1 Kings 21:25

1 Kings 21:25 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)(There was never anyone like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by Jezebel his wife.
• English Standard Version (ESV)(There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited.
• New King James Version (NKJV)But there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel his wife stirred him up.

Context of 1 Kings 21:25

23The Lord says this about Jezebel: “Dogs will eat Jezebel's dead body beside the city wall of Jezreel.” 24If people of Ahab's family die in the city, dogs will eat their bodies. If they die in the country, vultures will eat them.’ Ahab had decided to do everything that the Lord said was evil. He was more wicked than any other person who had lived. His wife Jezebel helped him to be like that. 26Ahab was so wicked that he worshipped useless idols, as the Amorites did. The Lord had chased those people out of the land so that the Israelites could live there. 27When Ahab heard Elijah's message, he tore his clothes into pieces. He dressed himself in sackcloth and he did not eat any food. He even wore sackcloth when he slept on his bed. He walked slowly with a sad face.

1 Kings 21:25 word by word

רַ֚ק לֹֽא־הָיָ֣ה כְאַחְאָ֔ב אֲשֶׁ֣ר הִתְמַכֵּ֔ר לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת הָרַ֖ע בְּעֵינֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה אֲשֶׁר־הֵסַ֥תָּה אֹת֖וֹ אִיזֶ֥בֶל אִשְׁתּֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• But there was none like unto Ahabאַחְאָב'ach'âb 'echâb · AhabH256
• which did sellמָכַרmâkar · to sellH4376
• himself to workעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• wickednessרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451
• in the sightעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eye: seeingH5869
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• whom Jezebelאִיזֶבֶל'îyzebel · JezebelH348
• his wifeאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802
• stirred upסוּתsûth · to inciteH5496

Cross-references for 1 Kings 21:25

• 1 Kings 21:20When Elijah met Ahab, Ahab said to him, ‘So, my enemy, now you have found me!’ Elijah answered, ‘Yes, I have found you to warn you! You have decided to do things that the Lord says are evil.
• 1 Kings 16:30Omri's son Ahab did many things that the Lord said were evil. He did more evil things than all the kings of Israel who lived before him.
• 2 Kings 23:25Josiah turned to the Lord and he served the Lord faithfully with all his strength. He obeyed all the Law of Moses. No other king was like Josiah, either before him or after him.
• 2 Kings 17:17They burned their sons and their daughters in fire as offerings to Baal. They used magic to find out what would happen in the future. They chose to do things that the Lord said were evil. That made him very angry.
• Isaiah 50:1This is what the Lord says to his people: ‘Did I send your mother away, like a man sends away his wife? Where is the paper to say why I have sent her away? Did I sell you to pay people that I was in debt to? Where is the paper that shows the reason for my debt? Listen! I sold you because of your sins. I sent your mother away because you have not obeyed me.
• Isaiah 52:3This is what the Lord says to you: ‘I received no money when I sold you. And I will not pay anything to make you free again.’
• Romans 6:19It is difficult for you to understand these things, because you are still weak. So I am using a human picture of slaves to help you to understand better. At one time, you agreed to serve bad things as your master. You let your body do wrong and disgusting things. You continued to do more and more bad things. So now, you must use your body to serve what is right and good. Then you will do more and more good things which show that you belong to God.
• Romans 7:14We understand that God's Law is spiritual. But I am weak and human. I am like a slave that has sin as my master.
• 1 Kings 21:7Jezebel said, ‘You are the king who rules Israel! Now get up from your bed and eat something. Do not be upset! I will get Naboth's vineyard for you.’
• 1 Kings 11:1Solomon loved Pharaoh's daughter and many other foreign women. Those women were Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites.
• 1 Kings 16:31He did the same bad things that Nebat's son Jeroboam had done. He even did something that was even worse. He married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, the king of Sidon. Ahab served Baal as his god and he worshipped him.
• 1 Kings 18:4At one time, Ahab's wife Jezebel was killing many of the Lord's prophets. While she was doing this, Obadiah had kept 100 prophets safe. He had hidden them in two caves, with 50 prophets in each cave. He had also given them food and water.
• 1 Kings 19:2So Jezebel sent someone with this message to Elijah: ‘By this time tomorrow, I will make sure that you are dead, the same as Baal's prophets! If I do not do that, I pray that the gods will kill me instead.’
• Proverbs 22:14The mouth of an adulteress is like a deep hole. If you make the Lord angry, you will fall into it!
• Ecclesiastes 7:26I learned this: Some women are like a trap that catches animals. Women like that are more dangerous than death. They may pretend to love you. They may hold you in their arms. But really their arms are like chains. They want to catch you, as hunters catch animals. Women like that will easily catch a man who has turned away from God. But a man who pleases God will escape from them.
• Mark 6:17Herod himself had sent his soldiers to take hold of John. He had said to his soldiers, ‘Tie his hands and feet and put him in prison.’ Herod had done that because of his wife, Herodias. She had been the wife of Herod's brother, Philip. But Herod had married her.

Commentaries on 1 Kings 21:25

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 25Did sell himself to work wickedness - He hired himself to the devil for this very purpose, that he might work wickedness. This was to be his employment, and at this he labored. In the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up - A good wife is from the Lord; a bad wife is from the devil: Jezebel was of this kind; and she has had many successors.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 25whom Jezebel stirred up - The history of Ahab‘s reign throughout exhibits him as completely governed by his imperious wife. Instances of her influence are seen in 1 Kings 21:7, 1 Kings 21:15, marginal reference, 1 Kings 18:4; 1 Kings 19:2.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-29Verses 17-29 Blessed Paul complains that he was sold under sin, Ro 7:14, as a poor captive against his will; but Ahab was willing, he sold himself to sin; of choice, and as his own act and deed, he loved the dominion of sin. Jezebel his wife stirred him up to do wickedly. Ahab is reproved, and his sin set before his eyes, by Elijah. That man's condition is very miserable, who has made the word of God his enemy; and very desperate, who reckons the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 25-26The author pauses his story to highlight Ahab's evil nature, criticize the king's dedication to idol worship, and blame him for being influenced by his wife Jezebel. Jezebel, who was wicked, would do anything to get what she wanted (1 Kings 18:4; 19:1–2; 21:5–10, 15). Although she remained arrogant and defiant until the end (2 Kings 9:30–31), she eventually faced her foretold fate (1 Kings 21:23; 2 Kings 9:32–37).Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Kings 21:25

• Ahab
• Elijah
• Influence
• Repentance
• Rulers
• Women

In the dictionaries

• Ahab
• Jezebel
• Abominably
• Blaspheme
• Lay
• Lick
• Provocation
• Stoning
• Witness
• Elijah

Commentaries on 1 Kings 21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings