2 Kings 1
1
Elijah and King Ahaziah of Israel
1After Ahab died, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2During the rebellion King Ahaziah fell through a window lattice in his upstairs room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers ⌞to Ekron⌟. He had told them, “Go ask Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, if I will recover from this injury.”
3Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah from Tishbe, “Meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and ask them, ‘Do you seek advice from Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, because ⌞you think⌟ there is no God in Israel? 4This is what the Lord says: You will not get up from the bed you are lying on. Instead, you will die there.’ ” Then Elijah left.
5When the messengers returned, the king asked them, “Why have you come back so soon?”
6They told him that a man came to meet them and said to them, “Go back to the king who sent you. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do you send messengers to seek advice from Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, because ⌞you think⌟ there is no God in Israel? You will not get up from the bed you are lying on. Instead, you will die there.’ ”
7The king asked them, “What was the man who told you this like?”
8They replied, “He was hairy and had a leather belt around his waist.”
“That’s Elijah from Tishbe,” the king answered.
9The king sent an army officer with 50 men to Elijah. When the officer found Elijah sitting on top of a hill, he told Elijah, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’ ”
10Elijah answered the officer, “If I’m a man of God, fire will come from heaven and burn up you and your 50 men.” Then fire came from heaven and burned up the officer and his 50 men.
11The king sent another officer with 50 men to Elijah. The officer said, “Man of God, this is what the king says: Come here right away!”
12Elijah answered the officer, “If I’m a man of God, fire will come from heaven and burn up you and your 50 men.” Then God’s fire came from heaven and burned up the officer and his 50 men.
13The king sent a third officer with 50 men. The officer of the third group went up the hill and knelt in front of Elijah. The officer begged him, “Man of God, please treat my life and the lives of these 50 servants of yours as something precious. 14Fire has come from heaven and burned up the first two officers and their 100 men. But treat my life as something precious.”
15The angel of the Lord told Elijah, “Go with him. Don’t be afraid of him.” So Elijah got up and went with him to the king. 16Elijah told the king, “This is what the Lord says: You sent messengers to seek advice from Baalzebub, the god of Ekron. Is this because ⌞you think⌟ there is no God in Israel whose word you can seek? You will not get up from the bed you are lying on. Instead, you will die there.”
17So Ahaziah died as the Lord had predicted through Elijah. Joram succeeded him as king because Ahaziah had no son.#1:17 Greek; Masoretic Text “… succeeded him in Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram’s second year as king of Judah, because Ahaziah had no son.” 18Isn’t everything else about Ahaziah—the things he did—written in the official records of the kings of Israel?
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
2 Kings 1
1
The Lord Condemns Ahaziah
1-2Soon after King Ahab of Israel died, the country of Moab rebelled against his son King Ahaziah.#1.1,2 the country … King Ahaziah: The story of Moab's rebellion is in 3.4-27.
One day, Ahaziah fell through the wooden slats around the porch on the flat roof of his palace in Samaria, and he was badly injured. So he sent some messengers to the town of Ekron#1.1,2 Ekron: An important Philistine town about 65 kilometers southwest of Samaria. with orders to ask the god Baalzebub if he would get well.
3About the same time, an angel from the Lord sent Elijah the prophet from Tishbe to say to the king's messengers, “Ahaziah has rejected Israel's own God by sending you to ask Baalzebub about his injury. 4Tell him that because he has done this, he's on his deathbed!” And Elijah did what he was told.
5When the messengers returned to Ahaziah, he asked, “Why are you back so soon?”
6“A man met us along the road with a message for you from the Lord,” they answered. “The Lord wants to know why you sent us to ask Baalzebub about your injury and why you don't believe there's a God in Israel. The man also told us that the Lord says you're going to die.”
7“What did the man look like?” Ahaziah asked.
8 #
Mt 3.4; Mk 1.6. “He was hairy#1.8 hairy: Or “wearing a furry coat.” and had a leather belt around his waist,” they answered.
“It must be Elijah!” replied Ahaziah. 9So at once he sent an army officer and 50 soldiers to meet Elijah.
Elijah was sitting on top of a hill#1.9 a hill: Probably Mount Carmel. at the time. The officer went up to him and said, “Man of God,#1.9 Man of God: Another name for a prophet of the Lord. the king orders you to come down and talk with him.”
10 #
Lk 9.54. “If I am a man of God,” Elijah answered, “God will send down fire on you and your 50 soldiers.” Fire immediately came down from heaven and burned up the officer and his men.
11Ahaziah sent another officer and 50 more soldiers to Elijah. The officer said, “Man of God, the king orders you to come see him at once.”
12“If I am a man of God,” Elijah answered, “fire will destroy you and your 50 soldiers.” And God sent down fire#1.12 God sent down fire: Or “A mighty fire came down.” from heaven on the officer and his men.
13Ahaziah sent a third army officer and 50 more soldiers. This officer went up to Elijah, then he got down on his knees and begged, “Man of God, please be kind to me and these 50 servants of yours. Let us live! 14Fire has already wiped out the other officers and their soldiers. Please don't let it happen to me.”
15The angel from the Lord said to Elijah, “Go with him and don't be afraid.” So Elijah got up and went with the officer.
16When Elijah arrived, he told Ahaziah, “The Lord wants to know why you sent messengers to Ekron to ask Baalzebub about your injury. Don't you believe there's a God in Israel? Ahaziah, because you did that, the Lord says you will die.”
17Ahaziah died, just as the Lord had said. But since Ahaziah had no sons, Joram#1.17 Joram: The Hebrew text has “Jehoram,” another spelling of the name. his brother#1.17 his brother: Some ancient translations (see also 3.1); these words are not in the Hebrew text. then became king. This happened in the second year that Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat was king of Judah.#1.17 This happened … Judah: According to 3.1, this was also the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat's rule in Judah. In biblical times, a father and son would sometimes rule as kings at the same time. This way, when the father died, the son would already have control of the kingdom (see also 8.16). 18Everything else Ahaziah did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.
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