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1 KINGS 21
page 323
The Arameans have said, ‘The Lord is a god of
the hills and not of the plains.’ So I will defeat
this vast army for you. Then you will know that
I am the Lord.”
29 The two armies camped opposite each
other for seven days, and on the seventh day
the battle began. The Israelites killed 100,000
Aramean foot soldiers in one day. 30 The rest fled
into the town of Aphek, but the wall fell on them
and killed another 27,000. Ben-hadad fled into
the town and hid in a secret room.
31 Ben-hadad’s officers said to him, “Sir, we
have heard that the kings of Israel are merciful. So let’s humble ourselves by wearing burlap around our waists and putting ropes on our
heads, and surrender to the king of Israel. Then
perhaps he will let you live.”
32 So they put on burlap and ropes, and they
went to the king of Israel and begged, “Your
servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please let me live!’”
The king of Israel responded, “Is he still
alive? He is my brother!”
33 The men took this as a good sign and
quickly picked up on his words. “Yes,” they
said, “your brother Ben-hadad!”
“Go and get him,” the king of Israel told
them. And when Ben-hadad arrived, Ahab invited him up into his chariot.
34 Ben-hadad told him, “I will give back the
towns my father took from your father, and you
may establish places of trade in Damascus, as
my father did in Samaria.”
Then Ahab said, “I will release you under
these conditions.” So they made a new treaty,
and Ben-hadad was set free.
A Prophet Condemns Ahab
35 Meanwhile, the Lord instructed one of the
group of prophets to say to another man, “Hit
me!” But the man refused to hit the prophet.
36 Then the prophet told him, “Because you have
not obeyed the voice of the Lord, a lion will kill
you as soon as you leave me.” And when he had
gone, a lion did attack and kill him.
37 Then the prophet turned to another man
and said, “Hit me!” So he struck the prophet
and wounded him.
38 The prophet placed a bandage over his eyes to
disguise himself and then waited beside the road
for the king. 39 As the king passed by, the prophet
called out to him, “Sir, I was in the thick of battle,
and suddenly a man brought me a prisoner. He
said, ‘Guard this man; if for any reason he gets
away, you will either die or pay a fine of seventyfive pounds* of silver!’ 40 But while I was busy
doing something else, the prisoner disappeared!”
“Well, it’s your own fault,” the king replied.
“You have brought the judgment on yourself.”
20:39 Hebrew 1 talent [34 kilograms]. 20:42 The Hebrew
term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or
people to the Lord, either by destroying them or by giving them
as an offering. 21:17 Hebrew Elijah the Tishbite; also in 21:28.
41 Then the prophet quickly pulled the bandage
from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized
him as one of the prophets. 42 The prophet said
to him, “This is what the Lord says: Because you
have spared the man I said must be destroyed,*
now you must die in his place, and your people
will die instead of his people.” 43 So the king of
Israel went home to Samaria angry and sullen.
Naboth’s Vineyard
Now there was a man named Naboth,
from Jezreel, who owned a vineyard in
Jezreel beside the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. 2 One day Ahab said to Naboth, “Since
your vineyard is so convenient to my palace,
I would like to buy it to use as a vegetable
garden. I will give you a better vineyard in exchange, or if you prefer, I will pay you for it.”
3 But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I
should give you the inheritance that was passed
down by my ancestors.”
4 So Ahab went home angry and sullen because of Naboth’s answer. The king went to bed
with his face to the wall and refused to eat!
5 “What’s the matter?” his wife Jezebel asked
him. “What’s made you so upset that you’re not
eating?”
6 “I asked Naboth to sell me his vineyard or
trade it, but he refused!” Ahab told her.
7 “Are you the king of Israel or not?” Jezebel demanded. “Get up and eat something,
and don’t worry about it. I’ll get you Naboth’s
vineyard!”
8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed
them with his seal, and sent them to the elders
and other leaders of the town where Naboth
lived. 9 In her letters she commanded: “Call the
citizens together for a time of fasting, and give
Naboth a place of honor. 10 And then seat two
scoundrels across from him who will accuse
him of cursing God and the king. Then take him
out and stone him to death.”
11 So the elders and other town leaders followed the instructions Jezebel had written in the
letters. 12 They called for a fast and put Naboth at
a prominent place before the people. 13 Then the
two scoundrels came and sat down across from
him. And they accused Naboth before all the
people, saying, “He cursed God and the king.”
So he was dragged outside the town and stoned
to death. 14 The town leaders then sent word to
Jezebel, “Naboth has been stoned to death.”
15 When Jezebel heard the news, she said to
Ahab, “You know the vineyard Naboth wouldn’t
sell you? Well, you can have it now! He’s dead!”
16 So Ahab immediately went down to the vineyard of Naboth to claim it.
17 But the Lord said to Elijah,* 18 “Go down to
meet King Ahab of Israel, who rules in Samaria.
He will be at Naboth’s vineyard in Jezreel, claiming it for himself. 19 Give him this message: ‘This
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