UST 1 KI Chapter 21

◄ 1 KI 21 ► ║ ═ ©

21 King Ahab’s main palace was in the city of Samaria. But he also had a palace in the city of Jezreel. Near that palace there was a vineyard. Naboth the Jezreelite owned that vineyard. Shortly after he returned from fighting the Arameans, 2 Ahab went to Naboth and said to him, “Your vineyard is close to my palace. I would like to buy it so that I can use the land for a vegetable garden. In exchange, I will give you a better vineyard somewhere else, or if you prefer, I will pay you what your vineyard is worth in silver.” 3 But Naboth replied, “I inherited that land from my ancestors and the law of Moses does not allow me to sell it. Yahweh would be very displeased with me if I sold that land to you, so I will not sell it!” 4 Ahab became angry and depressed when Naboth told him that he would not sell him the vineyard that he had inherited from his ancestors. Ahab went home and lay down on his bed. He turned his face toward the wall, and he refused to eat anything.

5 His wife Jezebel came and asked him, “Why are you so depressed? Why are you refusing to eat anything?” 6 Ahab replied, “I am depressed and not eating because of what happened when I spoke with Naboth the Jezreelite. I told him that I wanted his vineyard. I said, ‘I will buy it from you for silver, or I will give you another vineyard in exchange for it.’ But he told me that he would not let me have it.” 7 Jezebel replied, “You are the king of Israel, so you can have whatever you want! Now get up and eat some food, and do not let what Naboth said bother you. I will get his vineyard for you.” 8 Then Jezebel wrote letters and signed Ahab’s name on them as if he had written them himself. She used his official seal to seal them. Then she sent them to the older leaders and other important men who lived with Naboth in Jezreel. 9 This is what she wrote in the letters: “Declare that the people of Jezreel must not eat anything on a certain day because someone has committed a crime and it is more important for the people of the community to investigate that crime than to eat. Tell the people to gather in the city square, and have Naboth sit in front of them as a person whom people have accused of committing a crime. 10 Then get two very dishonest men and seat them opposite him as witnesses against him. Tell those men to testify that they heard Naboth cursing God and me, King Ahab. Declare that he is guilty, and take Naboth out of the city and kill him by throwing stones at him.”

11 The older leaders and other important men of Naboth’s city received the letters, and they did exactly what Jezebel had told them to do in the letters that she wrote. 12 They declared that on a certain day, the people of Jezreel should not eat anything. They gathered the people in the city square and made Naboth sit in front of them. 13 They brought in two very dishonest men and had them sit opposite Naboth as witnesses against him. There in front of the assembly they claimed that they had heard Naboth curse God and the king. The leaders declared that he was guilty, so the people took him outside the city and killed him by throwing stones at him. 14 Then those leaders sent messengers to Jezebel to tell her, “We have executed Naboth by stoning him.” 15 When Jezebel learned that the leaders had executed Naboth by stoning him, she told Ahab, “That man Naboth who refused to sell his vineyard to you is dead. So you can go and take possession of that land.” 16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he went right away to the vineyard to claim that he now owned it.

17 Then Yahweh spoke to Elijah the Tishbite. He told him, 18 “I want you to go right away and speak to Ahab, the king of Israel, whose main palace is in Samaria. He is now in Jezreel, and he has gone to the vineyard that belongs to a man whose name is Naboth. He has gone there to claim that he now owns it. 19 Give Ahab this message from me. Tell him that I say, ‘I know that you have murdered Naboth and taken his land!’ Give him this further message from me. Tell him that I say, ‘When Naboth died, dogs came and licked up his blood. You are also going to die, and dogs will lick up your blood in that same place. Yes, this will happen to you!’ ” 20 So Elijah went to meet with Ahab, and Ahab said to him, “You have caught me, and you are here to avenge the crime I committed.” Elijah answered, “Yes, I have caught you, because you are willlingly doing things that Yahweh says are wrong. 21 So this is what Yahweh says to you: ‘I am going to make something terrible happen to you and your whole family. I am going to destroy all of you. I will allow someone to kill all of the males in your household, whether they are family members or servants, no matter where they live in Israel. 22 I will allow someone to kill your entire family, just as people killed the entire families of Jeroboam son of Nebat and Baasha son of Ahijah. I will do this because you have caused me to become very angry and because you have led the Israelite people to sin.’ 23 Yahweh has also told me that your wife Jezebel is going to die and that dogs will eat her body near the outer wall of Jezreel. 24 Dogs will eat the bodies of any members of your household who die in cities. Scavenger birds will eat the bodies of any members of your household who die in the countryside.” 25 No other king did things that Yahweh had said were wrong as willingly as Ahab did. His wife Jezebel urged him to do those wrong things. 26 The Amorites who lived in Canaan worshiped idols and lived in very disgusting ways as a result. That is why Yahweh took their land from them and gave it to the Israelites. Ahab did those same disgusting things.

27 When Ahab heard the message from Yahweh that Elijah had spoken, to show that he was sorry for all the sins that he had committed,he tore his clothes. He also wore clothes made from rough, uncomfortable cloth, and he did not eat anything. He kept wearing those rough clothes even when he got into bed to sleep. He also walked very quietly. 28 Then Yahweh said to Elijah, 29 “As you are aware, Ahab is acting very humbly now because he wants me to see that he is sorry for the evil things he has done. So I am not going to destroy his family while he is still alive. I am going to destroy his family after he dies and his son becomes king.”

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UST 1 KI Chapter 21

UST 1 KI Chapter 21