Then 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.”

And 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. She wrote in the letters, saying,

Proclaim a fast, and seat Naboth [a]with high honor among the people; 10 and seat two men, scoundrels, before him to bear witness against him, saying, “You have (A)blasphemed God and the king.” Then take him out, and (B)stone him, that he may die.

11 So 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. 12 (C)They proclaimed a fast, and seated Naboth with high honor among the people. 13 And two men, scoundrels, came in and sat before him; and the scoundrels (D)witnessed against him, against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth has blasphemed God and the king!” (E)Then they took him outside the city and stoned him with stones, so that he died.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 21:9 Lit. at the head

13 In transgressing and lying against the Lord,
And departing from our God,
Speaking oppression and revolt,
Conceiving and uttering (A)from the heart words of falsehood.

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14 Justice is turned back,
And righteousness stands afar off;
For truth is fallen in the street,
And equity cannot enter.

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They have spoken words,
Swearing falsely in making a covenant.
Thus judgment springs up (A)like hemlock in the furrows of the field.

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You who (A)turn justice to wormwood,
And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!”

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11 (A)Therefore, because you [a]tread down the poor
And take grain [b]taxes from him,
Though (B)you have built houses of hewn stone,
Yet you shall not dwell in them;
You have planted [c]pleasant vineyards,
But you shall not drink wine from them.

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 5:11 trample
  2. Amos 5:11 Or tribute
  3. Amos 5:11 desirable

12 For I (A)know your manifold transgressions
And your mighty sins:
(B)Afflicting the just and taking bribes;
(C)Diverting the poor from justice at the gate.

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