2 Kings 1
1 After King Ahab died, [the country of] Moab rebelled against Israel.
And Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Achaab.
2 One day, Ahaziah, [the new king of Israel, ] fell through the wooden slats/boards around the edge of the flat roof [of his palace] in Samaria. He was badly injured, so he summoned some messengers and told them, “Go to Ekron [city in Philistia], and ask their god Baalzebub whether I will (recover/become well).”
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.
3 But an angel from Yahweh said to Elijah, the prophet from Tishbe [town], “The king of Samaria [is sending] some messengers [to Ekron]. Go and meet them and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to Ekron to ask Baalzebub, the god of those people, [whether you will recover]?
And an angel of the Lord called Eliu the Thesbite, saying, Arise, and go to meet the messengers of Ochozias king of Samaria, and thou shalt say to them, [Is it] because there is no God in Israel, [that] ye go to enquire of Baal fly, the God of Accaron? but [it shall] not [be] so.
4 Yahweh says [that you should tell King Ahaziah] that he will not recover from his being injured; he will surely die.’”
For thus saith the Lord, The bed on which thou art gone up, thou shalt not come down from it, for thou shalt surely die. And Eliu went, and said [so] to them.
5 [So Elijah went to meet] the messengers [and told that to them, and they] returned to the king [instead of going to Ekron]. The king asked them, “Why did you return [so soon]?”
And the messengers returned to him, and he said to them, Why have ye returned?
6 They replied, “A man came to meet us, and said to us, ‘Return to the king who sent you and tell him that Yahweh says, “(Is it because there no God in Israel that you are sending [messengers] to Ekron to consult Baalzebub, their god?/You seem to think there is no God in Israel, with the result that you are sending [messengers] to Ekron to ask Baalzebub, their god, [whether you will recover].) [RHQ] [Go tell the king that] he will not recover from being injured; instead, he will surely die.”’”
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 saith the Lord, [Is it] because there is no God in Israel, [that] thou goest to enquire of Baal fly, the God of Accaron? [it shall] not [be] so: the bed on which thou art gone up, thou shalt not come down from it, for thou shalt surely die.
7 The king said to them, “The man who came to meet you and told that to you, what did he look like?”
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?
8 They replied, “He was a hairy man and he had a [wide] leather belt around his waist.” The king exclaimed, “That was Elijah!”
And they said to him, [He was] a hairy man, and girt with a leathern girdle about his loins. And he said, This is Eliu the Thesbite.
9 Then the king sent an officer with 50 soldiers to seize Elijah. They found Elijah sitting on the top of a hill. The officer called out to him, “Prophet, the king commands that you come down here!”
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 thee, come down.
10 But Elijah replied, “I am a prophet; so, I command that fire come down from the sky and burn up you and your 50 soldiers!” Immediately, fire came down from the sky and completely burned up the officer and his 50 [soldiers].
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 thee and thy fifty. And fire came down out of heaven, and devoured him and his fifty.
11 [When the king found out about that, ] he sent another officer with 50 more soldiers. They went [to where Elijah was], and the officer called out to him, “Prophet, the king commands that you come down immediately!”
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.
12 But Elijah replied, “I am a prophet; [to prove that, ] I command that fire come down from the sky and kill you and your soldiers!” Then a fire from God came down from the sky and killed the officer and his soldiers.
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 thee and thy fifty. And fire came down out of heaven, and devoured him and his fifty.
13 [When the king heard about that] he sent another officer with 50 more soldiers. [They went to where Elijah was], and the officer prostrated himself in front of Elijah, and said to him, “Prophet, I plead with you, be kind to me and my 50 soldiers, and (do not kill us/allow us to remain alive)!
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 thy servants, be precious in thine eyes.
14 [We know that] two times fire came down from the sky and killed officers and the 50 soldiers who were with them. So now, please be kind to me!”
Behold, fire came down from heaven, and devoured the two first captains of fifty: and now, I pray, let my life be precious in thine eyes.
15 Then the angel from Yahweh said to Elijah, “Go down [and go] with him. Do not be afraid of him.” So Elijah went with them to the king.
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.
16 [When Elijah arrived, ] he said to the king, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘You sent messengers to go to Ekron to ask Baalzebub, their god, [whether you would recover]. You acted as though [RHQ] there is no God in Israel to consult. So you will not recover from being injured; instead, you are going to die!’”
And Eliu spoke to him, and said, Thus saith the Lord, Why hast thou sent messengers to enquire of Baal fly, the god of Accaron? [it shall] not [be] so: the bed on which thou art gone up, thou shalt not come down from it, for thou shalt surely die.
17 So Ahaziah died, which is what Yahweh told Elijah would happen. Ahaziah’s [younger] brother Joram became the new king, when Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, had been ruling Judah for almost two years. Ahaziah’s brother became the king because Ahaziah had no son [to become the king].
So he died according to the word of the Lord which Eliu has spoken.
18 [If you want to know about] all the other things that Ahaziah did, they are [RHQ] written in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Israel’.
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?
