1 Kings 21:5–24

⁵Then Jezebel his wife came to him, and she said to him, “What is this, that your spirit is sullen and you are not eating food?” ⁶Then he said to her, “When I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and asked him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money, or if you prefer, I will give you a vineyard in place of it,’ he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’ ” ⁷Jezebel his wife said to him, “Now, you rule^c over Israel. Get up, eat food, and let your heart be cheerful.^d I myself will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

⁸So she wrote letters in the name of Ahab and sealed them with his seal. She sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who were dwelling with Naboth in his city. ⁹She had written in the letters, saying, “Call a fast and seat Naboth at the head of the people. ¹⁰Seat two men, scoundrels,^e opposite him. Let them witness against him saying, ‘You cursed God and the king.’ Then you shall bring him out and stone him so that he dies.” ¹¹The men of his city and the elders and nobles who were living in his city did according to what Jezebel had sent to them, as was written in the letters which she had sent to them. ¹²They called a fast, and they seated Naboth at the head of the people. ¹³Then the two men, scoundrels,^f came, sat opposite him, and the scoundrels^g witnessed against Naboth before the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king,” so they brought him outside of the city and stoned him with stones, and he died.

¹⁴They sent to Jezebel saying, “Naboth has been stoned, and he is dead.” ¹⁵It happened at the moment Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and died, Jezebel said to Ahab, “Get up, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite which he had refused to give to you for money, for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” ¹⁶When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite to take possession of it.

Elijah Responds to Ahab

¹⁷The word of Yahweh came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ¹⁸“Arise, go down to meet Ahab the king of Israel who is in Samaria. Look in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession of it. ¹⁹You shall say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh: “Have you committed murder and also taken possession?” ’ You shall also say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh: “In the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, the dogs will also lick your blood.” ’ ”

²⁰Then Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, my enemy?” He said, “I have found you because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of Yahweh. ²¹‘Look, I am bringing disaster on you, and I will sweep away after you. I will cut off for Ahab every male^h in Israel, bond or free. 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 you made me angryⁱ and have caused Israel to sin.’ ²³Moreover, concerning Jezebel, Yahweh has said, ‘The dogs will eat Jezebel in the outer rampart of Jezreel.’ ²⁴The one belonging to Ahab who dies in the city, the dogs will eat; and the one who dies in the open country, the birds of the heavens will eat.”