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And Moab transgresseth against Israel after the death of Ahab,

and Ahaziah falleth through the lattice in his upper chamber that [is] in Samaria, and is sick, and sendeth messengers, and saith unto them, `Go ye, inquire of Baal-Zebub god of Ekron if I recover from this sickness.'

And a messenger of Jehovah hath spoken unto Elijah the Tishbite, `Rise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and speak unto them, Is it because there is not a God in Israel -- ye are going to inquire of Baal Zebub god of Ekron?

and therefore, thus said Jehovah, The bed whither thou hast gone up, thou dost not come down from it, for thou dost certainly die;' and Elijah goeth on.

And the messengers turn back unto him, and he saith unto them, `What [is] this -- ye have turned back!'

And they say unto him, `A man hath come up to meet us, and saith unto us, Go, turn back unto the king who sent you, and ye have said unto him, Thus said Jehovah, Is it because there is not a God in Israel -- thou art sending to inquire of Baal-Zebub god of Ekron? therefore, the bed whither thou hast gone up, thou dost not come down from it, for thou dost certainly die.'

And he saith unto them, `What [is] the fashion of the man who hath come up to meet you, and speaketh unto you these words?'

And they say unto him, `A man -- hairy, and a girdle of skin girt about his loins;' and he saith, `He [is] Elijah the Tishbite.'

And he sendeth unto him a head of fifty and his fifty, and he goeth up unto him (and lo, he is sitting on the top of the hill), and he speaketh unto him, `O man of God, the king hath spoken, Come down.'

10 And Elijah answereth and speaketh unto the head of the fifty, `And if I [am] a man of God, fire doth come down from the heavens, and consume thee and thy fifty;' and fire cometh down from the heavens, and consumeth him and his fifty.

11 And he turneth and sendeth unto him another head of fifty and his fifty, and he answereth and speaketh unto him, `O man of God, thus said the king, Haste, come down.'

12 And Elijah answereth and speaketh unto them, `If I [am] a man of God, fire doth come down from the heavens, and consume thee and thy fifty;' and fire of God cometh down from the heavens, and consumeth him and his fifty.

13 And he turneth and sendeth a third head of fifty and his fifty, and the third head of fifty goeth up, and cometh in, and boweth on his knees over-against Elijah, and maketh supplication unto him, and speaketh unto him, `O man of God, let be precious, I pray thee, my soul and the soul of thy servants -- these fifty -- in thine eyes.

14 Lo, come down hath fire from the heavens, and consumeth the two heads of the former fifties and their fifties; and, now, let my soul be precious in thine eyes.'

15 And a messenger of Jehovah speaketh unto Elijah, `Go down with him, be not afraid of him;' and he riseth and goeth down with him unto the king,

16 and speaketh unto him, `Thus said Jehovah, Because that thou hast sent messengers to inquire of Baal-Zebub god of Ekron -- is it because there is not a God in Israel to inquire of His word? therefore, the bed whither thou hast gone up -- thou dost not come down from it, for thou dost certainly die.'

17 And he dieth, according to the word of Jehovah that Elijah spake, and Jehoram reigneth in his stead, in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, for he had no son.

18 And the rest of the matters of Ahaziah that he did, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel?

God Judges Ahaziah

Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria and became ill. So he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal-Zebub the god of Ekron whether I will recover from this illness.”

But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is not a God in Israel, that you go to inquire of Baal-Zebub the god of Ekron?’ Therefore thus says the Lord, ‘You will not come down from the bed on which you have gone up but will surely die.’ ” Then Elijah departed.

When the messengers returned to the king, he said to them, “Why have you returned?”

And they said to him, “A man came up to meet us and said to us, ‘Go, return to the king that sent you and say to him: Thus says the Lord: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-Zebub the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not come down from the bed on which you have gone up, but you will surely die.’ ”

He said to them, “What sort of man was he who came up to meet you and told you these things?”

They answered him, “He was a hairy man with a leather belt around his waist.”

He said, “It was Elijah the Tishbite.”

Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men. He went up to Elijah, and there he was, sitting on the top of a hill, and he said to him, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’ ”

10 But Elijah answered the captain of fifty: “If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.

11 Again the king sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty men. He said, “Man of God, thus says the king: Come down quickly.”

12 Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.

13 Then again the king sent a third captain of fifty with his fifty men. The third captain of fifty went up, came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and pleaded with him, “Man of God, may my life and the life of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight. 14 See, fire came down from heaven and consumed the two captains of the former fifties with their fifty men. May my life now be precious in your sight.”

15 Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Do not be afraid of him.” So he arose and went down with him to the king.

16 Then he said to him, “Thus says the Lord: Have you sent messengers to inquire of Baal-Zebub the god of Ekron, because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word? Therefore you will not come down from the bed on which you have gone up, but you will surely die.” 17 So he died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken.

Then Jehoram[a] reigned in his place in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, because he had no son. 18 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 1:17 Joram in 1Ch 3:11; 26:24.

Ahaziah’s Sickness and Death

After the death of Ahab, Moab(A) rebelled against Israel.(B) Ahaziah(C) had fallen through the latticed window of his upper room in Samaria(D) and was injured. So he sent messengers instructing them: “Go inquire of Baal-zebub,[a](E) the god of Ekron,(F) if I will recover from this injury.”(G)

But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite,(H) “Go and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria(I) and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’ Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘You will not get up from your sickbed—you will certainly die.’” Then Elijah left.

The messengers returned to the king, who asked them, “Why have you come back?”

They replied, “A man came to meet us and said, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and declare to him: This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you’re sending these men to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore, you will not get up from your sickbed—you will certainly die.’”

The king asked them, “What sort of man came up to meet you and spoke those words to you?”

They replied, “A hairy man with a leather belt around his waist.”(J)

He said, “It’s Elijah the Tishbite.”(K)

So King Ahaziah sent a captain of 50 with his 50 men(L) to Elijah. When the captain went up to him, he was sitting on top of the hill. He announced, “Man of God,(M) the king declares, ‘Come down!’”

10 Elijah responded to the captain of the 50, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your 50 men.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his 50 men.(N)

11 So the king sent another captain of 50 with his 50 men to Elijah. He took in the situation[b] and announced, “Man of God, this is what the king says: ‘Come down immediately!’”

12 Elijah responded, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your 50 men.” So a divine fire[c] came down from heaven and consumed him and his 50 men.

13 Then the king sent a third captain of 50 with his 50 men. The third captain of 50 went up and fell on his knees in front of Elijah and begged him, “Man of God,(O) please let my life and the lives of these 50 servants of yours be precious in your sight.(P) 14 Already fire has come down from heaven and consumed the first two captains of 50 with their fifties, but this time let my life be precious in your sight.”

15 The angel of the Lord(Q) said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Don’t be afraid of him.”(R) So he got up and went down with him to the king.

16 Then Elijah said to King Ahaziah, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel for you to inquire of His will?—you will not get up from your sickbed; you will certainly die.’”

17 Ahaziah died according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken. Since he had no son, Joram[d](S) became king in his place. This happened in the second year of Judah’s King Jehoram(T) son of Jehoshaphat.[e] 18 The rest of the events of Ahaziah’s reign, along with his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.[f](U)

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 1:2 = Lord of the Flies
  2. 2 Kings 1:11 Lit He answered
  3. 2 Kings 1:12 Lit a fire of God
  4. 2 Kings 1:17 Lit Jehoram; 2Kg 8:16
  5. 2 Kings 1:17 LXX omits in the second year . . . Jehoshaphat
  6. 2 Kings 1:18 LXX adds 4 more vv. here similar to 2Kg 3:1-3.