2 Kings 1
1 After King Ahab died, [the country of] Moab rebelled against Israel.
After Ahab died, Moab rebelled against Israel.
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).”
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 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]?
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 Yahweh says [that you should tell King Ahaziah] that he will not recover from his being injured; he will surely die.’”
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 [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]?”
The messengers returned to the king, and he asked them, “Why have you come back?”
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.”’”
“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 The king said to them, “The man who came to meet you and told that to you, what did he look like?”
“What was he like, this man who met you and told you all this?” the king asked.
8 They replied, “He was a hairy man and he had a [wide] leather belt around his waist.” The king exclaimed, “That was Elijah!”
“He was a hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist,” they replied. “It's Elijah the Tishbite,” said the king.
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!”
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 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].
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 [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!”
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 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.
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 [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)!
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 [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!”
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 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.
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 [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!’”
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 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].
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 [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’.
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.
