Nnda wa Nabhothi we mizhambi
1 Kwakabe kuna nnda we mizhambi we nlume wakabe eyi Nabhothi pejo ne ng'umba ye bumambo ya Mambo Ahabu. 2 Limwe zhuba Ahabu kadwa Nabhothi kati, “Undipe nnda uwo we mizhambi ndilime milibo muuli, ngoti upejo ne ng'umba yangu. Ndowokupa wakanaka kuupinda mu bumo gwawo, kene ha ubona kwakakululwamila kukulipa nge mari ndowokulipa themba yakaulizana.”
3 Koga Nabhothi kashandula Ahabu eti, “Yahwe abatoduma kuti ndingakupa thaka ya bobatategulu bangu!”
4 Ngono Ahabu kayenda kanyi akagwadzamoyo moyo akadzipiwa nge shungu, nge tjaadwiwa ndi Nabhothi we Njezerele, eti aangampe thaka ya bobatategulu babe. Kanoyizela pa bulawo gugwe akalinga ku guma, alamba ja zojiwa. 5 Koga nkadzi uwe Jezebele kazha kunli kambhuzwa kati, “Ini makapuna moyo, kwamadzina mukasije zojiwa kene?”
6 Ngono kadabila nkadzi uwe eti, “Huti ndalebeleka na Nabhothi kuti anditengesele nnda uwe we mizhambi nge mari, kene ha eshaka mmwe nnda, ndimpe mmwe nnda we mizhambi mu bumo gwawo, ngono kandidabila eti aangandipe iwo.”
7 Nkadzi uwe Jezebele kandwa kati, “Apa ndiko sekwa munobusa Iziraela kene? Mukani, muje zojiwa, mushaladuke. Imi ndowomupa nnda we mizhambi wa Nabhothi we Njezerele.”
8 Ndizo nkadzi kakwala hwalo nge zina la Ahabu kadzitshambisa nge tjilakidzo tje nlume uwe, kadzitumila ku hadzasha ne bakulu be nzi banogala na Nabhothi mu nzi uwe nkulu. 9 Ngono kakwala mu hwalo eti, “Shalulani zhuba le kuzwinyima zojiwa, mukubunganye bathu, muzhe mugadze Nabhothi ku magalo ambeli. 10 Mugadze kulingisana naye bathu babili be moyo mikukutu, ngono bantilike nlandu beti, ‘Wakalonga bhiso mu Ndzimu ne muna mambo.’ Mube mun'dusila kuzhe kwe nzi kunombulaya ngonkhikhithidza nge mabgwe.”
11 Hadzasha ne bakulu be nzi we Jezerele bakathama sekwa badwiwa ndi Jezebele. 12 Bakashalula zhuba le kuzwinyima zojiwa, bakakubunganya bathu, Nabhothi bakan'gadza ku magalo ambeli kwe gubungano. 13 Bathu babili be moyo mikukutu bakangina bakagala kulingisana na Nabhothi, bakantilika nlandu beti, “Nabhothi wakalonga bhiso mu Ndzimu ne muna mambo.” Kabe etolegwa kuzhe kwe nzi kunobulawa ngokhikhithidziwa nge mabgwe. 14 Ndizo bakatuma batumwa kuna Jezebele beti, “Nabhothi wakakhikhithidziwa nge mabgwe, kafa.”
15 Kwakati tjinyolotjo Jezebele ehwa kuti Nabhothi wakakhikhithidziwa nge mabgwe kafa, kadwa Ahabu kati, “Tjimilikani munozwitolegwa nnda wa Nabhothi we Jezerele wakalamba kumutengesela, ngoti wakafa.” 16 Tjinyolotjo Ahabu kamilika kanozwitolegwa nnda wa Nabhothi.
17 Dama la Yahwe likazha kuna Elija we N'tishibhe liti, 18 Milika unoshanganidza Ahabu mambo we Iziraela mu Samariya. Unowon'wana mu nnda we mizhambi wa Nabhothi, kwaanozwitolegwa iwo. 19 Undwe uti imi Yahwe ati kunli, “Apa wabulaya nthu ubuya utola thundu iye kakale kene? Undwe kakale uti, ‘Pakanazwigwa malopa a Nabhothi ne mbgwa ne awo dzowoanazwilabo po!’ ”
20 Kukati Ahabu ebona Elija kambhuzwa eti, “Apa wandiwana iwe tjita tjangu kene?”
Elija kanshandula eti, “Ee, ndakuwana, ngobe wazwitengesa mu kuthama mbipo mbeli kwa Yahwe. 21 Bona, Yahwe bakati, ‘Ndowozhisa mbatsha mu kuli, ndowokulobesa tjose, ndowolobesa balume be nsha wa Ahabu bose mu Iziraela, bakasungwa kene bakasununguka. 22 Nsha uwo unowonga wa Jeroboamu nkololo wa Nebhati ne wa Bhaasha nkololo wa Ahija, ngobe wandilonga bushongola ngothamisa Iziraela tjibi.’ 23 Ngono ngekwa Jezebele, Yahwe bakati mbgwa dzowoja itumbu tjitje mukati kwe nzi nkulu Jezirele. 24 Mmwe ne mmwe we nsha wa Ahabu wafila mu nzi nkulu unowojiwa nge mbgwa. Ngono mmwe ne mmwe we nsha uwe wafila mu shango unowojiwa nge magola.”
