⁸So Jezebel wrote some letters, signed Ahab’s name to them, and used his own seal to seal them. Then she sent them to the elders and important men who lived in Naboth’s town. ⁹The letter she wrote said: “Declare a day during which the people are to fast. Call the people together, and give Naboth a place of honor among them. ¹⁰Seat two troublemakers across from him, and have them say they heard Naboth speak against God and the king. Then take Naboth out of the city and kill him with stones.”

¹¹The elders and important men of Jezreel obeyed Jezebel’s command, just as she wrote in the letters. ¹²They declared a special day on which the people were to fast. And they put Naboth in a place of honor before the people. ¹³Two troublemakers sat across from Naboth and said in front of everybody that they had heard him speak against God and the king. So the people carried Naboth out of the city and killed him with stones. ¹⁴Then the leaders sent a message to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been killed.”

¹⁵When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been killed, she told Ahab, “Naboth of Jezreel is dead. Now you may go and take for yourself the vineyard he would not sell to you.” ¹⁶When Ahab heard that Naboth of Jezreel was dead, he got up and went to the vineyard to take it for his own.

¹⁷At this time the Lord spoke his word to the prophet Elijah the Tishbite. The Lord said, ¹⁸“Go to Ahab king of Israel in Samaria. He is at Naboth’s vineyard, where he has gone to take it as his own. ¹⁹Tell Ahab that I, the Lord, say to him, ‘You have murdered Naboth and taken his land. So I tell you this: In the same place the dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, they will also lick up your blood!’ ”

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