2 Kings 1 - International Standard Version (ISV)

Elijah Rebukes King Ahaziah

1 Moab rebelled against Israel[a] after Ahab died. 2 Meanwhile, Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice in his upper room in Samaria and lay injured. He sent messengers to Ekron with these orders: “Go and consult with Ekron’s god Baal-zebub to find out[b] if I’m going to recover from this injury.”[c]

3 But the angel of the Lord spoke to Elijah the foreigner,[d] “Get up and go meet the messengers from the king of Samaria. Ask them ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you’re going to consult with Ekron’s god Baal-zebub? 4 Now therefore this is what the Lord says: “You won’t be getting up from that bed of yours on which you’re lying. You will most certainly die!”’” So Elijah got up and[e] went.

5 The messengers returned to the king and he asked them, “What’s this? You’ve come back?”

6 They replied, “We met a man who told us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and ask him, “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you’re going to consult with Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you won’t be getting up from that bed on which you’re lying. You will most certainly die!”’”

7 He told them, “Describe the man who met you and told you these things.”

8 They answered, “The man was a hairy fellow. He wore a leather sash around his waist.”

The king[f] responded, “It’s Elijah, that foreigner!”[g]

Fire from Heaven Destroys the King’s Henchmen

9 So the king sent out 50 men, along with their leader.[h] The leader[i] approached Elijah, who was sitting at the top of a hill. He ordered Elijah,[j] “Hey, man of God! The king orders you to come down!”

10 Elijah responded to the leader who was in charge of the 50 soldiers, “So I’m a man of God, am I? If so, may fire[k] fall from heaven and devour you and your 50 soldiers…”[l] Just then, fire fell from heaven and devoured that leader and his 50 soldiers.[m]

11 Later the king tried again—he sent another company of 50 soldiers, along with their leader, who ordered Elijah, “Hey, man of God! This is what the king orders: ‘Come down!’”

12 Elijah responded to the leader and to his entire company,[n] “So I’m a man of God, am I? If so, may fire[o] fall from heaven and devour you and your 50 soldiers…”[p] Just then, fire fell from heaven and devoured him and his 50 soldiers.[q]

13 Then the king tried yet again! The king sent a third company of 50 soldiers along with their leader. The third leader went up the hill,[r] approached Elijah,[s] fell on his knees in front of him, and begged him,[t] “Hey, man of God, please treat[u] my life and the lives of these servants of yours as precious! 14 Look how fire fell from heaven and devoured the two other companies of 50 soldiers, along with their captains, but now please treat me as if my life were precious!”

15 The angel of the Lord told Elijah, “Go down the hill with that man. Don’t be afraid of him!” So Elijah[v] got up and went down with him to meet the king.

16 Then Elijah spoke to the king, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Since you sent messengers to consult with Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel with whom to consult regarding his word?—therefore you’re not getting up from the bed on which you’re lying. You certainly will die!’” 17 And die he did, just as the Lord had said and just as Elijah had spoken!

After this, Jehoram ascended to the throne during the second year of the reign of Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram from Judah. He took the place of Ahaziah, who had no son. 18 The rest of Ahaziah’s activities are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel,[w] are they not?

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 1:1 Cf. 2Sam 8:2
  2. 2 Kings 1:2 The Heb. lacks and find out
  3. 2 Kings 1:2 Lit. sickness
  4. 2 Kings 1:3 Lit. Tishbite; or sojourner
  5. 2 Kings 1:4 The Heb. lacks got up and
  6. 2 Kings 1:8 Lit. He
  7. 2 Kings 1:8 Lit. Elijah the Tishbite; or Elijah, the sojourner
  8. 2 Kings 1:9 Lit. a captain of fifty; and so through v. 14; modern equivalent to a Second Lieutenant commanding a platoon of four twelve-member squads
  9. 2 Kings 1:9 Lit. He
  10. 2 Kings 1:9 Lit. him
  11. 2 Kings 1:10 MT word fire sounds like MT word man
  12. 2 Kings 1:10 The Heb. lacks soldiers
  13. 2 Kings 1:10 The Heb. lacks soldiers
  14. 2 Kings 1:12 Lit. to them
  15. 2 Kings 1:12 MT word fire sounds like MT word man
  16. 2 Kings 1:12 The Heb. lacks soldiers
  17. 2 Kings 1:12 The Heb. lacks soldiers
  18. 2 Kings 1:13 The Heb. lacks the hill
  19. 2 Kings 1:13 The Heb. lacks Elijah
  20. 2 Kings 1:13 Lit. Elijah
  21. 2 Kings 1:13 Lit. see
  22. 2 Kings 1:15 Lit. he
  23. 2 Kings 1:18 An ancient chronicle of Israel, apparently now lost; and so throughout the book

