Jezebel arranged for Naboth to be killed

1King Ahab had a palace in Jezreel city. Near the palace was a vineyard owned by a man from that city whose name was Naboth.

2One day, Ahab went to Naboth and said to him, “Your vineyard is close to my palace. I would like to buy it, so that I can plant some vegetables there. In exchange, I will give you a better vineyard somewhere else, or if you prefer, I will pay you for your vineyard.”

3But Naboth replied, “That land belonged to my ancestors, so I want to keep it. I hope that Yahweh will never allow me to give that land to you!”

4So Ahab became very sullen and angry because of what Naboth had said. He went home and lay down on his bed. He turned his face toward the wall, and he refused to eat anything.

5His wife Jezebel came in and asked him, “Why are you so depressed? Why are you refusing to eat anything?”

6Ahab replied, “I talked to Naboth, that man from Jezreel. I told him that I wanted his vineyard. I said, ‘I will buy it from you, or I will give you another vineyard for it.’ But he refused to let me have it.”

7His wife replied, “You are [RHQ] the king of Israel, so you can get whatever you want Get up, and eat some food and do not worry about what Naboth said. I will get Naboth’s vineyard for you.”

8Then Jezebel wrote some letters, and she signed Ahab’s name on them. She used his official seal to seal them. Then she sent them to the older leaders and other important men who lived in Naboth’s town.

9This is what she wrote in the letters: “Proclaim a day when all the people will gather together and ◄fast/abstain from eating food►. Give to Naboth an important place to sit among them.

10Then find two men who always cause trouble. Give them places to sit opposite/facing him. Tell these men to testify that they heard Naboth say things that criticized God and the king. Then take Naboth out of the city and kill him by throwing stones at him.”

11The leaders received the letters and did what Jezebel had written in the letters for them to do.

12They declared a day on which the people would all ◄fast/abstain from food►. And they gave Naboth a seat in a place where honored people sat, in front of the people.

13Two men who always caused trouble sat opposite/facing Naboth. While everyone was listening, they stated that they had heard Naboth say things that criticized God and the king. So the people seized Naboth. They took him outside the city and killed him by throwing stones at him.

14Then those leaders sent a message to Jezebel, saying “We have executed Naboth.”

15When Jezebel found out that Naboth had been killed, she told Ahab, “Naboth is dead. Now you can go and take possession of the vineyard that he refused to sell to you.”

16When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went to the vineyard to claim that he now owned it.

17Then Yahweh spoke to Elijah the prophet. He said,

18“Go to Samaria and talk to Ahab, the king of Israel. He is in the vineyard of a man named Naboth. He has gone there to claim that he now owns it.

19Tell Ahab that this is what I, Yahweh, say to him: ‘You have murdered Naboth and taken his land.’ So I am telling you this: ‘In the same place where Naboth died and dogs came and licked up Naboth’s blood, you will die and the dogs will lick up your blood, too!’ ”

20So when Elijah met with Ahab, Ahab said to him, “You, my enemy, have found me!” [RHQ] Elijah answered, “Yes, I have found you. You have never stopped doing the things that Yahweh says are wrong.

21So this is what Yahweh says to you: ‘I will soon get rid of you. I will kill you, and I will also kill every male in your household, including those who are slaves and those who are not slaves.

22Your family will all be killed, just like the family of King Jeroboam and like the family of King Baasha were killed. I will get rid of you because you have caused me to become very angry, and you have also led the Israeli people to sin.’

23Yahweh has also told me that your wife Jezebel will be killed, and dogs in Jezreel will eat her corpse.

24The dead bodies of the members of your family who die in this city will not be buried, they will be eaten by dogs, and the corpses of those who die in the fields will be eaten by vultures.”

25There was no man no man like Ahab who always did things that Yahweh considered to be evil. His wife Jezebel incited/urged him to do many of those things.

26The most abominable/detestable thing that Ahab did was to worship idols, just like the Amor people-group had done. And that is why Yahweh took the Amor people’s land from them and gave it to the Israelis.

27After Elijah finished talking to Ahab, Ahab tore his clothes to show that he was sorry for all the sins that he had committed. He put on rough clothes that were made from sacks, and he refused to eat anything. He even wore those rough clothes made from sacks when he slept, to show that he was sorry.

28Then Yahweh said this to Elijah:

29“I have seen [RHQ] that Ahab is now very sorry for all the evil things that he has done. So the things that I promised to do to his family will not happen while he is still alive. I will cause them to happen after his son becomes king. Then those things will happen to his family.” [MTY]