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1 Kings 21:21-26

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. 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.” Yahweh also spoke of Jezebel, saying, “The dogs will eat Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel. 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.”

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. He did very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites did, whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel.

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1 Kings 21:21-26 sits inside this longer paragraph.

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. 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.” Yahweh also spoke of Jezebel, saying, “The dogs will eat Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel. 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.”

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. He did very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites did, whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel. When Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.

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Parallel Translations

  • WEB World English Bible

    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.

    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.”

    Yahweh also spoke of Jezebel, saying, “The dogs will eat Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel.

    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.”

    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.

    He did very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites did, whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel.

  • KJV King James Version

    Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel,

    And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin.

    And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.

    Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat.

    But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.

    And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.

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  • JPS JPS Tanakh (1917)

    Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will utterly sweep thee away, and will cut off from Ahab every man-child, and him that is shut up and him that is left at large in Israel.

    And I will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasa the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked Me, and hast made Israel to sin.

    And of Jezebel also spoke the LORD, saying: The dogs shall eat Jezebel in the moat of Jezreel.

    Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat.'

    But there was none like unto Ahab, who did give himself over to do that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.

    And 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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Cross-references (67)

  • 1 Kings 14:10 (v21) therefore, behold, I will bring evil on the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam everyone who urinates on a wall, he who is…
  • 1 Kings 21:20 (v25) 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…
  • Proverbs 22:14 (v25) The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit. He who is under Yahweh’s wrath will fall into it.
  • 1 Kings 14:11 (v24) The dogs will eat he who belongs to Jeroboam who dies in the city; and the birds of the sky will eat he who dies in the field: for Yahweh…
  • 1 Kings 16:3 (v22) behold, I will utterly sweep away Baasha and his house; and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
Show all 67 cross-references
  • 1 Kings 16:4 (v24) The dogs will eat Baasha’s descendants who die in the city; and he who dies of his in the field, the birds of the sky will eat.”
  • 2 Kings 21:11 (v26) “Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations, and has done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, who were before him,…
  • Genesis 15:16 (v26) In the fourth generation they will come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.”
  • 1 Kings 16:30-33 (v25) Ahab the son of Omri did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight above all that were before him. As if it had been a light thing for him to…
  • Leviticus 18:25-30 (v26) The land was defiled. Therefore I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out her inhabitants. You therefore shall keep my statutes and…
  • 1 Kings 14:16 (v22) He will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he has sinned, and with which he has made Israel to sin.”
  • 1 Kings 16:11 (v22) When he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, he attacked all the house of Baasha. He didn’t leave him a single one who urinates…
  • 2 Kings 9:10 (v23) The dogs will eat Jezebel on the plot of ground of Jezreel, and there shall be no one to bury her.’ ” Then he opened the door and fled.
  • Ecclesiastes 7:26 (v25) I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and traps, whose hands are chains. Whoever pleases God shall escape from her;…
  • Exodus 20:5-6 (v21) you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on…
  • 1 Samuel 25:22 (v21) God do so to the enemies of David, and more also, if I leave of all that belongs to him by the morning light so much as one who urinates on…
  • 1 Samuel 25:34 (v21) For indeed, as Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, who has withheld me from harming you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely…
  • 1 Kings 21:7 (v25) 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…
  • 2 Kings 9:30-37 (v23) When Jehu had come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her eyes, and adorned her head, and looked out at the window. As Jehu…
  • 2 Kings 10:1-7 (v21) Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, even the elders, and to those who…
  • 2 Kings 10:11-14 (v21) So Jehu struck all that remained of Ahab’s house in Jezreel, with all his great men, his familiar friends, and his priests, until he left…
  • 2 Kings 10:17 (v21) When he came to Samaria, he struck all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, until he had destroyed him, according to Yahweh’s word, which he…
  • 2 Kings 10:30 (v21) Yahweh said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in executing that which is right in my eyes, and have done to Ahab’s house according to…
  • 2 Kings 14:26 (v21) For Yahweh saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter; for all, slave and free, and there was no helper for Israel.
  • Jeremiah 15:3 (v24) “I will appoint over them four kinds,” says Yahweh: “the sword to kill, the dogs to tear, the birds of the sky, and the animals of the…
  • Acts 14:2 (v25) But the disbelieving Jews stirred up and embittered the souls of the Gentiles against the brothers.
  • Romans 6:19 (v25) I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh, for as you presented your members as servants to uncleanness and to…
  • Leviticus 20:22-23 (v26) “ ‘You shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my ordinances, and do them, that the land where I am bringing you to dwell may not…
  • Deuteronomy 12:31 (v26) You shall not do so to Yahweh your God; for every abomination to Yahweh, which he hates, they have done to their gods; for they even burn…