You Might Also Like:

2 Kings 1 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 And Moab transgresseth against Israel after the death of Ahab, 2 and Ahaziah falleth through the lattice in his upper chamber that [is] in Samaria, and is sick, and sendeth messengers, and saith unto them, `Go ye, inquire of Baal-Zebub god of Ekron if I recover from this sickness.' 3 And a messeng...
Read More

2 Kings 1 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

1 Forsooth Moab trespassed against Israel, after that Ahab was dead. (After Ahab died, Moab rebelled against Israel.) 2 And Ahaziah felled through the alures of his solar, which he had in Samaria, and was (made) sick; and he sent messengers, and said to them, Go ye, and counsel (with) Baalzebub, [th...
Read More

2 Kings 1 - World English Bible (WEB)

1 Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. 2 Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper room that was in Samaria, and was sick. So he sent messengers, and said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover of this sickness.” 3 But Yahweh’s[a] ang...
Read More

2 Kings 1 - The Voice (VOICE)

1 After Ahab died, Moab grew rebellious and revolted against Israel. 2 One day, King Ahaziah had an accident in Israel’s capital city, Samaria. He tumbled through the network shading and decorating his upper room and fell ill. While he was bedridden, he called for his messengers and sent them on an ...
Read More

2 Kings 1 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Elijah Prophesies to Ahaziah1 After Ahab’s death, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 Now Ahaziah fell down from the balcony of his upper chamber in Samaria and was injured. So he sent messengers and instructed them, “Go inquire of Baal-Zebub[a] the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this injury....
Read More

2 Kings 1 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

Elijah Denounces Ahaziah1 After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 Now Ahazi′ah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samar′ia, and lay sick; so he sent messengers, telling them, “Go, inquire of Ba′al-ze′bub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness.” ...
Read More

2 Kings 1 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Elijah Denounces Ahaziah1 After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 Now Ahazi′ah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samar′ia, and lay sick; so he sent messengers, telling them, “Go, inquire of Ba′al-ze′bub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness.” ...
Read More

2 Kings 1 - New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

Elijah Denounces Ahaziah1 After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay injured; so he sent messengers, telling them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury.” 3...
Read More

2 Kings 1 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

Elijah Denounces Ahaziah1 After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay injured; so he sent messengers, telling them, ‘Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury.’ 3...
Read More

2 Kings 1 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Elijah Denounces Ahaziah1 After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel.(A)2 Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria and was injured, so he sent messengers, telling them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury.”(B...
Read More

2 Kings 1 - New Living Translation (NLT)

Elijah Confronts King Ahaziah1 After King Ahab’s death, the land of Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 One day Israel’s new king, Ahaziah, fell through the latticework of an upper room at his palace in Samaria and was seriously injured. So he sent messengers to the temple of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekro...
Read More

2 Kings 1 - New Life Version (NLV)

The Lord Speaks to Ahaziah1 Now Moab turned against Israel after the death of Ahab. 2 Ahaziah fell through the window of his second-floor room in Samaria, and lay sick. So he sent men with news, saying to them, “Go and ask Baalzebub the god of Ekron if I will get well again from this sickness.” 3 ...
Read More

2 Kings 1 - New King James Version (NKJV)

God Judges Ahaziah1 Moab (A)rebelled against Israel (B)after the death of Ahab. 2 Now (C)Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria, and was injured; so he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, inquire of (D)Baal-Zebub,[a] the god of (E)Ekron, whether I shall recover from this in...
Read More

2 Kings 1 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

The Lord’s judgment on Ahaziah1 After Ahab’s death, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers, saying to them, ‘Go and consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if I will recover from this in...
Read More

2 Kings 1 - New International Version (NIV)

The Lord’s Judgment on Ahaziah1 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...
Read More

2 Kings 1 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

The Lord Judges Ahaziah1 After King Ahab died, Moab refused to remain under Israel’s control. 2 Ahaziah had fallen through the window of his upstairs room in Samaria. He had hurt himself. So he sent messengers to ask the god named Baal-Zebub for advice. Baal-Zebub was the god of the city of Ekron. ...
Read More

2 Kings 1 - New English Translation (NET)

Elijah Confronts the King and His Commanders1 After Ahab died, Moab rebelled against Israel.[a] 2 Ahaziah fell through a window lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria and was injured. He sent messengers with these orders,[b] “Go, ask[c] Baal Zebub,[d] the god of Ekron, if I will survive this injur...
Read More