1 Kings 21:5–15

⁵But ^dJezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, “Why is your spirit so sullen that you eat no food?”

⁶He said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite, and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’ ”

⁷Then Jezebel his wife said to him, “You now exercise authority over Israel! Arise, eat food, and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

⁸And she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who were dwelling in the city with Naboth. ⁹She wrote in the letters, saying,

Proclaim a fast, and seat Naboth ¹with high honor among the people; ¹⁰and seat two men, scoundrels, before him to bear witness against him, saying, You have ^eblasphemed God and the king. Then take him out, and ^fstone him, that he may die.

¹¹So the men of his city, the elders and nobles who were inhabitants of his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them. ^12gThey proclaimed a fast, and seated Naboth with high honor among the people. ¹³And two men, scoundrels, came in and sat before him; and the scoundrels ^hwitnessed against him, against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth has blasphemed God and the king!” ⁱThen they took him outside the city and stoned him with stones, so that he died. ¹⁴Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned and is dead.”

¹⁵And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.”