1 Kings Chapter 21
Other Translations
lxxbrent (lxxbrent) - Septuagint (Brenton 1851) eBible USFM
1
And the son of Ader gathered all his forces, and went up and besieged Samaria, [he] and thirty-two kings with him, and all [his] horse and chariots: and they went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it.
2
And he sent into the city to Achaab king of Israel, and said to him, Thus says the son of Ader,
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Thy silver and thy gold are mine, and thy wives and thy children are mine.
4
And the king of Israel answered and said, As thou hast said, my lord, O king, I am thine, and all mine [also].
5
And the messengers came again, and said, Thus says the son of Ader, I sent to thee, saying, Thou shalt give me thy silver and thy gold, and thy wives and thy children.
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For at this time to-morrow I will send my servants to thee, and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants, and it shall be that all the desirable objects of their eyes on which they shall lay their hands, they shall even take [them].
7
And the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Take notice now and consider, that this man seeks mischief: for he has sent to me concerning my wives, and concerning my sons, and concerning my daughters: I have not kept back from him my silver and my gold.
8
And the elders and all the people said to him, Hearken not, and consent not.
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And he said to the messengers of the son of Ader, Say to your master, All things that thou hast sent to thy servant about at first I will do; but this thing I shall not be able to do. And the men departed, and carried back the answer to him.
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And the son of Ader sent to him, saying, So do God to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for foxes to all the people, even my infantry.
11
And the king of Israel answered and said, Let it be sufficient; let not the humpbacked boast as he that is upright.
12
And it came to pass when he returned him this answer, he and all the kings with him were drinking in tents: and he said to his servants, Form a trench. And they made a trench against the city.
13
And, behold, a prophet came to Achaab king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou seen this great multitude? behold, I give it this day into thine hands; and thou shalt know that I [am] the Lord.
14
And Achaab said, Whereby? And he said, Thus saith the Lord, By the young men of the heads of the districts. And Achaab said, Who shall begin the battle? and he said, Thou.
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And Achaab numbered the young men the heads of the districts, and they were two hundred and thirty: and afterwards he numbered the people, [even] every man fit for war, seven thousand.
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And he went forth at noon, and the son of Ader was drinking [and] getting drunk in Socchoth, he and the kings, [even] thirty and two kings, his allies.
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And the young men the heads of the districts went forth first; and they send and report to the king of Syria, saying, There are men come forth out of Samaria.
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And he said to them, If they come forth peaceably, take them alive; and if they come forth to war, take them alive:
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and let not the young men the heads of the districts go forth of the city. And the force that was behind them
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smote each one the man next to him; and each one a second time smote the man next to him: and Syria fled, and Israel pursued them; and the son of Ader, [even] the king of Syria, escapes on the horse of a horseman.
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And the king of Israel went forth, and took all the horses and the chariots, and smote [the enemy] with a great slaughter in Syria.
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And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said, Strengthen thyself, and observe, and see what thou shalt do; for at the return of the year the son of Ader king of Syria comes up against thee.
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And the servants of the king of Syria, even they said, The God of Israel [is] a God of mountains, and not a God of valleys; therefore has he prevailed against us: but if we should fight against them in the plain, verily we shall prevail against them.
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And do thou this thing: Send away the kings, each one to his place, and set princes in their stead.
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And we will give thee [another] army according to the army that was destroyed, and cavalry according to the cavalry, and chariots according to the chariots, and we will fight against them in the plain, and we shall prevail against them. And he hearkened to their voice, and did so.
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And it came to pass at the return of the year, that the son of Ader reviewed Syria, and went up to Apheca to war against Israel.
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And the children of Israel were numbered, and came to meet them: and Israel encamped before them as two little flocks of goats, but Syria filled the land.
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And there came the man of God, and said to the king of Israel, Thus saith the Lord, Because Syria has said, The Lord God of Israel [is] a God of the hills, and he [is] not a God of the valleys, therefore will I give this great army into thy hand, and thou shalt know that I [am] the Lord.
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And they encamp one over against the other before them seven days. And it came to pass on the seventh day that the battle drew on, and Israel smote Syria, [even] a hundred thousand footmen in one day.
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And the rest fled to Apheca, into the city; and the wall fell upon twenty-seven thousand men that were left: and the son of Ader fled, and entered into an inner chamber, into a closet.
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And he said to his servants, I know that the kings of Israel are merciful kings: let us now put sackcloth upon our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and let us go forth to the king of Israel, if by any means he will save our souls alive.
