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2 Kings 1
Evangelical Heritage Version
2 Kings 1
Evangelical Heritage Version
God’s Judgment on Ahaziah
1 Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. 2 Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upstairs room in Samaria, and he was injured. So he sent messengers and told them, “Go, inquire of Baal Zebub,[a] the god of Ekron, whether I will survive this injury.”
3 But an angel of the Lord said to Elijah from Tishbe, “Get up. Go meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, ‘Is there no God in Israel, so that you are going to seek out Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron? 4 Therefore, this is what the Lord says. You will not get up from the bed you have gotten into. You will certainly die.’” So Elijah went.
5 The messengers returned to the king, so he said to them, “Why have you come back?”
6 They told him, “A man came up to meet us and told us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and tell him: This is what the Lord says. Is there no God in Israel, so that you are sending men to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore, you will not get up from the bed you have gotten into. You will surely die.’”
7 He said to them, “How would you describe the man who came up to meet you and said these words to you?”
8 They told him, “He was dressed in clothing made of hair,[b] with a leather belt tied around his waist.”
Then Ahaziah said, “That was Elijah from Tishbe!”
9 So he sent a captain of fifty men to Elijah. He went up to him, and there Elijah was, sitting on top of a hill. Then the captain said to him, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down!’”
10 Then Elijah answered the captain, “If I am a man of God, let fire fall from the sky[c] and consume you and your fifty men!” Then fire fell from the sky and consumed him and his fifty men.
11 Then the king sent another captain of fifty men to him, and the captain said, “Man of God, this is what the king says: ‘Come down at once!’”
12 Elijah answered, “If I am a man of God, then let fire fall from the sky and consume you and your fifty men!” Then the fire of God fell from the sky and consumed him and his fifty men.
13 So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. The third captain went and got down on his knees before Elijah and begged for mercy. He said to Elijah, “Man of God, let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your eyes. 14 Look, fire from the sky fell and consumed the first two captains and their companies of fifty men. But now, let the lives of your servants be precious.”
15 Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Do not fear him.” So Elijah stood up and went down with him to the king. 16 Then Elijah told the king, “This is what the Lord says. Because you sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron—Is there no God in Israel to inquire of?—therefore, you will not get up from the bed you have gotten into. You will certainly die.”
17 Then he died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken. Because Ahaziah did not have a son, Jehoram[d] became king in his place in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. 18 As for the rest of Ahaziah’s acts which he did, are they not written in the annals of the kings of Israel?
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 1:2 Or the Lord of the Flies. This is probably an insulting distortion of the god’s real name, Baal Zebul, lord of majesty.
- 2 Kings 1:8 Literally a man a master of hair, a term which may refer to a hairy man or a man with flowing hair. A parallel with John the Baptist supports another interpretation, wearing a garment made of hair (Matthew 3:4).
- 2 Kings 1:10 Or from heaven
- 2 Kings 1:17 The Hebrew reads Jehoram, a variant of Joram. Both Judah and Israel had kings who were known by the dual names Joram and Jehoram. Both names are used for both kings, and the two kings ruled at about the same time.
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
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
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