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. They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people. 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.
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1 Kings 21:11-13 sits inside this longer paragraph.
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. They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people. 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. Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned, and is dead.”
Parallel Translations
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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.
They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.
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.
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And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them.
They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.
And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.
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And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who dwelt in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, according as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them.
They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people.
And the two men, the base fellows, came in and sat before him; and the base fellows bore witness against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying: 'Naboth did curse God and the king.' Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.
Cross-references (51)
- Isaiah 58:4 (v12) Behold, you fast for strife and contention, and to strike with the fist of wickedness. You don’t fast today so as to make your voice to be…
- 2 Kings 9:26 (v13) ‘Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons,’ says Yahweh; ‘and I will repay you in this plot of ground,’…
- Exodus 1:17 (v11) But the midwives feared God, and didn’t do what the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the baby boys alive.
- Exodus 1:21 (v11) Because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.
- Exodus 20:16 (v13) “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
Show all 51 cross-references
- Exodus 23:1-2 (v11) “You shall not spread a false report. Don’t join your hand with the wicked to be a malicious witness. “You shall not follow a crowd to do…
- Leviticus 19:15 (v11) “ ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor show favoritism to the great; but you shall judge your…
- Leviticus 24:11-16 (v13) The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name, and cursed; and they brought him to Moses. His mother’s name was Shelomith, the…
- Numbers 15:35-36 (v13) Yahweh said to Moses, “The man shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him with stones outside of the camp.” All the…
- Deuteronomy 5:20 (v13) “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
- Deuteronomy 13:10 (v13) You shall stone him to death with stones, because he has sought to draw you away from Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of…
- Deuteronomy 19:16-21 (v13) If an unrighteous witness rises up against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing, then both the men, between whom the controversy…
- Deuteronomy 21:21 (v13) All the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall remove the evil from among you. All Israel shall hear, and fear.
- Deuteronomy 22:21 (v13) then they shall bring out the young lady to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones,…
- Deuteronomy 22:24 (v13) then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones; the lady, because she didn’t…
- Joshua 7:24-25 (v13) Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his cattle,…
- 1 Samuel 22:17 (v11) The king said to the guard who stood about him, “Turn, and kill the priests of Yahweh; because their hand also is with David, and because…
- 1 Samuel 23:20 (v11) Now therefore, O king, come down. According to all the desire of your soul to come down; and our part will be to deliver him up into the…
- 1 Kings 21:8-10 (v12) 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…
- 2 Kings 10:6-7 (v11) Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, “If you are on my side, and if you will listen to my voice, take the heads of the…
- 2 Chronicles 24:21 (v11) They conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of Yahweh’s house.
- Job 1:5 (v13) It was so, when the days of their feasting had run their course, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and…
- Job 1:11 (v13) But stretch out your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will renounce you to your face.”
- Job 2:9 (v13) Then his wife said to him, “Do you still maintain your integrity? Renounce God, and die.”
- Psalms 27:12 (v13) Don’t deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen up against me, such as breathe out cruelty.
- Psalms 35:11 (v13) Unrighteous witnesses rise up. They ask me about things that I don’t know about.
- Proverbs 6:19 (v13) a false witness who utters lies, and he who sows discord among brothers.
- Proverbs 19:5 (v13) A false witness shall not be unpunished. He who pours out lies shall not go free.
- Proverbs 19:9 (v13) A false witness shall not be unpunished. He who utters lies shall perish.
- Proverbs 25:18 (v13) A man who gives false testimony against his neighbor is like a club, a sword, or a sharp arrow.
- Proverbs 29:12 (v11) If a ruler listens to lies, all of his officials are wicked.
- Proverbs 29:26 (v11) Many seek the ruler’s favor, but a man’s justice comes from Yahweh.
- Ecclesiastes 4:1 (v13) Then I returned and saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold, the tears of those who were oppressed, and they had no…
- Ecclesiastes 10:20 (v13) Don’t curse the king, no, not in your thoughts; and don’t curse the rich in your bedroom: for a bird of the sky may carry your voice, and…
- Isaiah 8:21 (v13) They will pass through it, very distressed and hungry. It will happen that when they are hungry, they will worry, and curse by their king…
- Daniel 3:18-25 (v11) But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.” Then…
- Hosea 5:11 (v11) Ephraim is oppressed, he is crushed in judgment; Because he is intent in his pursuit of idols.
