^21:1After this the following episode took place.¹ Naboth the Jezreelite owned a vineyard in Jezreel adjacent to the palace of King Ahab of Samaria.²^21:2Ahab 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,³ I will pay you silver for it.”⁴^21:3But Naboth replied to Ahab, “The Lord forbid that I should sell you my ancestral inheritance.”⁵

^21:4So Ahab went into his palace, bitter and angry that Naboth the Jezreelite had said,⁶ “I will not sell to you my ancestral inheritance.”⁷ He lay down on his bed, pouted,⁸ and would not eat. ^21:5Then his wife Jezebel came in and said to him, “Why do you have a bitter attitude and refuse to eat?” ^21:6He 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.’ ”⁹^21:7His wife Jezebel said to him, “You are the king of Israel!¹⁰ Get up, eat some food, and have a good time.¹¹ I will get the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite for you.”

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Footnotes

1 Heb “after these things.” The words “the following episode took place” are added for stylistic reasons.
2 King Ahab of Samaria. Samaria, as the capital of the northern kingdom, here stands for the nation of Israel. For location see ; ; ; ; .
3 Heb “if it is good in your eyes.”
4 The Old Greek translation includes the following words: “And it will be mine as a garden of herbs.”
5 Heb “Far be it from me, by the Lord, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you.”
6 Heb “on account of the word that Naboth the Jezreelite spoke to him.”
7 Heb “I will not give to you the inheritance of my fathers.”
8 Heb “turned away his face.”
9 Heb “While I was talking …, I said …, he said.…” Ahab’s explanation is one lengthy sentence in the Hebrew text, which is divided in the English translation for stylistic reasons.
10 Heb “You, now, you are exercising kingship over Israel.”
11 Heb “so your heart [i.e., disposition] might be well.”