The Lord Will Not Forsake His People
1 O Lord, God of pvengeance,
O God of vengeance, qshine forth!
2 rRise up, O sjudge of the earth;
repay to the tproud what they deserve!
3 O Lord, uhow long shall the wicked,
how long shall vthe wicked exult?
4 They pour out their warrogant words;
all xthe evildoers boast.
5 They ycrush your people, O Lord,
and afflict your heritage.
6 They kill zthe widow and the sojourner,
and murder zthe fatherless;
7 aand they say, “The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob does not perceive.”
8 bUnderstand, O dullest of the people!
Fools, when will you be wise?
9 cHe who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?
10 He who ddisciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?
He who eteaches man knowledge—
11 fthe Lord—knows the thoughts of man,
12 hBlessed is the man whom you idiscipline, O Lord,
and whom you teach out of your law,
13 to give him jrest from kdays of trouble,
until la pit is dug for the wicked.
14 mFor the Lord will not forsake his npeople;
he will not abandon his nheritage;
15 for ojustice will return to the righteous,
and all the upright in heart will pfollow it.
16 qWho rises up for me against the wicked?
Who stands up for me against evildoers?
17 rIf the Lord had not been my help,
my soul would soon have lived in the land of ssilence.
18 When I thought, t“My foot slips,”
your steadfast love, O Lord, uheld me up.
19 When the cares of my heart are many,
your consolations cheer my soul.
20 Can wwicked rulers be allied with you,
those who frame2 injustice by xstatute?
21 They yband together against the life of the righteous
and condemn zthe innocent to death.3
22 But the Lord has become my astronghold,
and my God bthe rock of my crefuge.
23 He will bring back on them dtheir iniquity
and ewipe them out for their wickedness;
the Lord our God will wipe them out.
Naboth’s Vineyard
1 Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in qJezreel, beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 And after this Ahab said to Naboth, r“Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house, and I will give you a better vineyard for it; or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value in money.” 3 But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid sthat I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.” 4 And Ahab twent into his house vexed and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him, for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed and turned away his face and would eat no food.
5 But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, “Why is your spirit so vexed that you eat no food?” 6 And he said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money, or else, if it please you, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’” 7 And Jezebel his wife said to him, “Do you now govern Israel? Arise and eat bread and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
8 uSo she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and she sent the letters to vthe elders and the leaders who lived with Naboth in his city. 9 And she wrote in the letters, “Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people. 10 And set two wworthless men opposite him, and let them bring a charge against him, saying, x‘You have cursed1 God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.” 11 And the men of his city, vthe elders and the leaders who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them. As it was written in the letters that she had sent to them, 12 ythey proclaimed a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people. 13 And the two worthless men came in and sat opposite him. And the worthless men brought a charge against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones. 14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned; he is dead.”
15 As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money, for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” 16 And as soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
The Lord Condemns Ahab
17 zThen the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 18 “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in aSamaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession. 19 And you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Have you killed and also taken possession?”’ And you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: b“In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your own blood.”’”
20 Ahab said to Elijah, c“Have you found me, O my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you, because dyou have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord. 21 Behold, I will bring disaster upon you. I will utterly burn you up, and ewill cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel. 22 And I will make your house like fthe house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like gthe house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the anger to which you have provoked me, and because you hhave made Israel to sin. 23 And of Jezebel the Lord also said, i‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel within jthe walls of Jezreel.’ 24 kAnyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone of his who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat.”
Ahab’s Repentance
25 (lThere was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited. 26 He acted very abominably in going after midols, as nthe Amorites had done, whom the Lord cast out before the people of Israel.)
27 And when Ahab heard those words, he otore his clothes and pput sackcloth on his flesh and qfasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly. 28 And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29 “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; rbut in his son’s days I will bring the disaster upon his house.”
Shepherd the Flock of God
1 So I exhort the elders among you, mas a fellow elder and na witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 oshepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight,1 pnot under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you;2 qnot for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not rdomineering over those in your charge, but sbeing examples to the flock. 4 And when tthe chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the uunfading vcrown of glory. 5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. wClothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for x“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
6 xHumble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 ycasting all your anxieties on him, because zhe cares for you. 8 aBe sober-minded; bbe watchful. Your cadversary the devil dprowls around elike a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 fResist him, gfirm in your faith, knowing that hthe same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And iafter you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, jwho has called you to his keternal glory in Christ, will himself lrestore, mconfirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 nTo him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Final Greetings
12 By oSilvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, pI have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is qthe true grace of God. rStand firm in it. 13 She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does sMark, my son. 14 tGreet one another with the kiss of love.
uPeace to all of you who are in Christ.
