< Kings IV 1 >

1 And Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Achaab.
After Ahab died, Moab rebelled against Israel.
2 And Ochozias fell through the lattice that was in his upper chamber in Samaria and was sick; and he sent messengers, and said to them, Go and enquire of Baal fly, the god of Accaron, whether I shall recover of this my sickness. And they went to enquire of him.
Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice-work of his upper room in Samaria and had hurt himself badly. So he sent out messengers, telling them: “Go and ask Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will get better from this injury.”
3 And an angel of the Lord called Eliu the Thesbite, saying, Arise, and go to meet the messengers of Ochozias king of Samaria, and you shall say to them, [Is it] because there is no God in Israel, [that] you go to enquire of Baal fly, the God of Accaron? but [it shall] not [be] so.
But the angel of the Lord told Elijah the Tishbite, “Go and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there's no God in Israel that you're going to ask advice from Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?’
4 For thus says the Lord, The bed on which you are gone up, you shall not come down from it, for you shall surely die. And Eliu went, and said [so] to them.
So this is the Lord's answer: ‘You will not leave the bed on which you are lying. You're definitely going to die.’” And Elijah left.
5 And the messengers returned to him, and he said to them, Why have you returned?
The messengers returned to the king, and he asked them, “Why have you come back?”
6 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 go to enquire of Baal fly, the God of Accaron? [it shall] not [be] so: the bed on which you are gone up, you shall not come down from it, for you shall surely die.
“A man came and met us,” they replied. “He told us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you, and tell him, This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to ask advice from Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? As a result you will not leave the bed on which you are lying. You're definitely going to die.’”
7 So they returned and reported to the king as Eliu said: and he said to them, What [was] the manner of the man who went up to meet you, and spoke to you these words?
“What was he like, this man who met you and told you all this?” the king asked.
8 And they said to him, [He was] a hairy man, and girded with a leather girdle about his loins. And he said, This is Eliu the Thesbite.
“He was a hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist,” they replied. “It's Elijah the Tishbite,” said the king.
9 And he sent to him a captain of fifty and his fifty; and he went up to him: and, behold, Eliu sat on the top of a mountain. And the captain of fifty spoke to him, and said, O man of God, the king has called you, come down.
Then the king sent an army captain with fifty men to Elijah. The captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and told him, “Man of God, the king orders you, ‘Come down!’”
10 And Eliu answered and said to the captain of fifty, And if I [am] a man of God, fire shall come down out of heaven, and devour you and your fifty. And fire came down out of heaven, and devoured him and his fifty.
Elijah replied to the captain, “If I am a man of God, then let fire fall from heaven and burn up you and your fifty men.” Fire fell from heaven and burned up the captain and his men.
11 And the king sent a second time to him another captain of fifty, and his fifty. And the captain of fifty spoke to him, and said, O man of God, thus says the king, Come down quickly.
So the king sent another captain with his fifty men to Elijah. The captain said to Elijah, “Man of God, the king orders you, Come down immediately!”
12 And Eliu answered and spoke to him, and said, If I [am] a man of God, fire shall come down out of heaven, and devour you and your fifty. And fire came down out of heaven, and devoured him and his fifty.
Elijah replied to the captain, “If I am a man of God, then let fire fall from heaven and burn up you and your fifty men.” Fire fell from heaven and burned up the captain and his men.
13 And the king sent yet again a captain and his fifty. And the third captain of fifty came, and knelt on his knees before Eliu, and entreated him, and spoke to him and said, O man of God, let my life, and the life of these fifty your servants, be precious in your eyes.
So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. The third captain went up, kneeled before Elijah, and pleaded with him, “Man of God, please value my life and the lives of these fifty men.
14 Behold, fire came down from heaven, and devoured the two first captains of fifty: and now, I pray, let my life be precious in your eyes.
Yes, fire has fallen from heaven and burned up the first two captains of fifty, along with all their men. But now please value my life!”
15 And the angel of the Lord spoke to Eliu, and said, Go down with him, be not afraid of them. And Eliu rose up, and went down with him to the king.
Then the angel of the Lord told Elijah, “Go down with him. You don't have to be afraid of him.” So Elijah got up and went down with him to the king.
16 And Eliu spoke to him, and said, Thus says the Lord, Why have you sent messengers to enquire of Baal fly, the god of Accaron? [it shall] not [be] so: the bed on which you are gone up, you shall not come down from it, for you shall surely die.
Elijah told the king, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Is it because there's no God in Israel for you to consult that you have sent messengers to ask advice of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? As a result you will not leave the bed on which you are lying. You're definitely going to die.”
17 So he died according to the word of the Lord which Eliu has spoken.
Ahaziah died just as the Lord had said through Elijah. Because he had no son, Joram succeeded him as king in the second year of the reign of Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah.
18 And the rest of the acts of Ochozias which he did, behold, [are] they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
The rest of what happened in Ahaziah's reign and what he did are recorded in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

< Kings IV 1 >