1 Kings · Bible in Basic English
1 Kings 21 Bible in Basic English
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vine-garden in Jezreel, near the house of Ahab, king of Samaria.
1 After these things, Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel, next to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.
2 And Ahab said to Naboth, Give me your vine-garden so that I may have it for a garden of sweet plants, for it is near my house; and let me give you a better vine-garden in exchange, or, if it seems good to you, let me give you its value in money.
2 Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near my house; and I will give you for it a better vineyard than it. Or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its worth in money.”
3 But Naboth said to Ahab, By the Lord, far be it from me to give you the heritage of my fathers.
3 Naboth said to Ahab, “May Yahweh forbid me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you!”
4 So Ahab came into his house bitter and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him, I will not give you the heritage of my fathers. And stretching himself on the bed with his face turned away, he would take no food.
4 Ahab came into his house sullen and angry because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him, for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” He laid himself down on his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.
5 But Jezebel, his wife, came to him and said, Why is your spirit so bitter that you have no desire for food?
5 But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, “Why is your spirit so sad that you eat no bread?”
6 And he said to her, Because I was talking to Naboth the Jezreelite, and I said to him, Let me have your vine-garden for a price, or, if it is pleasing to you, I will give you another vine-garden for it: and he said, I will not give you my vine-garden.
6 He said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite, and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ He answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’”
7 Then Jezebel, his wife, said, Are you now the ruler of Israel? Get up, take food, and let your heart be glad; I will give you the vine-garden of Naboth the Jezreelite.
7 Jezebel his wife said to him, “Do you now govern the kingdom of Israel? Arise, and eat bread, and let your heart be merry. I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
8 So she sent a letter in Ahab's name, stamped with his stamp, to the responsible men and the chiefs who were in authority with Naboth.
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 who were in his city, who lived with Naboth.
9 And in the letter she said, Let a time of public sorrow be fixed, and put Naboth at the head of the people;
9 She wrote in the letters, saying, “Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.
10 And get two good-for-nothing persons to come before him and give witness that he has been cursing God and the king. Then take him out and have him stoned to death.
10 Set two men, wicked fellows, before him, and let them testify against him, saying, ‘You cursed God and the king!’ Then carry him out, and stone him to death.”
11 So the responsible men and the chiefs who were in authority in his town, did as Jezebel had said in the letter she sent them.
11 The men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had instructed them in the letters which she had written and sent to them.
12 They gave orders for a day of public sorrow, and put Naboth at the head of the people.
12 They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.
13 And the two good-for-nothing persons came in and took their seats before him and gave witness against Naboth, in front of the people, saying, Naboth has been cursing God and the king. Then they took him outside the town and had him stoned to death.
13 The two men, the wicked fellows, came in and sat before him. The wicked fellows testified against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king!” Then they carried him out of the city and stoned him to death with stones.
14 And they sent word to Jezebel, saying, Naboth has been stoned and is dead.
14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned and is dead.”
15 Then Jezebel, hearing that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, said to Ahab, Get up and take as your heritage the vine-garden of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he would not give you for money, for Naboth is no longer living but is dead.
15 When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.”
16 So Ahab, hearing that Naboth was dead, went down to the vine-garden of Naboth the Jezreelite to take it as his heritage.
16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab rose up 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,
17 Yahweh’s word came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
18 Go down to Ahab, king of Israel, in Samaria; see, he is in the vine-garden of Naboth the Jezreelite, where he has gone to take it as his heritage.
18 “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who dwells in Samaria. Behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to take possession of it.
19 Say to him, The Lord says, Have you put a man to death and taken his heritage? Then say to him, The Lord says, In the place where dogs have been drinking the blood of Naboth, there will your blood become the drink of dogs.
19 You shall speak to him, saying, ‘Yahweh says, “Have you killed and also taken possession?”’ You shall speak to him, saying, ‘Yahweh says, “In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs will lick your blood, even yours.”’”
20 And Ahab said to Elijah, Have you come face to face with me, O my hater? And he said, I have come to you because you have given yourself up to do evil in the eyes of the Lord.
20 Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do that which is evil in Yahweh’s sight.
21 See, I will send evil on you and put an end to you completely, cutting off from Ahab every male child, him who is shut up and him who goes free in Israel;
21 Behold, I will bring evil on you, and will utterly sweep you away and will cut off from Ahab everyone who urinates against a wall, and him who is shut up and him who is left at large in Israel.
22 And I will make your family like the family of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and like the family of Baasha, the son of Ahijah, because you have made me angry, and have made Israel do evil.
22 I will make your 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 you have provoked me to anger, and have made Israel to sin.”
23 And of Jezebel the Lord said, Jezebel will become food for dogs in the heritage of Jezreel.
23 Yahweh also spoke of Jezebel, saying, “The dogs will eat Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel.
24 Any man of the family of Ahab who comes to his death in the town will become food for the dogs; and he who comes to his death in the open country will be food for the birds of the air.
