Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
1 Kings 21:25 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 25. 25But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse opens the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech: “But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Ahab humbles himself and judgment is delayed.”
Read It With
- 1 Kings 21:25–29
Read 1 Kings 21:25 with 21:25–29. The selected wording supplies one opening in the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Gives Ahab primary agency for unprecedented evil while also naming Jezebel's influence; delays dynastic disaster because Ahab humbled himself, without erasing Naboth's murder or the victims' claims.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Ahab humbles himself and judgment is delayed,” 1 Kings 21:25 opens the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech through the wording “But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: 1 Kings 21:17–24 establishes this prior movement: Introduces the divine word commissioning Elijah after the seizure; extends burial denial to members of Ahab's house in city and field. 1 Kings 21:25–29 continues the same royal, temple, household, prophetic, or military movement; that demonstrated relationship, rather than database adjacency alone, explains its placement.
Read 1 Kings 21:25–29 together
Why these verses belong together: Ahab humbles himself and judgment is delayed is the complete reviewed scene, prayer, oracle, list, or regnal notice bounded at 21:25–21:29.
Verse 25. 25 But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.
Verse 26. 26 And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
Verse 27. 27 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.
Verse 28. 28 And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
Verse 29. 29 Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.
Follow the Context
- Gives Ahab primary agency for unprecedented evil while also naming Jezebel's influence
- Delays dynastic disaster because Ahab humbled himself, without erasing Naboth's murder or the victims' claims
What This Verse Is Not Saying
1 Kings 21:25 does not permit the wording “But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. The unit does not authorize state seizure, false testimony, legal theater, or a ruler's use of other people to obtain land, and it does not place the entire guilt on one woman.
What Remains True
Justice protects land, testimony, and ordinary people from rulers who convert desire into institutional seizure. This unit tests that truth through gives Ahab primary agency for unprecedented evil while also naming Jezebel's influence; delays dynastic disaster because Ahab humbled himself, without erasing Naboth's murder or the victims' claims. In 1 Kings 21:25, the concrete line “But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
How It Can Shape Life
- The evidence to keep visible in this verse is “But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of….” Protect landholders and witnesses with transparent records, independent review, conflict disclosure, appeal, and consequences for every official who turns legal process into seizure. This response follows from the unit's own sequence: Gives Ahab primary agency for unprecedented evil while also naming Jezebel's influence; delays dynastic disaster because Ahab humbled himself, without erasing Naboth's murder or the victims' claims.
Teach It Back
In 70–220 words, explain 1 Kings 21:25's role in 21:25–29. Paraphrase “But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of…,” identify one agent or affected person, state one material source or historical limit, and name one conclusion the context does not authorize.
Your explanation stays in this browser. It is not sent or saved.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 1 Kings 21:25–29 — Ahab humbles himself and judgment is delayedSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 1 Kings 21:25–29, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Kings
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording and morphology used for lexical, grammatical, name, clause, and older-English checks; this is not a critical apparatus or historical proof.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Kgs.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 21:25–29
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: 1 Kings with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Only printed unit-level translation, lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, and verse-numbering notes; silence is not evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible 1 Kings PDF, printed pp. 624–625, translation and translator notes for 21:25–29
Open source ↗