1 Kings 21:3

1 Kings 21:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.
• New International Version (NIV)But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my ancestors.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)But Naboth said to Ahab, "The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers."
• New King James Version (NKJV)But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you!”

Context of 1 Kings 21:3

1This is what happened next. Naboth from Jezreel had a vineyard in Jezreel next to the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. 2Ahab told Naboth, “Give me your vineyard. It will become my vegetable garden because it is near my house. I will give you a better vineyard for it. Or if you prefer, I will pay you a fair price for it.” Naboth told Ahab, “The Lord has forbidden me to give you what I inherited from my ancestors.” 4Resentful and upset, Ahab went home because of what Naboth from Jezreel had told him. (⌞Naboth had said,⌟ “I will not give you what I inherited from my ancestors.”) So Ahab lay on the couch, turned his face ⌞from everyone⌟, and refused to eat. 5His wife Jezebel came to him and asked, “Why are you so resentful of everything? Why don’t you eat?”

1 Kings 21:3 word by word

וַיֹּ֥אמֶר נָב֖וֹת אֶל־אַחְאָ֑ב חָלִ֤ילָה לִּי֙ מֵֽיהוָ֔ה מִתִּתִּ֛י אֶת־נַחֲלַ֥ת אֲבֹתַ֖י לָֽךְ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Nabothנָבוֹתnâbôth · NabothH5022
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• to Ahabאַחְאָב'ach'âb 'echâb · AhabH256
• The Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• forbidחָלִ֫ילָהchâlîylâh châlilâh · forbidH2486
• it me, that I should giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• the inheritanceנַחֲלָהnachălâh · inheritanceH5159
• of my fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1

Cross-references for 1 Kings 21:3

• Genesis 44:7They answered him, “Sir, how can you say such things? We would never think of doing anything like that!
• Joshua 22:29It would be unthinkable for us to rebel against the Lord or to turn back today from following the Lord by building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings, or sacrifices in addition to the altar of the Lord our God that is in front of his tent.”
• Joshua 24:16The people responded, “It would be unthinkable for us to abandon the Lord to serve other gods.
• 1 Samuel 12:23It would be unthinkable for me to sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. I will go on teaching you the way that is good and right.
• 1 Samuel 24:6He said to his men, “It would be unthinkable for me to raise my hand against His Majesty, the Lord’s anointed king, since he is the Lord’s anointed.”
• 1 Samuel 26:9“Don’t kill him!” David told Abishai. “No one has ever attacked the Lord’s anointed king and remained free of guilt.
• 1 Chronicles 11:19and said, “It’s unthinkable that I would do this, God. Should I drink the blood of these men who risked their lives? They had to risk their lives to get this water.” So he refused to drink it. These are the things which the three fighting men did.
• Job 27:5It’s unthinkable for me to admit that you are right. Until I breathe my last breath, I will never give up my claim of integrity.
• Romans 3:4That would be unthinkable! God is honest, and everyone else is a liar, as Scripture says, “So you hand down justice when you speak, and you win your case in court.”
• Romans 6:2That’s unthinkable! As far as sin is concerned, we have died. So how can we still live under sin’s influence?
• Romans 7:7What should we say, then? Are the laws in Moses’ Teachings sinful? That’s unthinkable! In fact, I wouldn’t have recognized sin if those laws hadn’t shown it to me. For example, I wouldn’t have known that some desires are sinful if Moses’ Teachings hadn’t said, “Never have wrong desires.”
• 1 Corinthians 6:15Don’t you realize that your bodies are parts of Christ’s body? Should I take the parts of Christ’s body and make them parts of a prostitute’s body? That’s unthinkable!
• Galatians 6:14But it’s unthinkable that I could ever brag about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. By his cross my relationship to the world and its relationship to me have been crucified.
• Leviticus 25:23“Land must never be sold permanently, because the land is mine. To me you are strangers without permanent homes.
• Numbers 36:7In this way no land of the Israelites will pass from one tribe to another. Every Israelite must keep the tribal land inherited from his ancestors.
• Ezekiel 46:18The prince must not take any of the people’s property. He must not force them to give up their property. He must give his own property as an inheritance to his sons so that none of my people will be separated from their property.’ ”

Commentaries on 1 Kings 21:3

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3The Lord forbid it me - Or, “Yahweh forbid it me.” Naboth, as a worshipper of Yahweh, not of Baal, considers it would be wrong for him to comply with the king‘s request, as contrary to the Law (margin). His was not a mere refusal arising out of a spirit of sturdy independence, or one based upon the sentiment which attaches men to ancestral estates.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-3Naboth turned down Ahab's generous offer to buy or trade land for his vineyard. Naboth wanted to sell, but the law required inherited property to remain with the original family or tribe (Leviticus 25:23–28; Numbers 36:7–9). Unlike kings of nearby nations who could take any property they wanted (1 Samuel 8:11–17), Ahab had to follow Israel's law.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-41Ki 21:1-4. Naboth Refuses Ahab His Vineyard. 1-3. Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel--Ahab was desirous, from its contiguity to the palace, to possess it for a vegetable garden. He proposed to Naboth to give him a better in exchange, or to obtain it by purchase; but the owner declined to part with it. In persisting in his refusal, Naboth was not actuated by any feelings of disloyalty or disrespect to the king, but solely from a…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Kings 21:3

• Covetousness
• Dishonesty
• Indictments
• Inheritance
• King
• Naboth
• Women

In the dictionaries

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

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