24 The dogs will eat whoever dies of Ahab in the city; and the birds of the sky will eat whoever dies in the field.”
25 (There was no one like Ahab, who gave himself up to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, moved to it by Jezebel his wife.
25 But there was no one like Ahab, who sold himself to do that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.
26 He did a very disgusting thing in going after false gods, doing all the things the Amorites did, whom the Lord sent out before the children of Israel.)
26 He did very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites did, whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel.
27 Hearing these words, Ahab, in great grief, put haircloth on his flesh and went without food, sleeping in haircloth, and going about quietly.
27 When Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his body, fasted, lay in sackcloth, and went about despondently.
28 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
28 Yahweh’s word came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
29 Do you see how Ahab has made himself low before me? because he has made himself low before me, I will not send the evil in his life-time, but in his son's time I will send the evil on his family.
29 “See how Ahab humbles himself before me? Because he humbles himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days; but I will bring the evil on his house in his son’s day.”
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Ahijah
Named as the father of Baasha, king of Israel, of the house of Issachar.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 15:27; 1 Kings 15:33; 1 Kings 21:22
Naboth the Jezreelite
The Jezreelite who refused to sell his vineyard next to Ahab's palace because it was the inheritance of his fathers, and who was stoned to death on the false testimony arranged by…
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 21:1; 1 Kings 21:3; 1 Kings 21:13
Cross references (28)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Joshua 19:18; 1 Kings 18:45–46; 2 Chronicles 28:22; Judges 6:33; Ezra 9:13–14
- 2 1 Samuel 8:14; James 1:14–15; 1 Timothy 6:9; Genesis 16:6; 2 Kings 9:27
- 3 Numbers 36:7; Leviticus 25:23; Ezekiel 46:18; Joshua 22:29; Genesis 44:7
- 4 1 Kings 20:43; James 1:14; Job 5:2; Habakkuk 2:9–12; 1 Kings 21:3
- 5 1 Kings 16:31; 2 Samuel 13:4; Genesis 3:6; Esther 4:5; 1 Kings 19:2
- 6 Esther 5:9–14; Proverbs 14:30; James 4:2–7; 1 Kings 21:2–4; 1 Timothy 6:9–10
- 7 Micah 7:3; 1 Samuel 8:4; Ecclesiastes 8:4; 1 Kings 21:15–16; Micah 2:1–2
- 8 Ezra 4:7–8; Numbers 11:16; 2 Kings 10:11; Esther 8:8–13; Deuteronomy 16:18–19
- 9 Isaiah 58:4; Luke 20:47; Matthew 2:8; Matthew 23:13; John 18:28
- 10 Exodus 22:28; Acts 6:11; Leviticus 24:15–16; Deuteronomy 19:15; Deuteronomy 13:13
- 11 2 Chronicles 24:21; Leviticus 19:15; Matthew 2:16; Micah 6:16; Acts 4:19
- 12 Isaiah 58:4; 1 Kings 21:8–10
- 13 2 Kings 9:26; Psalm 35:11; Job 2:9; Exodus 20:16; Proverbs 6:19
- 14 Ecclesiastes 5:8; 2 Samuel 11:14–24; Ecclesiastes 8:14
- 15 Proverbs 1:10–16; 1 Kings 21:7; Proverbs 4:17
- 16 Psalm 50:18; 2 Samuel 23:15–17; Isaiah 33:15; 2 Samuel 1:13–16; 2 Samuel 4:9–12
- 17 Psalm 9:12; Isaiah 26:21; 2 Kings 1:15–16; 2 Kings 5:26
- 18 1 Kings 13:32; 2 Chronicles 22:9
- 19 1 Kings 22:38; 2 Samuel 12:9; Habakkuk 2:12; Psalm 7:15–16; Genesis 3:11
- 20 Romans 7:14; 2 Kings 17:17; 1 Kings 21:25; 1 Kings 18:17; Revelation 11:10
- 21 1 Kings 14:10; 1 Samuel 25:22; 2 Kings 10:1–7; 2 Kings 10:11–14; 2 Kings 14:26
- 22 1 Kings 16:3; 1 Kings 14:16; 1 Kings 16:11; 1 Kings 15:29–30; 1 Kings 15:34
- 23 2 Kings 9:10; 2 Kings 9:30–37; 1 Kings 21:25
- 24 1 Kings 16:4; 1 Kings 14:11; Jeremiah 15:3; Ezekiel 39:18–20; Isaiah 14:19
- 25 Proverbs 22:14; 1 Kings 21:20; 1 Kings 16:30–33; Ecclesiastes 7:26; Acts 14:2
- 26 2 Kings 21:11; Genesis 15:16; Leviticus 18:25–30; Ezekiel 18:12; Leviticus 20:22–23
- 27 2 Kings 6:30; Genesis 37:34; 2 Samuel 3:31; Job 16:15; Joel 1:13
- 29 2 Peter 3:9; Micah 7:18; 2 Kings 9:25–26; Psalm 86:15; 2 Kings 9:33–10:7
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences