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2 Kings 1
Contemporary English Version
2 Kings 1
Contemporary English Version
The Lord Condemns Ahaziah
1 1-2 Soon after King Ahab of Israel died, the country of Moab rebelled against his son King Ahaziah.[a]
One day, Ahaziah fell through the wooden slats around the porch on the flat roof of his palace in Samaria, and he was badly injured. So he sent some messengers to the town of Ekron[b] with orders to ask the god Baalzebub if he would get well.
3 About the same time, an angel from the Lord sent Elijah the prophet from Tishbe to say to the king's messengers, “Ahaziah has rejected Israel's own God by sending you to ask Baalzebub about his injury. 4 Tell him that because he has done this, he's on his deathbed!” And Elijah did what he was told.
5 When the messengers returned to Ahaziah, he asked, “Why are you back so soon?”
6 “A man met us along the road with a message for you from the Lord,” they answered. “The Lord wants to know why you sent us to ask Baalzebub about your injury and why you don't believe there's a God in Israel. The man also told us that the Lord says you're going to die.”
7 “What did the man look like?” Ahaziah asked.
8 (A) “He was hairy[c] and had a leather belt around his waist,” they answered.
“It must be Elijah!” replied Ahaziah. 9 So at once he sent an army officer and 50 soldiers to meet Elijah.
Elijah was sitting on top of a hill[d] at the time. The officer went up to him and said, “Man of God,[e] the king orders you to come down and talk with him.”
10 (B) “If I am a man of God,” Elijah answered, “God will send down fire on you and your 50 soldiers.” Fire immediately came down from heaven and burned up the officer and his men.
11 Ahaziah sent another officer and 50 more soldiers to Elijah. The officer said, “Man of God, the king orders you to come see him at once.”
12 “If I am a man of God,” Elijah answered, “fire will destroy you and your 50 soldiers.” And God sent down fire[f] from heaven on the officer and his men.
13 Ahaziah sent a third army officer and 50 more soldiers. This officer went up to Elijah, then he got down on his knees and begged, “Man of God, please be kind to me and these 50 servants of yours. Let us live! 14 Fire has already wiped out the other officers and their soldiers. Please don't let it happen to me.”
15 The angel from the Lord said to Elijah, “Go with him and don't be afraid.” So Elijah got up and went with the officer.
16 When Elijah arrived, he told Ahaziah, “The Lord wants to know why you sent messengers to Ekron to ask Baalzebub about your injury. Don't you believe there's a God in Israel? Ahaziah, because you did that, the Lord says you will die.”
17 Ahaziah died, just as the Lord had said. But since Ahaziah had no sons, Joram[g] his brother[h] then became king. This happened in the second year that Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat was king of Judah.[i] 18 Everything else Ahaziah did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.
Footnotes
- 1.1,2 the country … King Ahaziah: The story of Moab's rebellion is in 3.4-27.
- 1.1,2 Ekron: An important Philistine town about 65 kilometers southwest of Samaria.
- 1.8 hairy: Or “wearing a furry coat.”
- 1.9 a hill: Probably Mount Carmel.
- 1.9 Man of God: Another name for a prophet of the Lord.
- 1.12 God sent down fire: Or “A mighty fire came down.”
- 1.17 Joram: The Hebrew text has “Jehoram,” another spelling of the name.
- 1.17 his brother: Some ancient translations (see also 3.1); these words are not in the Hebrew text.
- 1.17 This happened … Judah: According to 3.1, this was also the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat's rule in Judah. In biblical times, a father and son would sometimes rule as kings at the same time. This way, when the father died, the son would already have control of the kingdom (see also 8.16).
2 Kings 1
New International Version
2 Kings 1
New International Version
The Lord’s Judgment on Ahaziah
1 After Ahab’s death, Moab(A) rebelled against Israel. 2 Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers,(B) saying to them, “Go and consult Baal-Zebub,(C) the god of Ekron,(D) to see if I will recover(E) from this injury.”
3 But the angel(F) of the Lord said to Elijah(G) the Tishbite, “Go up and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel(H) that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?’ 4 Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘You will not leave(I) the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!’” So Elijah went.
5 When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, “Why have you come back?”
6 “A man came to meet us,” they replied. “And he said to 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 messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not leave(J) the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!”’”
7 The king asked them, “What kind of man was it who came to meet you and told you this?”
8 They replied, “He had a garment of hair[a](K) and had a leather belt around his waist.”
The king said, “That was Elijah the Tishbite.”
9 Then he sent(L) to Elijah a captain(M) with his company of fifty men. The captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down!’”
10 Elijah answered the captain, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!” Then fire(N) fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his men.
11 At this the king sent to Elijah another captain with his fifty men. The captain said to him, “Man of God, this is what the king says, ‘Come down at once!’”
12 “If I am a man of God,” Elijah replied, “may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!” Then the fire of God fell from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.
13 So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. “Man of God,” he begged, “please have respect for my life(O) and the lives of these fifty men, your servants! 14 See, fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now have respect for my life!”
15 The angel(P) of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid(Q) of him.” So Elijah got up and went down with him to the king.
16 He told the king, “This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel for you to consult that you have sent messengers(R) to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Because you have done this, you will never leave(S) the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!” 17 So he died,(T) according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken.
Because Ahaziah had no son, Joram[b](U) succeeded him as king in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. 18 As for all the other events of Ahaziah’s reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 1:8 Or He was a hairy man
- 2 Kings 1:17 Hebrew Jehoram, a variant of Joram
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