- Amos 7:10 (v13) Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the middle of the house of…
- Micah 6:16 (v11) For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of Ahab’s house. You walk in their counsels, that I may make you a ruin, and her…
- Malachi 3:5 (v13) I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the…
- Matthew 2:12 (v11) Being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country another way.
- Matthew 2:16 (v11) Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked by the wise men, was exceedingly angry, and sent out, and killed all the male children who were…
- Matthew 9:3 (v13) Behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man blasphemes.”
- Mark 14:56-59 (v13) For many gave false testimony against him, and their testimony didn’t agree with each other. Some stood up, and gave false testimony…
- Luke 23:2 (v13) They began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man perverting the nation, forbidding paying taxes to Caesar, and saying that he himself…
- John 19:12 (v13) At this, Pilate was seeking to release him, but the Jews cried out, saying, “If you release this man, you aren’t Caesar’s friend! Everyone…
- Acts 4:19 (v11) But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, judge for yourselves,
- Acts 5:29 (v11) But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.
- Acts 6:11 (v13) Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.”
- Acts 7:57-59 (v13) But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears, then rushed at him with one accord. They threw him out of the city and stoned…
- Acts 24:5 (v13) For we have found this man to be a plague, an instigator of insurrections among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv11, 13 Thus the worldlings contrary to God’s commandment, who willeth…
Thus the worldlings contrary to God’s commandment, who willeth not to consent to the shedding of innocent blood, obey rather the wicked commandments of princes than the just laws of God.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv11–13 1Ki 21:11 And the men of his city, [even]…
1Ki 21:11 And the men of his city, [even] the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, [and] as it [was] written in the letters which she had sent unto them.
Ver. 11. Did as Jezebel had sent unto them.] So wretched were those times, that whatsoever pleased the prince, pleased all. But, oh, how miserable is that people whose rulers, instead of punishing, plot and encourage wickedness! When a distillation of evil falleth from the head upon the lungs of any state, there must needs follow a deadly consumption.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv11, 13 The elders and the nobles did as Jezebel had…
The elders and the nobles did as Jezebel had sent unto them; which is not at all strange in them who had for a long time cast off the fear and sense of God, and prostituted their consciences and religion to please their king, and sold themselves to all manner of wickedness, and could not now make a safe and honourable retreat, and durst not disobey Jezebel’s command, by whom they knew the king was wholly governed, and who could easily have taken away their lives in the same manner, if they had refused to kill Naboth.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv11–13 And there came in two men, children of Belial,…
And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him,.... Which position showed that they were his accusers, and had a charge against him; it being usual for the accusers and accused to be set face to face, as it was the manner of the Romans in later times, Act 25:16. Josephus says (d) there were "three" men to accuse him; but the Targum, and all the ancient versions, have only "two":
and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people; both before the judges of the court, and before all the people that filled it, who came to hear the trial; so bold and impudent were they:
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saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king; or "bless", an euphemism; the phrase of cursing God being shocking to the ear, and therefore such a word is used to express it, see Job 1:5,
then they carried him forth out of the city; without any further process of examining witnesses, and of hearing what the accused had to say in his defence; but immediately they carried him out of court, and out of the city, to put him to death, malefactors being executed always without the city:
and stoned him with stones, that he died; which was the death blasphemers were put to, Lev 24:14, of the manner of which; see Gill on Act 7:58, it seems from Kg2 9:26, that his sons were stoned with him.
