2 Kings 1:9-16

Good News Translation

⁹ Then he sent an officer with fifty men to get Elijah. The officer found him sitting on a hill and said to him, “Man of God, the king orders you to come down.”

^10 (A)“If I am a man of God,” Elijah answered, “may fire come down from heaven and kill you and your men!” At once fire came down and killed the officer and his men.

¹¹ The king sent another officer with fifty men, who went up^[a] and said to Elijah, “Man of God, the king orders you to come down at once!”

¹² “If I am a man of God,” Elijah answered, “may fire come down from heaven and kill you and your men!” At once the fire of God came down and killed the officer and his men.

¹³ Once more the king sent an officer with fifty men. He went up the hill, fell on his knees in front of Elijah, and pleaded, “Man of God, be merciful to me and my men. Spare our lives! ¹⁴ The two other officers and their men were killed by fire from heaven; but please be merciful to me!”

¹⁵ The angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him, and don't be afraid.” So Elijah went with the officer to the king ¹⁶ and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because you sent messengers to consult Baalzebub, the god of Ekron—as if there were no god in Israel to consult—you will not get well; you will die!’”