me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother. 33 Now the men diligently observed whether any thing would come from him, and did hastily catch it : and they said, Thy brother Benhadad. Then he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Benhadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot. 34 And Benhadad said to him, The cities, which my father took from thy father, I will restore; and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away. [1] 35 And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbour in the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him. 36 Then said he to him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as thou hast departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he had departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him. 37 Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him . [2] 38 So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face. 39 And as the king passed by, he cried to the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man to me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he shall be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver. [3] 40 And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said to him, So shall thy judgment be ; thyself hast decided it . [4] 41 And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel knew that he was of the prophets. 42 And he said to him, Thus saith the LORD, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people. 43 And the king of Israel went to his house sad and displeased, and came to Samaria.
CHAP. 21.
1 And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.
2 And Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near to my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seemeth good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. [5]
3 And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to thee.
4 And Ahab came into his house sad and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid himself down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no food.
5 But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no food?
6 And he said to her, Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite, and said to him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it pleaseth thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard.
7 And Jezebel his wife said to him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat food, and let thy heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.
8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth.
9 And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people: [6]
10 And set two men, worthless men, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die.
11 And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them.
12 They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.
13 And there came in two men, worthless men, and sat before him: and the worthless men witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth blasphemed God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.
14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead.
15 And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead.
16 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
17 And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
18 Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he is gone down to possess it.
19 And thou shalt speak to him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak to him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.
20 And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O my enemy? And he answered, I have found thee : because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD.
21 Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab the males, and him that is shut up and left in Israel,
22 And will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation with which thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin.
23 And of Jezebel also spoke the LORD, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by
