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The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
1 Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.
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A while later, an incident occurred involving Navot the Yizre'eli. He owned a vineyard in Yizre'el, right next to the palace of Ach'av king of Shomron.
2 Ahab said to Naboth, “Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth.”
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Ach'av spoke to Navot and said, "Give me your vineyard, so that I can have it as my vegetable garden, because it's close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard; or, if you prefer, I will give you its monetary value."
3 But Naboth replied, “The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my ancestors.”
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But Navot said to Ach'av, "ADONAI forbid that I should give you my ancestral heritage!"
4 So Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my ancestors.” He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat.
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Ach'av went home resentful and depressed at what Navot the Yizre'eli had said to him, since he had said, "I won't give you my ancestral heritage." He lay down on his bed, turned his face away and refused to eat.
5 His wife Jezebel came in and asked him, “Why are you so sullen? Why won’t you eat?”
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Izevel his wife went and said to him, "Why are you so depressed that you refuse to eat?"
6 He answered her, “Because I said to Naboth the Jezreelite, ‘Sell me your vineyard; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’ ”
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He answered her, "Because I spoke to Navot the Yizre'eli and said to him, "Sell me your vineyard for money; or else, if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard for it"; but he answered, "I won't give you my vineyard."
7 Jezebel his wife said, “Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I’ll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
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"Are you the king of Isra'el or not?" asked his wife Izevel. "Get up, eat some food, and cheer up! I will give you the vineyard of Navot the Yizre'eli."
8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, placed his seal on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city with him.
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So she wrote letters in Ach'av's name, sealed them with his seal and sent the letters to the leaders and notables of the city where Navot lived.
9 In those letters she wrote: “Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people.
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In the letters she wrote, "Proclaim a fast, and give Navot the seat of honor among the people.
10 But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them bring charges that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.”
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Have two good-for-nothing men sit opposite him, and have them accuse him publicly of cursing God and the king. Then take him outside and stone him to death."
11 So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city did as Jezebel directed in the letters she had written to them.
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The leaders and notables of the city he lived in did as Izevel had written in the letters she sent to them.
12 They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth in a prominent place among the people.
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They proclaimed a fast and gave Navot the seat of honor among the people.
13 Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.
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The two good-for-nothing men came in and sat opposite him, and these scoundrels publicly accused Navot, saying, "Navot cursed God and the king." So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death,
14 Then they sent word to Jezebel: “Naboth has been stoned to death.”
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then sent a message to Izevel, "Navot has been stoned to death."
15 As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you. He is no longer alive, but dead.”
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When Izevel heard that Navot had been stoned to death, she said to Ach'av, "Get up, and take possession of the vineyard that Navot the Yizre'eli refused to sell you, because Navot is no longer alive; he is dead."
16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth’s vineyard.
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When Ach'av heard that Navot was dead, he set out to go down to the vineyard of Navot the Yizre'eli, to take possession of it.
17 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite:
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But the word of ADONAI came to Eliyahu from Tishbe:
18 “Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now in Naboth’s vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it.
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"Get up, go down to meet Ach'av king of Isra'el, who lives in Shomron. Right now he is in the vineyard of Navot; he has gone down there to take possession of it.
19 Say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?’ Then say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’ ”
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This is what you are to say to him: 'Here is what ADONAI says: "You have committed murder, and now you are stealing the victim's property!"' Also say to him, 'Here is what ADONAI says: "In the very place where dogs licked up the blood of Navot, dogs will lick up your blood - yours!" '"
20 Ahab said to Elijah, “So you have found me, my enemy!” “I have found you,” he answered, “because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD.
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Ach'av said to Eliyahu, "My enemy! You've found me!" He answered, "Yes, I have found you; because you have given yourself over to do what is evil from ADONAI's perspective.
21 He says, ‘I am going to bring disaster on you. I will wipe out your descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel—slave or free.
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'Here,' [says ADONAI,] 'I am bringing disaster on you! I will sweep you away completely; I will cut off from Ach'av every male, whether a slave or free in Isra'el.
22 I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have aroused my anger and have caused Israel to sin.’
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I will make your house like the house of Yarov'am the son of N'vat and like the house of Ba'sha the son of Achiyah for provoking my anger and leading Isra'el into sin.'
23 “And also concerning Jezebel the LORD says: ‘Dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’
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ADONAI also said this about Izevel: 'The dogs will eat Izevel by the wall around Yizre'el.
24 “Dogs will eat those belonging to Ahab who die in the city, and the birds will feed on those who die in the country.”
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If someone from the line of Ach'av dies in the city, the dogs will eat him; if he dies in the countryside, the vultures will eat him.'"
25 (There was never anyone like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, urged on by Jezebel his wife.
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Truly, there was never anyone like Ach'av. Stirred up by his wife Izevel, he gave himself over to do what is evil from ADONAI's perspective.
26 He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the LORD drove out before Israel.)
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His behavior in following idols was grossly abominable; he did everything the Emori had done, whom ADONAI expelled ahead of the people of Isra'el.
27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly.
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Ach'av, on hearing these words, tore his clothes, put sackcloth on himself and fasted. He slept in the sackcloth and went about dejectedly.
28 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite:
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Then the word of ADONAI came to Eliyahu from Tishbe:
29 “Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son.”
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"Do you see how Ach'av has humbled himself before me? Since he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring this evil during his lifetime; but during his son's lifetime I will bring the evil on his house."
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.