^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.” ^21:16When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead,²⁶ he got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.

^21:17The Lord told Elijah the Tishbite:²⁷^21:18“Get up, go down and meet King Ahab of Israel who lives in Samaria. He is at the vineyard of Naboth; he has gone down there to take possession of it. ^21:19Say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Haven’t you committed murder and taken possession of the property of the deceased?” ’ Then say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “In the spot where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood they will also lick up your blood—yes, yours!” ’ ”

^21:20When Elijah arrived, Ahab said to him,²⁸ “So, you have found me, my enemy!” Elijah²⁹ replied, “I have found you, because you are committed³⁰ to doing evil in the sight of³¹ the Lord. ^21:21The Lord says,³² ‘Look, I am ready to bring disaster³³ on you. I will destroy you³⁴ and cut off every last male belonging to Ahab in Israel, including even the weak and incapacitated.³⁵^21:22I will make your dynasty³⁶ like those of Jeroboam son of Nebat and Baasha son of Ahijah because you angered me and made Israel sin.’³⁷^21:23The Lord says this about Jezebel, ‘Dogs will devour Jezebel by the outer wall³⁸ of Jezreel.’ ^21:24As for Ahab’s family, dogs will eat the ones³⁹ who die in the city, and the birds of the sky will eat the ones who die in the country.”

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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.
26 The Old Greek translation includes the following words here: “he tore his garments and put on sackcloth. After these things.”
27 Heb “the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite.”
28 Heb “and Ahab said to Elijah.” The narrative is elliptical and streamlined. The words “when Elijah arrived” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
29 Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
30 Heb “you have sold yourself.”
31 Heb “in the eyes of.”
32 The introductory formula “the Lord says” is omitted in the Hebrew text, but supplied in the translation for clarification.
33 Disaster. There is a wordplay in the Hebrew text. The word translated “disaster” (רָעָה, ra’ah) is similar to the word translated “evil” (v. 20, הָרַע, hara’). Ahab’s sins would receive an appropriate punishment.
34 Heb “I will burn after you.” Some take the verb בָּעַר (ba’ar) to mean here “sweep away.” See the discussion of this verb in the notes at and .
35 Heb “and I will cut off from Ahab those who urinate against a wall, [including both those who are] restrained and let free [or “abandoned”] in Israel.” The precise meaning of the idiomatic phrase עָצוּר וְעָזוּב (’atsur vé’azuv, translated here “weak and incapacitated”) is uncertain. For various options see עצר and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (), . The two terms are usually taken as polar opposites (“slaves and freemen” or “minors and adults”), but Cogan and Tadmor, on the basis of contextual considerations (note the usage with אֶפֶס (’efes), “nothing but”) in Deut 32:36 and 2 Kgs 14:26, argue convincingly that the terms are synonyms, meaning “restrained and abandoned,” and refer to incapable or incapacitated individuals.
36 Heb “house.”
37 Heb “because of the provocation by which you angered [me], and you caused Israel to sin.”
38 A few Hebrew and some ancient versions agree with 2 Kgs 9:10, 36, which reads, “the plot [of ground] at Jezreel.” The Hebrew words translated “outer wall” (חֵל, khel, defectively written here!) and “plot [of ground]” (חֵלֶק, kheleq) are spelled similarly.
39 “Dogs will eat the ones who belonging to Ahab who die in the city.”