asked the king of Israel, “Please ask for a message from the Lord, first.”
6 So the king of Israel called in about 400 prophets and asked them, “Should we go attack Ramoth-gilead, or should I call off the attack?”[f]
“Go attack them,” they all said, “because the Lord will drop them right into the king’s hand!”
7 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn’t there a prophet of the Lord left here that we could talk to?”
8 “There is still one man left by whom we could ask the Lord what to do,”[g] the king of Israel replied to Jehoshaphat, “but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me. Instead, he prophesies evil. He is Imla’s son Micaiah.”
But Jehoshaphat rebuked Ahab, “Kings[h] should never talk like that.”
9 Nevertheless, the king of Israel called one of his officers and ordered him, “Bring me Imla’s son Micaiah quickly.”
10 Now the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were each sitting on their respective thrones, arrayed in their robes, on the threshing floor at the entrance to the city gate of Samaria, and all of the prophets were prophesying in front of them. 11 Chenaanah’s son Zedekiah made iron horns for himself and told them, “This is what the Lord says, ‘With these horns you are to gore the Arameans until they are eliminated!’”
12 All the other prophets were saying similar things, like “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and you will be successful, because the Lord will hand it over to the king!”
Micaiah Predicts Failure(B)
13 Meanwhile, the messenger who had gone off to summon Micaiah advised him, “Look, everything that the other prophets were saying was unanimously favorable to the king. So please, cooperate with them and speak favorably.”
14 “As the Lord lives,” Micaiah replied, “I’ll say what my God tells me to say.”
15 When Micaiah[i] approached the king, the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I not?”
“Go to war,” Micaiah[j] replied, “and you will be successful, because the Lord will hand it over to the king!”
16 When he heard this, the king asked him, “How many times do I have to make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth? Now do it in the name of the Lord!”
17 So Micaiah replied:
“I saw all of Israel
scattered on the mountains
like sheep without a shepherd.
And the Lord told me,
‘These have no master,
so let them each return to his own home in peace.’”
18 Then the king of Israel told Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he wouldn’t prophesy anything good about me, but only evil?”
19 But Micaiah responded, “Therefore, listen to what the Lord has to say. I saw the Lord, sitting on his throne, and the entire Heavenly Army was standing around him on his right hand and on his left hand.
20 “The Lord asked, ‘Who will tempt King Ahab of Israel to attack Ramoth-gilead, so that he will die there?’ And one was saying one thing and one was saying another.
21 “But then a spirit approached, stood in front of the Lord, and said, ‘I will entice him.’
22 “And the Lord asked him, ‘How?’
“‘I will go,’ he announced, ‘and I will be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all of his prophets!’
“So the Lord said, ‘You’re just the one to deceive him. You will be successful. Go and do it.’
23 “Now therefore, listen! The Lord has placed a lying spirit in the mouth of all of these prophets of yours, because the Lord has determined to bring disaster upon you.”
24 Right then, Chenaanah’s son Zedekiah approached Micaiah and struck him on the cheek. Then he asked him, “How did the Spirit of the Lord move from me to speak to you?”
25 Micaiah replied, “You’ll see how when the day comes that you run away to hide yourself in a closet!”
26 Then the king of Israel ordered, “Take Micaiah and place him in the custody of Amon, the city governor. Hand him over to Joash, the king’s son. 27 Give him this order: ‘Place him in prison on survival rations of bread and water only until I come back safely.’”
28 “If you return alive,” Micaiah responded, “then the Lord has not spoken by me.” Then he added, “Listen, all you people!”
Ahab Dies at Ramoth-gilead(C)
29 So the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah both attacked Ramoth-gilead. 30 The king of Israel suggested to Jehoshaphat, “I’ll go into battle in disguise, but you keep your royal uniform on.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and they both went into the battle.
31 Meanwhile, the king of Aram had issued these orders to 32 of his chariot commanders: “Don’t attack unimportant soldiers or ranking officers. Go after only the king of Israel.”
32 So when the chariot commanders observed Jehoshaphat, they said by mistake,[k] “It’s the king of Israel!” and they turned aside to attack him. But Jehoshaphat cried out. 33 When the chariot commanders saw that their target[l] was not the king of Israel, they stopped pursuing him.
34 Meanwhile, somebody drew his bow aimlessly and struck the king of Israel between the scales where his armor breastplates joined, so he instructed his chariot driver, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, because I’ve been severely wounded.” 35 The battle continued on for the rest of the day while the king of Israel was propped up in front of the Arameans until the sun set, at which time he died. The blood from Ahab’s wound ran down into the bottom of the chariot.
