1 Kings 21:1–16

¹And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jizreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jizreel, by the side of the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. ²And Ahab spoke to Naboth saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, for it is near, by the side of my house; and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; if it seem good to thee, I will give thee its value in money. ³And Naboth said to Ahab, Jehovah forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to thee! ⁴And Ahab came into his house sullen and vexed because of the word that Naboth the Jizreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he lay down on his bed, and turned away his face, and ate no bread.

⁵And Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, Why is thy spirit sullen, and thou eatest no bread? ⁶And he said to her, Because I spoke to Naboth the Jizreelite and said to him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee a vineyard for it; and he said, I will not give thee my vineyard. ⁷And Jezebel his wife said to him, Dost thou now exercise sovereignty over Israel? arise, eat bread, and let thy heart be glad: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jizreelite. ⁸And she wrote a letter in Ahab’s name, and sealed it with his seal, and sent the letter to the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth. ⁹And she wrote in the letter saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people; ¹⁰and set two men, sons of Belial, before him, and they shall bear witness against him saying, Thou didst curse God and the king; and carry him out, and stone him, that he may die. ¹¹And the men of his city, the elders and the nobles that dwelt in his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, as it was written in the letter that she had sent to them: ¹²they proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people. ¹³And there came the two men, sons of Belial, and sat before him; and the men of Belial witnessed against him, against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth blasphemed God and the king. And they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died. ¹⁴And they sent to Jezebel saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead. ¹⁵And it came to pass when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jizreelite, which he refused to give thee for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead. ¹⁶And it came to pass when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jizreelite, to take possession of it.