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Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. 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.”

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? 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.

The messengers returned to him, and he said to them, “Why is it that you have returned?”

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.’”’”

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

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

He said, “It’s Elijah the Tishbite.”

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Footnotes

  1. 1:3 “Yahweh” is God’s proper Name, sometimes rendered “LORD” (all caps) in other translations.
  2. 1:3 The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim).

Elijah Confronts King Ahaziah

After King Ahab’s death, the land of Moab rebelled against Israel.

One day Israel’s new king, Ahaziah, fell through the latticework of an upper room at his palace in Samaria and was seriously injured. So he sent messengers to the temple of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether he would recover.

But the angel of the Lord told Elijah, who was from Tishbe, “Go and confront the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is there no God in Israel? Why are you going to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether the king will recover? Now, therefore, this is what the Lord says: You will never leave the bed you are lying on; you will surely die.’” So Elijah went to deliver the message.

When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, “Why have you returned so soon?”

They replied, “A man came up to us and told us to go back to the king and give him this message. ‘This is what the Lord says: Is there no God in Israel? Why are you sending men to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether you will recover? Therefore, because you have done this, you will never leave the bed you are lying on; you will surely die.’”

“What sort of man was he?” the king demanded. “What did he look like?”

They replied, “He was a hairy man,[a] and he wore a leather belt around his waist.”

“Elijah from Tishbe!” the king exclaimed.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:8 Or He was wearing clothing made of hair.