2 Kings 1
1 And Moab transgresses against Israel after the death of Ahab,
After Ahab died, Moab rebelled against Israel.
2 and Ahaziah falls through the lattice in his upper chamber that [is] in Samaria, and is sick, and sends messengers, and says to them, “Go, inquire of Ba‘al-Zebub god of Ekron if I recover from this sickness.”
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 a messenger of YHWH has spoken to Elijah the Tishbite, “Rise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and speak to them, Is it because there is not a God in Israel—you are going to inquire of Ba‘al-Zebub god of Ekron?
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 And therefore, thus said YHWH: The bed to where you have gone up, you do not come down from it, for you certainly die”; and Elijah goes on.
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 return to him, and he says to them, “What [is] this—you have turned back!”
The messengers returned to the king, and he asked them, “Why have you come back?”
6 And they say to him, “A man has come up to meet us and says to us, Go, return to the king who sent you, and you have said to him, Thus said YHWH: Is it because there is not a God in Israel—you are sending to inquire of Ba‘al-Zebub god of Ekron? Therefore, the bed to where you have gone up, you do not come down from it, for you certainly 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 And he says to them, “What [is] the fashion of the man who has come up to meet you, and speaks these words to you?”
“What was he like, this man who met you and told you all this?” the king asked.
8 And they say to him, “A hairy man, and a girdle of skin girt around his loins”; and he says, “He [is] Elijah the Tishbite.”
“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 sends to him a head of fifty and his fifty, and he goes up to him (and behold, he is sitting on the top of the hill), and he speaks to him, “O man of God, the king has spoken, 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 Elijah answers and speaks to the head of the fifty, “And if I [am] a man of God, fire comes down from the heavens and consumes you and your fifty”; and fire comes down from the heavens and consumes 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 he turns and sends to him another head of fifty and his fifty, and he answers and speaks to him, “O man of God, thus said the king: Hurry, come down.”
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 Elijah answers and speaks to them, “If I [am] a man of God, fire comes down from the heavens and consumes you and your fifty”; and fire of God comes down from the heavens and consumes 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 he turns and sends a third head of fifty and his fifty, and the third head of fifty goes up, and comes in, and bows on his knees before Elijah, and makes supplication to him, and speaks to him, “O man of God, please let my soul and the soul of your servants—these fifty—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 has come down from the heavens and consumes the two heads of the former fifties and their fifties; and now, let my soul 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 a messenger of YHWH speaks to Elijah, “Go down with him, do not be afraid of him”; and he rises and goes 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 speaks to him, “Thus said YHWH: Because that you have sent messengers to inquire of Ba‘al-Zebub god of Ekron—is it because there is not a God in Israel to inquire of His word? Therefore, the bed to where you have gone up—you do not come down from it, for you certainly 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 And he dies, according to the word of YHWH that Elijah spoke, and Jehoram reigns in his stead, in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, for he had no son.
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 matters of Ahaziah that he did, are they not written on the scroll 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.
