2 Kings 1
World English Bible
1 Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.
2 Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper room that was in Samaria, and was sick. So he sent messengers, and said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover of this sickness.”
3 But Yahweh’s[a] angel said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and tell them, ‘Is it because there is no God[b] in Israel that you go to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron? 4 Now therefore Yahweh says, “You will not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but you will surely die.”’” Then Elijah departed.
5 The messengers returned to him, and he said to them, “Why is it that you have returned?”
6 They said to him, “A man came up to meet us, and said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you, and tell him, “Yahweh says, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you send to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but you will surely die.’”’”
7 He said to them, “What kind of man was he who came up to meet you and told you these words?”
8 They answered him, “He was a hairy man, and wearing a leather belt around his waist.”
He said, “It’s Elijah the Tishbite.”
9 Then the king sent a captain of fifty with his fifty to him. He went up to him; and behold,[c] he was sitting on the top of the hill. He said to him, “Man of God, the king has said, ‘Come down!’”
10 Elijah answered to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from the sky and consume you and your fifty!” Then fire came down from the sky, and consumed him and his fifty.
11 Again he sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty. He answered him, “Man of God, the king has said, ‘Come down quickly!’”
12 Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from the sky and consume you and your fifty!” Then God’s fire came down from the sky, and consumed him and his fifty.
13 Again he sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. The third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and begged him, and said to him, “Man of God, please let my life and the life of these fifty of your servants be precious in your sight. 14 Behold, fire came down from the sky and consumed the last two captains of fifty with their fifties. But now let my life be precious in your sight.”
15 Yahweh’s angel said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Don’t be afraid of him.”
Then he arose and went down with him to the king. 16 He said to him, “Yahweh says, ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word? Therefore you will not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but you will surely die.’”
17 So he died according to Yahweh’s word which Elijah had spoken. Jehoram began to reign in his place in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, because he had no son. 18 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
2 Kings 1
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 1
Ahaziah Consults Baal-zebub. 1 After Ahab’s death, Moab rebelled against Israel.
2 Now Ahaziah had fallen down through the lattice of his upper chamber in Samaria and he was injured, so he sent messengers, saying, “Go to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to inquire as to whether I will recover from this illness or not.”[a]
3 But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the king of Samaria’s messengers and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no god in Israel that you are going to make inquiry of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’ 4 Therefore, thus says the Lord: You shall not rise from the bed on which you lie; you will surely die.” Then Elijah departed.
5 The messengers then returned to him. He said to them, “Why have you come back?” 6 They answered him, “A man came up to meet us and he said, ‘Return to the king who sent you and say: Thus says the Lord: Is it because there is no god in Israel that you have sent to make inquiry of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? You shall not rise from the bed on which you lie; you will surely die.’ ”
7 The king asked them, “What sort of man was this who came up to meet you and who said these words to you?” 8 They replied, “He was wearing a garment made from hair[b] and a leather belt around his waist.” He said, “It was Elijah the Tishbite!”
9 The king then sent a captain of fifty along with his fifty men. He went up to him, and he found him sitting on a hilltop. He said to him, “O man of God, the king orders you, ‘Come down!’ ” 10 Elijah answered the captain of the fifty men, saying, “If I am truly a man of God, then let fire come down from the heavens and consume you and your fifty men.” Fire then came down from the heavens and it consumed him and his fifty men.
11 He sent another captain of fifty along with his fifty men. He said to him, “O man of God, this is what the king says, ‘Come down at once!’ ” 12 Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from the heavens and consume you and your fifty men.” Then God’s fire came down from the heavens and consumed him and his fifty men.
13 And so a third time he sent a captain of fifty along with his fifty men. The third captain of the fifty came and fell on his knees before Elijah and pleaded with him saying, “O man of God, please let my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants, be considered to be precious in your sight. 14 Behold, fire has come down from the heavens, and it has consumed the previous two captains of the fifty along with their fifty men. Let my life be precious in your sight.”
15 The angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Do not be afraid of him.” So he went down with him to the king. 16 He said to the king, “Thus says the Lord: Is it because there is no God in Israel of whom you can inquire that you have sent messengers to make inquiry of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Because of this, you shall not rise from the bed on which you lie. You will surely die!”
17 He died, fulfilling the word of the Lord that Elijah had proclaimed. Because he had no son, Joram reigned in his stead during the second year of the reign of Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah. 18 As for the rest of the deeds of Ahaziah, what he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 1:2 Baal-zebub, “Lord of the flies,” a distorted version of the name of the divinity Baal-zebul (Lord Prince; see Mt 10:25; 12:24).
- 2 Kings 1:8 Garment made from hair: this distinctive attire set Elijah apart as one who was committed to delivering God’s hard messages to the king and other prophets, despite the rejection and loneliness that often resulted. In the New Testament, John the Baptist strikes a similar appearance and fate (Mt 3:4; Mk 6:17).
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