¶ And it came to pass after¹ these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel², hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.

And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me³ thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs⁴, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee⁵, I will give thee the worth of it in money.

And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD⁶ forbid it me, that I should give⁷ the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.

And Ahab came into his house heavy⁸ and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not⁹ give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him¹⁰ down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.

¶ But Jezebel¹¹ his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit¹² so sad, that thou eatest no bread?

And he said unto her, Because¹³ I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give¹⁴ thee my vineyard.

And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now¹⁵ govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee¹⁶ the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.

So she wrote¹⁷ letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders¹⁸ and to the nobles¹⁹ that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth.

And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast²⁰, and set Naboth on high among²¹ the people:

¶ And set two men²², sons of Belial²³, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme²⁴ God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die.

And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel²⁵ had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them.

²⁶They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.

And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial²⁷ witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God²⁸ and the king²⁹. Then they carried him³⁰ forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.

Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned³¹, and is dead.

And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise³², take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead.

And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up³³ to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

¶³⁴And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria³⁵: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it.

And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed³⁶, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place³⁷ where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.

¶ And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me,³⁸ O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold³⁹ thyself to work⁴⁰ evil in the sight of the LORD.

Behold,⁴¹ I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth⁴² against the wall, and him that is shut up⁴³ and left in Israel,

And will make thine⁴⁴ house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin⁴⁵.

And of Jezebel⁴⁶ also spake the LORD, saying, The dogs⁴⁷ shall eat Jezebel by the wall⁴⁸ of Jezreel.

Him that dieth⁴⁹ of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat.

But there⁵⁰ was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself⁵¹ to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel⁵² his wife stirred up⁵³.

And he did very abominably⁵⁴ in following idols, according to⁵⁵ all things as did the Amorites, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.

And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent⁵⁶ his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth⁵⁷, and went softly⁵⁸.

And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

Seest thou⁵⁹ how Ahab⁶⁰ humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not⁶¹ bring the evil in⁶² his days: but in his son's days⁶³ will I bring the evil upon his house.