^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.”

^21:8She wrote out orders,¹² signed Ahab’s name to them,¹³ and sealed them with his seal. She then sent the orders¹⁴ to the leaders¹⁵ and to the nobles who lived in Naboth’s city.¹⁶^21:9This is what she wrote:¹⁷ “Observe a time of fasting and seat Naboth in front of the people. ^21:10Also seat two villains opposite him and have them testify, ‘You cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”

^21:11The men of the¹⁸ city, the leaders¹⁹ and the nobles who lived there,²⁰ followed the written orders Jezebel had sent them.²¹^21:12They observed a time of fasting and put Naboth in front of the people. ^21:13The two villains arrived and sat opposite him. Then the villains testified against Naboth right before the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they dragged him²² outside the city and stoned him to death.²³^21:14Then they reported to Jezebel, “Naboth has been stoned to death.”²⁴

^21:15When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she²⁵ said to Ahab, “Get up, take possession of the vineyard Naboth the Jezreelite refused to sell you for silver, for Naboth is no longer alive; he’s dead.”

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Footnotes

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.”
12 Heb “scrolls.”
13 Heb “in the name of Ahab.”
14 Heb “scrolls.”
15 Heb “elders.”
16 Heb “to the nobles who were in his city, the ones who lived with Naboth.”
17 Heb “she wrote on the scrolls, saying.”
18 Heb “his.”
19 Heb “elders.”
20 Heb “and the nobles who were living in his city.”
21 Heb “did as Jezebel sent to them, just as was written in the scrolls which she sent to them.”
22 Heb “led him.”
23 Heb “and they stoned him with stones and he died.”
24 Heb “Naboth was stoned and he died.” So also in v. 15.
25 Heb “Jezebel”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“she”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.