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So they girt sackcloth upon their loins, and put ropes upon their heads, and said to the king of Israel, Thy servant the son of Ader says, Let our souls live, I pray thee. And he said, Does he yet live? He is my brother.
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And the men divined, and offered drink-offerings; and they caught the word out of his mouth, and said, Thy brother the son of Ader. And he said, Go ye in and fetch him. And the son of Ader went out to him, and they cause him to go up to him into the chariot.
34
And he said to him, The cities which my father took from thy father I will restore to thee; and thou shalt make streets for thyself in Damascus, as my father made streets in Samaria; and I will let thee go with a covenant. And he made a covenant with him, and let him go.
35
And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbour by the word of the Lord, Smite me, I pray. And the man would not smite him.
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And he said to him, Because thou hast not hearkened to the voice of the Lord, therefore, behold, as thou departest from me, a lion shall smite thee: and he departed from him, and a lion found him, and smote him.
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And he finds another man, and says, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, and in smiting wounded [him].
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And the prophet went and stood before the king of Israel by the way, and bound his eyes with a bandage.
39
And it came to pass as the king passed by, that he cried aloud to the king, and said, Thy servant went out to war, and, behold, a man brought [another] man to me, and said to me, Keep this man; and if he should by any means escape, then thy life shall go for his life, or thou shalt pay a talent of silver.
40
And it came to pass, that thy servant looked round this way and that way, and the man was gone. And the king of Israel said to him, Behold, thou hast also destroyed snares [set] for me.
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And he hasted, and took away the bandage from his eyes; and the king of Israel recognised him, that he was one of the prophets.
42
And he said to him, Thus saith the Lord, Because thou hast suffered to escape out of thine hand a man appointed to destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.
43
And the king of Israel departed confounded and discouraged, and came to Samaria.
web (web) - WorldEnglish.Bible — CC0 modern update of ASV
1
After these things, Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel, next to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.
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
Naboth said to Ahab, “May the LORD forbid me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you!”
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.
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But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, “Why is your spirit so sad that you eat no bread?”
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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
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.”
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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.
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She wrote in the letters, saying, “Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.
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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
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 proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.
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
Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned and 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.”
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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.
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The LORD’s word came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
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“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.
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You shall speak to him, saying, ‘The LORD says, “Have you killed and also taken possession?”’ You shall speak to him, saying, ‘The LORD says, “In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs will lick your blood, even yours.”’”
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 the LORD’s sight.
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
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
The LORD also spoke of Jezebel, saying, “The dogs will eat Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel.
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The dogs will eat he who dies of Ahab in the city; and the birds of the sky will eat he who dies in the field.”
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But there was no one like Ahab, who sold himself to do that which was evil in the LORD’s sight, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.
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He did very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites did, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
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When Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his body, fasted, lay in sackcloth, and went about despondently.
28
The LORD’s word came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
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“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.”
Explanations by Age Level
Explain Like I'm 5
A long, long time ago, there was nothing at all - no earth, no sky, no animals, no people. It was all dark and empty. But God was there! God is so powerful that He can make anything just by speaking. So God said "Let there be light!" and BOOM! There was light everywhere! God saw that the light was beautiful and good. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the very first day when God started making our wonderful world!
Explain Like I'm 10
Before anything existed - no planets, stars, or life - God decided to create the universe. The earth started out as a dark, empty place covered with water. But God's Spirit was there, ready to bring order and beauty to everything. When God spoke and said "Let there be light," light immediately appeared because God's words have incredible power. God looked at the light and was pleased with what He had made. He organized time by separating light (day) from darkness (night), creating the first 24-hour period. This shows us that God is organized and purposeful in everything He does.
Explain Like I'm 15
Genesis 1:1-5 establishes fundamental theological truths about God and creation. The Hebrew word "bara" (created) indicates creation from nothing (ex nihilo), demonstrating God's absolute sovereignty and power. The phrase "without form and void" (tohu wa-bohu) describes a state of chaos that God transforms into order. The Spirit of God "hovering" or "brooding" over the waters suggests active, caring involvement in creation. The creation of light before the sun (created on day 4) indicates that God Himself is the ultimate source of light and energy. The establishment of day and night creates the framework of time, showing that God operates within orderly patterns while transcending them. This passage refutes both atheistic materialism and pantheism, establishing that God is both transcendent (separate from creation) and immanent (actively involved in it).