| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1And it came to pass after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel, next to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. | 1After this the following episode took place. Naboth the Jezreelite owned a vineyard in Jezreel adjacent to the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. |
| 2So Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near, next to my house; and for it I will give you a vineyard better than it. Or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its worth in money.” | 2Ahab said to Naboth, "Give me your vineyard so I can make a vegetable garden out of it, for it is adjacent to my palace. I will give you an even better vineyard in its place, or if you prefer, I will pay you silver for it." |
| 3But Naboth said to Ahab, “The LORD forbid that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you!” | 3But Naboth replied to Ahab, "The LORD forbid that I should sell you my ancestral inheritance." |
| 4So Ahab went into his house sullen and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no food. | 4So Ahab went into his palace, bitter and angry that Naboth the Jezreelite had said, "I will not sell to you my ancestral inheritance." He lay down on his bed, pouted, and would not eat. |
| 5But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, “Why is your spirit so sullen that you eat no food?” | 5Then his wife Jezebel came in and said to him, "Why do you have a bitter attitude and refuse to eat?" |
| 6He said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite, and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’ ” | 6He answered her, "While I was talking to Naboth the Jezreelite, I said to him, 'Sell me your vineyard for silver, or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.' But he said, 'I will not sell you my vineyard.'" |
| 7Then Jezebel his wife said to him, “You now exercise authority over Israel! Arise, eat food, and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.” | 7His wife Jezebel said to him, "You are the king of Israel! Get up, eat some food, and have a good time. I will get the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite for you." |
| 8And she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who were dwelling in the city with Naboth. | 8She wrote out orders, signed Ahab's name to them, and sealed them with his seal. She then sent the orders to the leaders and to the nobles who lived in Naboth's city. |
| 9She wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and seat Naboth with high honor among the people; | 9This is what she wrote: "Observe a time of fasting and seat Naboth in front of the people. |
| 10and seat two men, scoundrels, before him to bear witness against him, saying, “You have blasphemed God and the king.” Then take him out, and stone him, that he may die. | 10Also seat two villains opposite him and have them testify, 'You cursed God and the king.' Then take him out and stone him to death." |
| 11So the men of his city, the elders and nobles who were inhabitants of his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them. | 11The men of the city, the leaders and the nobles who lived there, followed the written orders Jezebel had sent them. |
| 12They proclaimed a fast, and seated Naboth with high honor among the people. | 12They observed a time of fasting and put Naboth in front of the people. |
| 13And two men, scoundrels, came in and sat before him; and the scoundrels witnessed against him, against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth has blasphemed God and the king!” Then they took him outside the city and stoned him with stones, so that he died. | 13The two villains arrived and sat opposite him. Then the villains testified against Naboth right before the people, saying, "Naboth cursed God and the king." So they dragged him outside the city and stoned him to death. |
| 14Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned and is dead.” | 14Then they reported to Jezebel, "Naboth has been stoned to death." |
| 15And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” | 15When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, "Get up, take possession of the vineyard Naboth the Jezreelite refused to sell you for silver, for Naboth is no longer alive; he's dead." |
| 16So it was, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. | 16When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. |
| 17Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, | 17The LORD told Elijah the Tishbite: |
| 18“Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who lives in Samaria. There he is, in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to take possession of it. | 18"Get up, go down and meet King Ahab of Israel who lives in Samaria. He is at the vineyard of Naboth; he has gone down there to take possession of it. |
| 19You shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Have you murdered and also taken possession?” ’ And you shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: “In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs shall lick your blood, even yours.” ’ ” | 19Say to him, 'This is what the LORD says: "Haven't you committed murder and taken possession of the property of the deceased?"' Then say to him, 'This is what the LORD says: "In the spot where dogs licked up Naboth's blood they will also lick up your blood--yes, yours!"'" |
| 20So Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” And he answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the LORD: | 20When Elijah arrived, Ahab said to him, "So, you have found me, my enemy!" Elijah replied, "I have found you, because you are committed to doing evil in the sight of the LORD. |
| 21‘Behold, I will bring calamity on you. I will take away your posterity, and will cut off from Ahab every male in Israel, both bond and free. | 21The LORD says, 'Look, I am ready to bring disaster on you. I will destroy you and cut off every last male belonging to Ahab in Israel, including even the weak and incapacitated. |
| 22I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, because of the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger, and made Israel sin.’ | 22I will make your dynasty like those of Jeroboam son of Nebat and Baasha son of Ahijah because you angered me and made Israel sin.' |
| 23And concerning Jezebel the LORD also spoke, saying, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’ | 23The LORD says this about Jezebel, 'Dogs will devour Jezebel by the outer wall of Jezreel.' |
| 24The dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Ahab and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field.” | 24As for Ahab's family, dogs will eat the ones who die in the city, and the birds of the sky will eat the ones who die in the country." |
| 25But there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the LORD, because Jezebel his wife stirred him up. | 25(There had never been anyone like Ahab, who was firmly committed to doing evil in the sight of the LORD, urged on by his wife Jezebel. |
| 26And he behaved very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites had done, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. | 26He was so wicked he worshiped the disgusting idols, just like the Amorites whom the LORD had driven out from before the Israelites.) |
| 27So it was, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his body, and fasted and lay in sackcloth, and went about mourning. | 27When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted. He slept in sackcloth and walked around dejected. |
| 28And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, | 28The LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, |
| 29“See how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the calamity in his days. In the days of his son I will bring the calamity on his house.” | 29"Have you noticed how Ahab shows remorse before me? Because he shows remorse before me, I will not bring disaster on his dynasty during his lifetime, but during the reign of his son." |
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