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1 Kings 21:13

in 1 Kings 21

And the two scoundrels came in and sat opposite Naboth, and these men testified against him before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king!” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And the two men, the base fellows, came in and sat before him: and the base fellows bare 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 to death with stones.

KJV

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.

This verse in 1 Kings 21

Commentary

6 notes on this verse
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:

This site's exposition

did as Jezebel had instructed in the letters

on 1 Kings 21:11-14

The elders and nobles of Jezreel carry out the queen's letters against their neighbor with no recorded objection. They proclaim the fast, seat Naboth before the people, and stone him. Barnes notes a later record that Naboth's sons died with him, leaving no heir to claim the vineyard.

This site's exposition

sat opposite Naboth

John Gill notes that accusers sat face to face with the man they charged. Festus names the same Roman custom at Acts 25:16. Taking Naboth outside the city to stone him follows the law for a blasphemer at Leviticus 24:14.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

), and, as it should seem, his sons with him, or after him; for, when God came to make inquisition for blood, we find this article in the account ( 2 Kings ix. 26 ), I have seen the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Naboth had sons who were also put to death at this time (marginal reference). It is not improbable that they were stoned together with their parent (compare Jos 7:24-25). In the East, a parent’s guilt constantly involves the punishment of his children. Contrast 2Ki 14:6.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

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, 2Ki 9:26; Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, And the Blood of His Sons, saith the Lord.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

Navos cursed. A euphemism for curse. And Targum [Yonoson rendered], Navos blasphemed against God and cursed the king. 2 Thus making him liable to death for either offense. The reason for mentioning both offenses is to arouse the people’s anger against Navos and thereby he would be executed quickly.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on I Kings 21:13:1, via Sefaria, The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

25 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַ֠יָּבֹאוּand they came

    vaiyavouH935 →2568 times

  • שְׁנֵ֨י[the] two

    sheneiH8147 →768 times

  • הָאֲנָשִׁ֥יםthe men

    haanashimH582 →566 times

  • בְּנֵֽי־sons of

    benei-H1121 →4930 times

  • בְלִיַּעַל֮worthlessness

    veliyaalH1100 →27 times

  • וַיֵּשְׁב֣וּand they sat

    vaiyeshevuH3427 →1079 times

  • נֶגְדּוֹ֒before him

    negdoH5048 →151 times

  • וַיְעִדֻהוּ֩and they testified against him

    vayiduhuH5749 →44 times

  • אַנְשֵׁ֨י[the] men of

    ʾansheiH582 →566 times

  • הַבְּלִיַּ֜עַל<the> worthlessness

    habeliyaalH1100 →27 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • נָב֗וֹתNaboth

    navotH5022 →22 times

  • נֶ֤גֶדbefore

    negedH5048 →151 times

  • הָעָם֙the people

    haamH5971 →1873 times

  • לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying

    lemorH559 →5305 times

  • בֵּרַ֥ךְhe has blessed

    berakhH1288 →330 times

  • נָב֛וֹתNaboth

    navotH5022 →22 times

  • אֱלֹהִ֖יםGod

    ʾelohimH430 →2601 times

  • וָמֶ֑לֶךְand [the] king

    vamelekhH4428 →2525 times

  • וַיֹּצִאֻ֙הוּ֙and they took out him

    vaiyotziuhuH3318 →1067 times

  • מִח֣וּץfrom [the] outside

    michutzH2351 →164 times

  • לָעִ֔ירof the city

    lairH5892 →1090 times

  • וַיִּסְקְלֻ֥הוּand they stoned him

    vaiyiskeluhuH5619 →22 times

  • בָאֲבָנִ֖יםwith <the> stones

    vaavanimH68 →273 times

  • וַיָּמֹֽת׃and he died

    vaiyamotH4191 →839 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Ecclesiastes 4:1

    Again I looked, and I considered all the oppression taking place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; the power lay in the hands of their…

    it leads to

    • Ecclesiastes 3:16

      Furthermore, I saw under the sun that in the place of judgment there is wickedness, and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness.

    • Ecclesiastes 5:8

      If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be astonished at the matter; for one official is watched by a superior, and…

    • 2 Timothy 4:16–17

      At my first defense, no one stood with me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be charged against them.

  • Through

    Psalms 27:12

    Do not hand me over to the will of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.

    it leads to

    • Psalms 31:8

      You have not delivered me to the enemy; You have set my feet in the open.

    • Matthew 26:59–60

      Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were seeking false testimony against Jesus in order to put Him to death.

    • Psalms 41:11

      By this I know that You delight in me, for my enemy does not triumph over me.

    • Psalms 35:11

      Hostile witnesses come forward; they make charges I know nothing about.

  • Through

    Luke 23:2

    And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man subverting our nation, forbidding payment of taxes to Caesar, and proclaiming Himself to be Christ, a King.”

    it leads to

    • Acts 17:6–7

      But when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have now come here,

Where this verse is studied

About 1 Kings

The visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon, Sir Edward John Poynter, 1890. Public domain.
The visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon, Sir Edward John Poynter, 1890. Public domain.

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.