  • Deuteronomy 32:36 (v21) For Yahweh will judge his people, and have compassion on his servants, when he sees that their power is gone; that there is no one…
  • 1 Kings 11:1-4 (v25) Now king Solomon loved many foreign women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians,…
  • 1 Kings 12:30 (v22) This thing became a sin; for the people went even as far as Dan to worship before the one there.
  • 1 Kings 15:12 (v26) He put away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.
  • 1 Kings 15:29-30 (v22) As soon as he was king, he struck all the house of Jeroboam. He didn’t leave to Jeroboam any who breathed, until he had destroyed him;…
  • 1 Kings 15:34 (v22) He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin with which he made Israel to sin.
  • 1 Kings 16:26 (v22) For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sins with which he made Israel to sin, to provoke Yahweh, the God of…
  • 1 Kings 18:4 (v25) for when Jezebel cut off Yahweh’s prophets, Obadiah took one hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and…
  • 1 Kings 19:2 (v25) Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I don’t make your life as the life of one of…
  • 1 Kings 21:25 (v23) 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.
  • 2 Kings 9:7-9 (v21) You must strike your master Ahab’s house, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of…
  • 2 Kings 16:3 (v26) But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yes, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the…
  • 2 Kings 17:12 (v26) and they served idols, of which Yahweh had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.”
  • 2 Kings 17:17 (v25) They caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do that which…
  • 2 Kings 21:2 (v26) He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, after the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel.
  • 2 Kings 23:25 (v25) There was no king like him before him, who turned to Yahweh with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to…
  • 2 Chronicles 15:8 (v26) When Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominations out of all the land of…
  • 2 Chronicles 33:2 (v26) He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, after the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel.
  • 2 Chronicles 33:9 (v26) Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that they did more evil than did the nations whom Yahweh destroyed before the…
  • 2 Chronicles 36:14 (v26) Moreover all the chiefs of the priests, and the people, trespassed very greatly after all the abominations of the nations; and they…
  • Ezra 9:11-14 (v26) which you have commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land, to which you go to possess it, is an unclean land through the…
  • Psalms 106:35-39 (v26) but mixed themselves with the nations, and learned their works. They served their idols, which became a snare to them. Yes, they sacrificed…
  • Isaiah 14:19 (v24) But you are cast away from your tomb like an abominable branch, clothed with the slain, who are thrust through with the sword, who go down…
  • Isaiah 50:1 (v25) Yahweh says, “Where is the bill of your mother’s divorce, with which I have put her away? Or to which of my creditors have I sold you?…
  • Isaiah 52:3 (v25) For Yahweh says, “You were sold for nothing; and you will be redeemed without money.”
  • Isaiah 65:4 (v26) who sit among the graves, and spend nights in secret places; who eat pig’s meat, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;
  • Jeremiah 16:18 (v26) First I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double, because they have polluted my land with the carcasses of their detestable…
  • Jeremiah 44:4 (v26) However I sent to you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, “Oh, don’t do this abominable thing that I…
  • Ezekiel 16:47 (v26) Yet you have not walked in their ways, nor done their abominations; but soon you were more corrupt than they in all your ways.
  • Ezekiel 18:12 (v26) has wronged the poor and needy, has taken by robbery, has not restored the pledge, and has lifted up his eyes to the idols, has committed…
  • Ezekiel 32:4-5 (v24) I will leave you on the land. I will cast you out on the open field, and will cause all the birds of the sky to settle on you. I will…
  • Ezekiel 39:18-20 (v24) You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bulls, all of…
  • Mark 6:17-27 (v25) For Herod himself had sent out and arrested John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, for he had…
  • Acts 6:12 (v25) They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, and came against him and seized him, then brought him in to the council,
  • 1 Peter 4:3 (v26) For we have spent enough of our past time doing the desire of the Gentiles, and having walked in lewdness, lusts, drunken binges, orgies,…
  • Revelation 19:18 (v24) that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them,…
  • Revelation 21:8 (v26) But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in…
  • Romans 7:14 (v25) For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold under sin.

Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)

Explain this passage (17 sources)

Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.

Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv23, 25 Or, fortress, or possession.

Or, fortress, or possession.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.

John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv21–26 1Ki 21:21 Behold, I will bring evil upon thee,…
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv21, 23, 25, 26 See Poole "1Ki 14:10"
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv21–23 And he did very abominably in following idols,.... Which…
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv23–24 By the wall - Or, in the portion, as…
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv23, 25 Verse 23. The dogs shall eat Jezebel] This was…
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv23, 25 1Ki 21:23-24. The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the…
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv21, 23, 25, 26 The prophet changes, without warning, from speaking in his…
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv21–26 Wall. See 1 Kings xxv. 22. --- Israel, chap.…
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v21 will make thine house, &c.--(see on Kg1 15:29 and…
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv21, 23, 25 21. I will bring evil — See note on…
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv21–26 21. and will take away thy posterity] R.V. and…
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv21, 25, 26 (21-24) Behold, I will bring evil.—Distinct from that message…
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv21–26 Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will…
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v25 But there was none like unto Ahab, which did…
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv21, 23, 25 "Look" or "Listen" or "Pay attention to what I…
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v25 21:25-26 The author interrupts his account to reemphasize (see…
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