Elijah and the Messengers of Ahaziah

1 Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. ² Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice in his upper room, which was in Samaria, and he was injured. So he sent messengers, and he said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, if I will survive this injury.”

³ Then the angel of Yahweh spoke to Elijah the Tishbite, “Get up, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and speak to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?’ ⁴ Therefore, thus says Yahweh, ‘The bed upon which you have gone, you will not come down from it, but you shall surely die.’” So Elijah went.

⁵ When the messengers returned to him, he asked them, “Why have you returned?” ⁶ Then they said to him, “A man came up to meet us, and he said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you and speak to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-Zebub the god of Ekron? Therefore the bed upon which you have gone, you will not come down from it, for you will surely die.’”’” ⁷ Then he spoke to them, “What was the manner of the man who came up to meet you and spoke to you all these things?” ⁸ They answered him, “A hairy man^[a] with a leather belt girded around his waist.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”