36 As the day drew to a close, this order was circulated throughout the army telling the soldiers, “Everybody go back to his city and to his own land.” 37 So the king died and was brought back to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria. 38 They washed the chariot by the reservoir of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood near where the prostitutes went to bathe, in keeping with the message that the Lord had spoken.
39 Now as to the rest of Ahab’s accomplishments, everything that he undertook, the ivory palace he built, and the cities that he built, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, are they not? 40 That’s how Ahab died, just as his ancestors had, and his son Ahaziah became king in his place.
Jehoshaphat Reigns over Judah
41 Asa’s son Jehoshaphat became king over Judah during the fourth year of the reign of[m] King Ahab of Israel. 42 Jehoshaphat was 35 years old when he became king. He reigned 25 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah. She was the daughter of Shilhi. 43 He lived like his father Asa and never abandoned that life. He did what the Lord considered to be right. Nevertheless, the high places were not demolished, and the people continued to sacrifice and burn incense on the high places.[n] 44 Jehoshaphat also made a peace treaty with the king of Israel.
45 Now the rest of Jehoshaphat’s accomplishments, the power that he demonstrated, and how he waged war are written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, are they not? 46 He also eliminated the male cult prostitutes who still remained from the time of his father Asa.
47 There was no king reigning in Edom; there was only a stand-in[o] king. 48 Jehoshaphat had ocean-going vessels from Tarshish sail to Ophir[p] for gold, but they never made it because they were shipwrecked at Ezion-geber. 49 Ahab’s son Ahaziah had offered to go. “Let my servants go with your servants in the ships!” he said. But Jehoshaphat was not willing. 50 Later, Jehoshaphat died, as did his ancestors, and he was buried alongside his ancestors in the City of David. Jehoram his son became king in his place.
Ahaziah Reigns over Israel
51 Ahab’s son Ahaziah became king over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of King Jehoshaphat of Judah. He reigned for two years over Israel. 52 He practiced what the Lord considered to be evil by living life like his father and mother did. He lived like Nebat’s son Jeroboam, who led Israel into sin. 53 He served Baal, worshipped him, and provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger, in accordance with everything his father had done.
Jesus is Crucified(A)
26 As they led Jesus[a] away, they grabbed Simon, a man from Cyrene, as he was coming in from the country, and they put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. 27 A large crowd of people followed him, including some women who kept mourning and wailing for him.
28 But Jesus turned to them and said, “Women[b] of Jerusalem, stop crying for me. Instead, cry for yourselves and for your children, 29 because the time is surely coming when people[c] will say, ‘How blessed are the women who couldn’t bear children and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 30 Then people[d] will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’, and to the hills, ‘Cover us up!’[e] 31 And if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
32 Two others, who were criminals, were also led away to be executed with Jesus.[f] 33 When they reached the place called The Skull, they crucified him there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 Jesus kept saying, “Father, forgive them, because they don’t know what they’re doing.”[g] Then they divided his clothes among them by throwing dice.
35 Meanwhile, the people stood looking on. The leaders were mocking him by saying, “He saved others. Let him save himself, if he is the Messiah[h] of God, the chosen one!”
36 The soldiers also made fun of Jesus[i] by coming up and offering him sour wine, 37 saying, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 There was also an inscription over him written in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:[j] “This is the King of the Jews.”
39 Now one of the criminals hanging there kept insulting[k] him, “You are the Messiah,[l] aren’t you? Save yourself…and us!”
40 But the other criminal rebuked him, “Aren’t you afraid of God, since you are suffering the same penalty? 41 We have been condemned justly, because we are getting what we deserve for what we have done, but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he went on to plead, “Jesus, remember me when you come into[m] your kingdom!”
43 Jesus[n] told him, “I tell you[o] with certainty, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
Jesus Dies on the Cross(B)
44 It was already about noon,[p] and the whole land[q] became dark until three in the afternoon[r] 45 because the sun had stopped shining, and the curtain[s] in the sanctuary was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus cried out with a loud voice and said, “Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.”[t] After he said this, he breathed his last.
47 When the centurion[u] saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, “This man certainly was righteous!” 48 When all the crowds who had come together for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they beat their chests and left. 49 But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, were standing at a distance watching these things.
Jesus is Buried(C)
50 Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council,[v] a good and righteous man— 51 he had not voted for their plan and action—from the Jewish town of Arimathea; and he was waiting for the kingdom of God. 52 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb cut in the rock, in which no one had yet been laid.
54 It was the Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was just beginning. 55 So the women who had come with Jesus[w] from Galilee, following close behind, saw the tomb and how his body was laid. 56 Then they went back and prepared spices and perfumes, and on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
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