25 (Akuna wakatongo zwiseenya mu kuthama mbipo mbeli kwa Yahwe sa Ahabu, sekwa akafuligwa nge nkadzi uwe Jezebele. 26 Wakathama kunoshimisa ngonamata zwifano se Baamoni bakatatigwa kuzhe kwe shango ye bana be Iziraeala ndi Yahwe.)
27 Kukati Ahabu ehwa matama iyawo, kazwipalulila zwiambalo, kaambala jila le saka. Kalamba zojiwa, kalala akafuka jila le saka, edzungayila akadzimila.
28 Ngono dama la Yahwe likazha kuna Elija we N'tishibhe liti, 29 “Apa wabona sekwa Ahabu azwiyisa pasi ndiko mbeli kwangu kene? Ngoti wazwiyisa pasi mbeli kwangu, anditjowozhisa golomodzo mu misi ye butjilo gugwe. Koga ndowozhisa golomodzo mu nsha uwe mu misi ye butjilo gwe nkololo uwe.”
Naboth's Vineyard
1 Near King Ahab's palace in Jezreel there was a vineyard owned by a man named Naboth. 2 One day Ahab said to Naboth, “Let me have your vineyard; it is close to my palace, and I want to use the land for a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard for it or, if you prefer, I will pay you a fair price.”
3 “I inherited this vineyard from my ancestors,” Naboth replied. “The Lord forbid that I should let you have it!”
4 Ahab went home, depressed and angry over what Naboth had said to him. He lay down on his bed, facing the wall, and would not eat. 5 His wife Jezebel went to him and asked, “Why are you so depressed? Why won't you eat?”
6 He answered, “Because of what Naboth said to me. I offered to buy his vineyard or, if he preferred, to give him another one for it, but he told me that I couldn't have it!”
7 “Well, are you the king or aren't you?” Jezebel replied. “Get out of bed, cheer up, and eat. I will get you Naboth's vineyard!”
8 Then she wrote some letters, signed Ahab's name to them, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the officials and leading citizens of Jezreel. 9 The letters said: “Proclaim a day of fasting, call the people together, and give Naboth the place of honor. 10 Get a couple of scoundrels to accuse him to his face of cursing God and the king. Then take him out of the city and stone him to death.”
11 The officials and leading citizens of Jezreel did what Jezebel had commanded. 12 They proclaimed a day of fasting, called the people together, and gave Naboth the place of honor. 13 The two scoundrels publicly accused him of cursing God and the king, and so he was taken outside the city and stoned to death. 14 The message was sent to Jezebel: “Naboth has been put to death.”
15 As soon as Jezebel received the message, she said to Ahab, “Naboth is dead. Now go and take possession of the vineyard which he refused to sell to you.” 16 At once Ahab went to the vineyard to take possession of it.
17 Then the Lord said to Elijah, the prophet from Tishbe, 18 “Go to King Ahab of Samaria. You will find him in Naboth's vineyard, about to take possession of it. 19 Tell him that I, the Lord, say to him, ‘After murdering the man, are you taking over his property as well?’ Tell him that this is what I say: ‘In the very place that the dogs licked up Naboth's blood they will lick up your blood!’”
20 When Ahab saw Elijah, he said, “Have you caught up with me, my enemy?”
“Yes, I have,” Elijah answered. “You have devoted yourself completely to doing what is wrong in the Lord's sight. 21 So the Lord says to you, ‘I will bring disaster on you. I will do away with you and get rid of every male in your family, young and old alike. 22 Your family will become like the family of King Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the family of King Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have stirred up my anger by leading Israel into sin.’ 23 And concerning Jezebel, the Lord says that dogs will eat her body in the city of Jezreel. 24 Any of your relatives who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and any who die in the open country will be eaten by vultures.”
( 25 There was no one else who had devoted himself so completely to doing wrong in the Lord's sight as Ahab—all at the urging of his wife Jezebel. 26 He committed the most shameful sins by worshiping idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord had driven out of the land as the people of Israel advanced.)
27 When Elijah finished speaking, Ahab tore his clothes, took them off, and put on sackcloth. He refused food, slept in the sackcloth, and went about gloomy and depressed.
28 The Lord said to the prophet Elijah, 29 “Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Since he has done this, I will not bring disaster on him during his lifetime; it will be during his son's lifetime that I will bring disaster on Ahab's family.”