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1 And Nabuthai the Jezraelite had a vineyard, near the threshingfloor of Achaab king of Samaria. 2 And Achaab spoke to Nabuthai, saying, Give me thy vineyard, and I will have it for a garden of herbs, for it is near my house: and I will give thee another vineyard better than it; or if *it please thee, I will give thee money, the price of this thy vineyard, and I will have it for a garden of herbs. 3 And Nabuthai said to Achaab, My God forbid me that I should give thee the inheritance of my fathers.
4 And the spirit of Achaab was troubled, and he lay down upon his bed, and covered his face, and ate no bread. 5 And Jezabel his wife went in to him, and spoke to him, saying, Why is thy spirit troubled, and why dost thou eat no bread? 6 And he said to her, Because I spoke to Nabuthai the Jezraelite, saying, Give me thy vineyard for money; or if thou wilt, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. 7 And Jezabel his wife said to him, Dost thou now thus act the king over Israel? arise, and eat bread, and be †thine own master, and I will give thee the vineyard of Nabuthai the Jezraelite.
8 And she wrote a ‡letter in the name of Achaab, and sealed it with his seal, and sent the letter to the elders, and to the §freemen who dwelt with Nabuthai. 9 And **it was written in the letters, saying, Keep a fast, and set Naboth in a chief place among the people. 10 And set two men, sons of transgressors, before him, and let them testify against him, saying, He ††blessed God and the king: and let them lead him forth, and stone him, and let him die.
11 And the men of his city, the elders, and the nobles who dwelt in his city, did as Jezabel sent to them, and as it had been written in the letters which she sent to them. 12 And they ‡‡proclaimed a fast, and set Nabuthai in a chief place among the people. 13 And two men, sons of transgressors, came in, and sat opposite him, and bore witness against him, saying, Thou hast blessed God and the king. And they led him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, and he died. 14 And they sent to Jezabel, saying, Nabuthai is stoned, and is dead.
15 And it came to pass, when Jezabel heard it, that she said to Achaab, Arise, §§take possession of the vineyard of Nabuthai the Jezraelite, who ***would not sell it to thee: for Nabuthai is not alive, for he is dead. 16 And it came to pass, when Achaab heard that Nabuthai the Jezraelite was dead, that he rent his garments, and put on sackcloth. And it came to pass afterward, that Achaab arose and went down to the vineyard of Nabuthai the Jezraelite, †††to take possession of it.
17 And the Lord spoke to Eliu the Thesbite, saying, 18 Arise, and go down to meet Achaab king of Israel, who is in Samaria, for he is in the vineyard of Nabuthai, for he has gone down thither to take possession of it. 19 And thou shalt speak to him, saying, ‡‡‡Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast slain and taken possession, therefore thus saith the Lord, In every place where the swine and the dogs have licked the blood of Nabuthai, there shall the dogs lick thy blood; and the harlots shall wash themselves in thy blood. 20 And Achaab said to Eliu, Hast thou found me, mine enemy? and he said, I have found thee: because thou hast §§§wickedly sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger; 21 behold, I bring *evil upon thee: and I will kindle a fire after thee, and I will utterly destroy every male of Achaab, and him that is shut up and him that is left in Israel. 22 And I will †make thy house as the house of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, and as the house of Baasa son of Achia, because of the provocations wherewith thou hast provoked me, and caused Israel to sin. 23 And the Lord spoke ‡of Jezabel, saying, The dogs shall devour her §within the fortification of Jezrael. 24 Him that is dead of Achaab in the city shall the dogs eat, and him that is dead of him in the field shall the birds of the sky eat.
25 But Achaab did wickedly, **in that he sold himself to do that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as his wife Jezabel led him astray. 26 And he did very abominably in following after the abominations, according to all that the Amorite did, whom the Lord utterly destroyed from before the children of Israel.
27 And because of the word, Achaab was pierced with sorrow ††before the Lord, and he both went weeping, and rent his garment, and girt sackcloth upon his body, and fasted; he put on sackcloth also in the day that he smote Nabuthai the Jezraelite, and went his way. 28 And the word of the Lord came by the hand of his servant Eliu concerning Achaab, and the Lord said, 29 Hast thou seen how Achaab has been pricked to the heart before me? I will not bring on the evil in his days, but in his son's days will I bring on the evil.
* 20:2 Gr. it is pleasing before thee. † 20:7 Or, like thyself. ‡ 20:8 Gr. book. § 20:8 Possibly nobles is here meant. ** 20:9 Gr. had been written. †† 20:10 See Prof. Lee on the word ברך in Job 2. 9. Heb. Gram. p. 92. ‡‡ 20:12 Gr. called. §§ 20:15 Gr. inherit. *** 20:15 Gr. sold it not. ††† 20:16 Gr. to inherit it. ‡‡‡ 20:19 Gr. these things. §§§ 20:20 Gr. foolishly, or in vain. * 20:21 Gr. evils. † 20:22 Gr. give. ‡ 20:23 Or, to Jezabel. § 20:23 Or, by. ** 20:25 Gr. who sold, etc. †† 20:27 Gr. the face, as it were, of the Lord.