1 Kings 21 · Verse 2

1 Kings 21:2

And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.
1 Kings 21:2, King James Version

1 Kings 21:2 in other translations

BSBSo Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard to use as a vegetable garden, since it is next to my palace. I will give you a better vineyard in its place—or if you prefer, I will give you its value in silver.”
WEBAhab 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.”
ASVAnd Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house; and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it: or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.
YLTand Ahab speaketh unto Naboth, saying, ‘Give to me thy vineyard, and it is to me for a garden of green herbs, for it is near by my house, and I give to thee in its stead a better vineyard than it; if good in thine eyes, I give to thee silver--its price.'
DARBYAnd Ahab spoke to Naboth saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, for it is near, by the side of my house; and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; if it seem good to thee, I will give thee its value in money.
BBEAnd Ahab said to Naboth, Give me your vine-garden so that I may have it for a garden of sweet plants, for it is near my house; and let me give you a better vine-garden in exchange, or, if it seems good to you, let me give you its value in money.
WebsterAnd Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near to my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or if it seemeth good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.

What does 1 Kings 21:2 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Kings 21:1-3

1Ki 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…

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Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 2 Give me thy vineyard - The request of Ahab seems at first view fair and honorable. Naboth's vineyard was nigh to the palace of Ahab, and he wished to add it to his own for a kitchen garden, or perhaps a grass-plat, גן ירק gan yarak; and he offers to give him either a better vineyard for it, or to give him its worth in money. Naboth rejects the proposal with horror: The Lord forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to thee. No man could finally alienate any part of the parental inheritance; it might be sold or mortgaged till the jubilee, but at that time it must revert to its original owner, if not redeemed before; for this God had particularly enjoined Lev 25:14-17, Lev 25:25-28 : therefore Naboth properly said, 1Kgs 21:3, The Lord forbid it me, to give the inheritance of my fathers. Ahab most evidently wished him to alienate it finally, and this is what God's law had expressly forbidden; therefore he could not, consistently with his duty to God, indulge Ahab; and it was high iniquity in Ahab to tempt him to do it; and to covet it showed the depravity of Ahab's soul. But we see farther that, despotic as those kings were, they dared not seize on the inheritance of any man. This would have been a flagrant breach of the law and constitution of the country; and this indeed would have been inconsistent with the character which they sustained, viz., the Lord's vicegerents. The Jewish kings had no authority either to alter the old laws, or to make new ones. "The Hindoos," says Mr. Ward, "are as strongly attached to their homesteads as the Jews were. Though the heads of the family be employed in a distant part of the country, and though the homesteads may be almost in ruins, they cling still to the family inheritance with a fondness bordering on superstition.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Kings 21:1-4

Naboth, perhaps, had been pleased that he had a vineyard situated so near the palace, but the situation proved fatal to him; many a man's possessions have been his snare, and his neighbourhood to greatness, of bad consequence. Discontent is a sin that is its own punishment, and makes men torment themselves. It is a sin that is its own parent; it arises not from the condition, but from the mind: as we find Paul…

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1 Kings 21:2 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיְדַבֵּ֣רvay.da.Berand he spokeH1696
אַחְאָ֣ב'ach.'AvAhabH256
אֶל\־'el-toH413
נָב֣וֹת\׀na.VotNabothH5022
לֵאמֹר֩\׀le.Mor<to> sayingH559
תְּנָה\־te.nah-give !H5414
לִּ֨יlito me
אֶֽת\־'et-<obj.>H853
כַּרְמְךָ֜kar.me.Khavineyard yourH3754
וִֽיהִי\־vi.hi-so may it belongH1961
לִ֣יlito me
לְגַן\־le.gan-to a garden ofH1588
יָרָ֗קya.RakvegetablesH3419
כִּ֣יkiforH3588
ה֤וּאhu'itH1931
קָרוֹב֙ka.rOv[is] nearH7138
אֵ֣צֶל'E.tzelbesideH681
בֵּיתִ֔יbei.Tihouse myH1004
וְאֶתְּנָ֤הve.'e.te.Nahand I will giveH5414
לְךָ֙le.Khato <the> you
תַּחְתָּ֔יוtach.Tavin place of itH8478
כֶּ֖רֶםKe.rema vineyardH3754
ט֣וֹבTovgoodH2896
מִמֶּ֑נּוּmi.Me.numore than itH4480
אִ֚ם'imifH518
ט֣וֹבTov[it is] goodH2895
בְּעֵינֶ֔יךָbe.'ei.Nei.khain view yourH5869
אֶתְּנָה\־'e.te.nah-I will giveH5414
לְךָ֥le.Khato you
כֶ֖סֶףKhe.sefmoneyH3701
מְחִ֥ירme.Chir[the] price ofH4242
זֶֽה\׃Zehthis [one]H2088

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Kings 21:2

  • 1 Samuel 8:14

    And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.

  • James 1:14-15

    But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

  • 1 Timothy 6:9

    But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

  • Genesis 16:6

    But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.

  • 2 Kings 9:27

    But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in the chariot. And they did so at the going up to Gur, which is by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there.

  • 1 Samuel 8:6

    But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord.

  • Deuteronomy 11:10

    For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs:

  • Luke 12:15

    And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

  • Deuteronomy 5:21

    Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour’s wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour’s house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

  • Jeremiah 22:17

    But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it.

  • Song of Solomon 4:15

    A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.

  • Exodus 20:17

    Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Give me.The request of Ahab, at first view, appears fair and honourable. But, as he most evidentially wished Naboth to alienate it finally, which was expressly forbidden and provided against in the law of God, (Le 25:14-28,) it was high iniquity in Ahab to tempt him to do it, and to covet it showed the depravity of his soul.
Ge 3:6; Ex 20:17; De 5:21; 1Sa 8:14; Jer 22:17; Hab 2:9-11
Lu 12:15; 1Ti 6:9; Jas 1:14,15
a garden of herbs.
2Ki 9:27; De 11:10; Ec 2:5; So 4:15
seem good to thee. Heb. be good in thine eyes.
Ge 16:6; 1Sa 8:6; 29:6

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 1 Kings 21:1

    And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.

  • 1 Kings 21:2

    And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.

  • 1 Kings 21:3

    And Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.

Read all of 1 Kings 21

1 Kings 21:2 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y Achâb habló á Naboth, diciendo: Dame tu viña para un huerto de legumbres, porque está cercana, junto á mi casa, y yo te daré por ella otra viña mejor que esta; ó si mejor te pareciere, te pagaré su valor en dinero.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Achab parla à Naboth, disant: Donne-moi ta vigne afin que j’en fasse un jardin potager, car elle est proche, à côté de ma maison, et je te donnerai à sa place une meilleure vigne que celle-là, ou, si cela est bon à tes yeux, je te donnerai l’argent que vaut celle-ci.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Ahab redete zu Naboth und sprach: Gib mir deinen Weinberg, daß er mein Krautgarten werde, denn er ist nahe bei meinem Hause; und ich will dir statt seiner einen besseren Weinberg geben; oder wenn es gut ist in deinen Augen, will ich dir Geld geben, im Werte desselben.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Locutus est ergo Achab ad Naboth, dicens: Da mihi vineam tuam, ut faciam mihi hortum olerum, quia vicina est, et prope domum meam: daboque tibi pro ea vineam meliorem, aut si commodius tibi putas, argenti pretium, quanto digna est.