1 Kings 21:5-15

21:5 Then his wife Jezebel came in and said to him, “Why do you have a bitter attitude and refuse to eat?” 21:6 He 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.’” ¹  21:7 His wife Jezebel said to him, “You are the king of Israel! ²  Get up, eat some food, and have a good time. ³  I will get the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite for you.”

21:8 She wrote out orders, ⁴  signed Ahab’s name to them, ⁵  and sealed them with his seal. She then sent the orders ⁶  to the leaders ⁷  and to the nobles who lived in Naboth’s city. ⁸  21:9 This is what she wrote: ⁹  “Observe a time of fasting and seat Naboth in front of the people. 21:10 Also seat two villains opposite him and have them testify, ‘You cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”

21:11 The men of the ¹⁰  city, the leaders ¹¹  and the nobles who lived there, ¹²  followed the written orders Jezebel had sent them. ¹³  21:12 They observed a time of fasting and put Naboth in front of the people. 21:13 The 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 him ¹⁴  outside the city and stoned him to death. ¹⁵  21:14 Then they reported to Jezebel, “Naboth has been stoned to death.” ¹⁶ 

21:15 When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she ¹⁷  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.”

---

¹ tn 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.

² tn Heb “You, now, you are exercising kingship over Israel.”

³ tn Heb “so your heart [i.e., disposition] might be well.”

⁴ tn Heb “scrolls.”

⁵ tn Heb “in the name of Ahab.”

⁶ tn Heb “scrolls.”

⁷ tn Heb “elders.”

⁸ tn Heb “to the nobles who were in his city, the ones who lived with Naboth.”

⁹ tn Heb “she wrote on the scrolls, saying.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “his.”

¹¹ tn Heb “elders.”

¹² tn Heb “and the nobles who were living in his city.”

¹³ tn Heb “did as Jezebel sent to them, just as was written in the scrolls which she sent to them.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “led him.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “and they stoned him with stones and he died.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “Naboth was stoned and he died.” So also in v. 15.

¹⁷ tn Heb “Jezebel”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“she”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.