The Naboth Vineyard Incident

21 Meanwhile, there was a man named Naboth from Jezreel who owned a vineyard that was located contiguous to King Ahab’s palace in Samaria. ² Ahab addressed Naboth and asked him, “I would like to plant a vegetable garden near my house. Please exchange your vineyard with a better one from me, or if you’d rather have cash, I’ll buy it for its full value.”

³ But Naboth replied to Ahab, “No way! The Lord prohibits the sale to you of the inheritance of my ancestors!”

⁴ Ahab went back to his palace, sullen and in a foul mood, because Naboth the Jezreelite had turned down Ahab’s offer by saying, “I will not transfer my ancestors’ inheritance to you!” He laid down on his bed, curled up with his face to the wall, and refused to eat.

⁵ But his wife Jezebel went to him and asked him, “How is it that you’re so sullen and refusing to eat?”

⁶ “I asked Naboth the Jezreelite, ‘Sell me your vineyard for cash, or if you want, I’ll give you a better one in its place.’ But he refused. He told me, ‘I won’t give you my vineyard!’”

⁷ “Aren’t you the reigning king of Israel?” his wife Jezebel replied. “Get up, have a meal, and get ready to be happy. I’ll go get you the vineyard that Naboth the Jezreelite owns.” ⁸ So she wrote some memos in Ahab’s name, set his personal seal to them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived with Naboth in his city. ⁹ In the memos, she wrote the following directives: “Proclaim a public fast and seat Naboth in the front row. ¹⁰ Seat two wicked men in front of him, and make them testify against him. Tell them to claim, ‘You cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”

¹¹ So the leading men of the city, along with the elders and nobles who lived there, did precisely what Jezebel had directed them to do. They followed the instructions that she had set forth in the memos: ¹² They proclaimed a public fast and seated Naboth in the front row. ¹³ Two wicked men came in, sat down in front of them, and testified against Naboth in public, “Naboth cursed God and the king!” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.^[a]

¹⁴ Afterwards, they sent a message^[b] to Jezebel that said, “Naboth has been stoned. He’s dead.”

¹⁵ When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she told Ahab, “Get up and confiscate Naboth’s vineyard that he refused to sell you for cash. Naboth the Jezreelite isn’t alive anymore. He’s dead!” ¹⁶ So once he heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab got up, went down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, and confiscated it.

Elijah Rebukes Ahab

¹⁷ That’s when this message from the Lord came to Elijah the foreigner:^{[c] 18} “Get up and go down to meet King Ahab of Israel. He’s in Samaria. Look! He’s in Naboth’s vineyard, where he’s gone to confiscate it. ¹⁹ Ask the king, ‘Did you commit murder? And now you’re going to steal as well?’ Also tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Where the dogs were licking up Naboth’s blood, dogs will also lick up your blood—that’s right—yours!”’”