< 2 Kings 1 >

1 Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.
And Moab rebelled against Israel, after the death of Achab.
2 Then Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and was injured. So he sent for messengers and said to them, “Go, ask Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this injury.”
And Ochozias fell through the lattices of his upper chamber which he had in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, saying to them: Go, consult Beelzebub, the god of Accaron, whether I shall recover of this my illness.
3 But the angel of Yahweh said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and ask them, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to consult with Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?
And an angel of the Lord spoke to Elias the Thesbite, saying: Arise, and go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them: Is there not a God in Israel, that ye go to consult Beelzebub the god of Accaron?
4 Therefore Yahweh says, “You will not come down from the bed to where you have gone up; instead, you will certainly die.”'” Then Elijah left.
Wherefore thus saith the Lord: From the bed, on which thou art gone up, thou shalt not come down, but thou shalt surely die. And Elias went away.
5 When the messengers returned to Ahaziah, he said to them, “Why have you returned?”
And the messengers turned back to Ochozias. And he said to them: Why are you come back?
6 They said to him, “A man came to meet us who said to us, 'Go back to the king who sent you, and say to him, “Yahweh says this: 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you sent men to consult with Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not come down from the bed to which you have gone up; instead, you will certainly die.'”'”
But they answered him: A man met us, and said to us: Go, and return to the king, that sent you, and you shall say to him: Thus saith the Lord: Is it because there was no God in Israel that thou sendest to Beelzebub the god of Accaron? Therefore thou shalt not come down from the bed, on which thou art gone up, but then shalt surely die.
7 Ahaziah said to his messengers, “What sort of man was he, the one who came up to meet you and said these words to you?”
And he said to them: What manner of man was he who met you, and spoke these words?
8 They answered him, “He wore a garment made of hair and had a leather belt wrapped around his waist.” So the king replied, “That is Elijah the Tishbite.”
But they said: A hairy man with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said: It is Elias the Thesbite.
9 Then the king sent a captain with fifty soldiers to Elijah. The captain went up to Elijah where he was sitting on the top of a hill. The captain spoke to him, “You, man of God, the king has said, 'Come down.'”
And he sent to him a captain of fifty, and the fifty men that were under him. And he went up to him, and as he was sitting on the top of a hill, said to him: Man of God, the king hath commanded that thou come down.
10 Elijah answered and said to the captain, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.
And Elias answering, said to the captain of fifty: If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee, and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him, and the fifty that were with him.
11 Again King Ahaziah sent to Elijah another captain with fifty soldiers. This captain also said to Elijah, “You, man of God, the king says, 'Come down quickly.'”
And again he sent to him another captain of fifty men, and his fifty with him. And he said to him: Man of God, thus saith the king: Make haste and come down.
12 Elijah answered and said to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” Again the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.
Elias answering, said: If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And fire came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.
13 Yet again the king sent a third group of fifty warriors. This captain went up, fell on his knees before Elijah, and implored him and said to him, “You, man of God, I ask you, let my life and the life of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight.
Again he sent a third captain of fifty men, and the fifty that were with him. And when he was come, he fell upon his knees, before Elias, and besought him and said: Man of God, despise not my life, and the lives of thy servants that are with me.
14 Indeed, fire came down from heaven and consumed the first two captains with their men, but now let my life be precious in your sight.”
Behold fire came down from heaven, and consumed the two first captains of fifty men, and the fifties that were with them: but now I beseech thee to spare my life.
15 The angel of Yahweh said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Do not be afraid of him.” So Elijah arose and went down with him to the king.
And the angel of the Lord spoke to Elias, saying: Go down with him, fear not. He arose therefore, and went down with him to the king,
16 Later Elijah said to Ahaziah, “This is what Yahweh says, 'You have sent messengers to consult with Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron. Is it because there is no God in Israel from whom you can ask for information? So now, you will not come down from the bed where you have gone up; you will certainly die.'”
And said to him: Thus saith the Lord: Because thou hast sent messengers to consult Beelzebub the god of Accaron, as though there were not a God in Israel, of whom thou mightest inquire the word; therefore from the bed on which thou art gone up, thou shalt not come down, but thou shalt surely die.
17 So King Ahaziah died according to the word of Yahweh that Elijah had spoken. Joram began to reign in his place, in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, because Ahaziah had no son.
So he died according to the word of the Lord which Elias spoke, and Joram his brother reigned in his stead, in the second year of Joram the son of Josaphat king of Juda: because he had no son.
18 As for the other matters concerning Ahaziah, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Israel?
But the rest of the acts of Ochozias which he did, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

< 2 Kings 1 >