1 Kings 21:1

¹⁸Their border was to Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem,

⁴⁵In a little while, the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. ⁴⁶The LORD’s hand was on Elijah; and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

²²In the time of his distress, he trespassed yet more against the LORD, this same King Ahaz.

³³Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east assembled themselves together; and they passed over, and encamped in the valley of Jezreel.

³⁵A certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his fellow by the LORD’s word, “Please strike me!” The man refused to strike him.

³⁶Then he said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the LORD’s voice, behold, as soon as you have departed from me, a lion will kill you.” As soon as he had departed from him, a lion found him and killed him.

³⁷Then he found another man, and said, “Please strike me.” The man struck him and wounded him.

³⁸So the prophet departed and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with his headband over his eyes. ³⁹As the king passed by, he cried to the king, and he said, “Your servant went out into the middle of the battle; and behold, a man came over and brought a man to me, and said, ‘Guard this man! If by any means he is missing, then your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent^[+] of silver.’ ⁴⁰As your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” The king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be. You yourself have decided it.”

⁴¹He hurried, and took the headband away from his eyes; and the king of Israel recognized that he was one of the prophets. ⁴²He said to him, “The LORD says, ‘Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life will take the place of his life, and your people take the place of his people.’”

⁴³The king of Israel went to his house sullen and angry, and came to Samaria.

³O LORD, don’t your eyes look on truth? You have stricken them, but they were not grieved. You have consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than a rock. They have refused to return.

¹³“After all that has come on us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such a remnant, ¹⁴shall we again break your commandments, and join ourselves with the peoples that do these abominations? Wouldn’t you be angry with us until you had consumed us, so that there would be no remnant, nor any to escape?

¹Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek; and the Israelites encamped by the spring which is in Jezreel.

⁴The LORD said to him, “Call his name Jezreel, for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel on the house of Jehu, and will cause the kingdom of the house of Israel to cease. ⁵It will happen in that day that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.”

¹³Yet the people have not turned to him who struck them, neither have they sought the LORD of Armies.