(d) Antiqu. l. 3. c. 13. sect. 8.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v13 Stoned him - And it seems his sons too,…
Stoned him - And it seems his sons too, either with him or after him. For God afterward says, (2 Kings ix, 26) I have seen the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons. Let us commit the keeping of our lives and comforts to God; for innocence itself will not always be our security.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v13 Verse 13. And stoned him with stones] As they…
Verse 13. And stoned him with stones] As they pretended to find him guilty of treason against God and the king, it is likely they destroyed the whole of his family; and then the king seized on his grounds as confiscated, or as escheated to the king, without any heir at law. That his family was destroyed appears strongly intimated, 2Kg 9:26; Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, AND THE BLOOD OF HIS SONS, saith the Lord.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv11, 13 1Ki 21:11. The men of his city did as…
1Ki 21:11. The men of his city did as Jezebel had sent to them — Which is not at all strange, considering that they had for a long time cast off the fear of God; prostituted their consciences and religion to please their king; and sold themselves to all manner of wickedness; so that they could not now make a safe and honourable retreat. Besides, they durst not disobey Jezebel’s command, by whom they knew the king was wholly governed, and who could easily have taken away their lives, in the same manner, if they had refused to kill Naboth: and it is not unlikely that she sent private messengers to tell them, by word of mouth, what she expected from them, and how she would reward them; as well as public letters to authorize what they did. Princes never want instruments to execute their pleasure; but it is strange that, in this case, there should be none among the judges and great men that abhorred such villany: it argues the great corruption of their manners by idolatry.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv11, 13 The ready submission of the elders and nobles implies…
The ready submission of the elders and nobles implies a deep moral degradation among the Israelites, the fruit of their lapse into idolatry.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v13 Devil. Hebrew Belial, ver. 10. Protestants, "and the men…
Devil. Hebrew Belial, ver. 10. Protestants, "and the men of Belial witnessed against him." --- City, as was requisite. (Calmet) --- Stoned him, for blasphemy, Leviticus xxiv. 16., and 23.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v13 there came in two men--worthless fellows who had been…
there came in two men--worthless fellows who had been bribed to swear a falsehood. The law required two witnesses in capital offenses (Deu 17:6; Deu 19:15; Num 35:30; Mat 26:60). Cursing God and cursing the king are mentioned in the law (Exo 22:28) as offenses closely connected, the king of Israel being the earthly representative of God in His kingdom.
they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him--The law, which forbade cursing the rulers of the people, does not specify the penalty for this offense but either usage had sanctioned or the authorities of Jezreel had originated stoning as the proper punishment. It was always inflicted out of the city (Act 7:58).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv11, 13 11. who were the inhabitants] R.V. who dwelt. The…
11. who were the inhabitants] R.V. who dwelt. The word is the same as in 1Ki_21:8.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv11, 13 (11) And the men of his city . .…
(11) And the men of his city . . . did.—The pains taken in the invention of this foul plot, and the ready acquiescence of the rulers of the city in carrying it out, are characteristic of the baser forms of organised Eastern despotism—not venturing to take life by simple violence without some cause apparently shown, and yet always able to poison the springs of justice, and do murder under form of law. In Israel, where the king was held to be but a vicegerent of God, subject, in theory, under the old constitution or “manner of the kingdom” (1Sa_10:25), to the supreme law, the need of clothing crime with legal form would be especially felt.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv11–13 And the men of his city, even the elders…
And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them Their ready compliance shows not merely the "deep moral degradation of the Israelites" at that period, but also the terror which the name of Jezebel inspired, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them. That she did not hesitate to put her infamous command into writing shows the character of the woman.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v11 the wealthy who lived in Naboth's city
the wealthy who lived in Naboth's city
The word "wealthy" refers to wealthy people. AT: "the wealthy people who lived in Naboth's city" (See: Nominal Adjectives)
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as was written in the letters
This can be stated in active form. AT: "as she had written in the letters" (See: Active or Passive)
seated Naboth above the people
Having Naboth sit in a place of honor is spoken of as if it were having him sit above the rest of the people who were present. See how you translated this idea in 1 Kings 21:9. AT: "had Naboth sit in a place of honor among the people" (See: Metaphor)
sat before Naboth
"sat in front of Naboth"
they carried him out
Here the word "they" refers to the people of the city.
Naboth has been stoned and is dead
This can be stated in active form. AT: "We have stoned Naboth and he is dead" (See: Active or Passive)
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unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v13 21:13-14 As with Achan (Josh 7:24-26), Naboth’s sons were…
21:13-14 As with Achan (Josh 7:24-26), Naboth’s sons were killed at the same time (see 2 Kgs 9:26), in this case to prevent the property from passing on to them. Because the charge carried the penalty of state execution (Deut 13:10-11; 17:5) and because Naboth no longer had male heirs, Ahab exercised the royal prerogative of confiscating the property (see 1 Sam 8:14).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.