1Kings 21, 14-19 Start down to meet Ahab king of Israel

(1Kings 21, 14-19) Start down to meet Ahab king of Israel

[14] Then they sent the information to Jezebel that Naboth had been stoned to death. [15] When Jezebel learned that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, "Go on, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite which he refused to sell you, because Naboth is not alive, but dead." [16] On hearing that Naboth was dead, Ahab started off on his way down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it. [17] But the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite: [18] "Start down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He will be in the vineyard of Naboth, of which he has come to take possession. [19] This is what you shall tell him, 'The LORD says: After murdering, do you also take possession? For this, the LORD says: In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, the dogs shall lick up your blood, too.'"

(CCC 2258) "Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God and it remains for ever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being" (CDF, instruction, Donum vitae, intro. 5). (CCC 2260) The covenant between God and mankind is interwoven with reminders of God's gift of human life and man's murderous violence: For your lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning.... Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for God made man in his own image (Gen 9:5-6). The Old Testament always considered blood a sacred sign of life (Cf. Lev 17:14). This teaching remains necessary for all time. (CCC 2261) Scripture specifies the prohibition contained in the fifth commandment: "Do not slay the innocent and the righteous" (Ex 23:7). The deliberate murder of an innocent person is gravely contrary to the dignity of the human being, to the golden rule, and to the holiness of the Creator. The law forbidding it is universally valid: it obliges each and everyone, always and everywhere.