The Lord Condemns Ahaziah
1-2 Soon after King Ahab of Israel died, the country of Moab rebelled against his son King Ahaziah.
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 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 “He was hairy 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 at the time. The officer went up to him and said, “Man of God, the king orders you to come down and talk with him.”
10 “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 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 his brother then became king. This happened in the second year that Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat was king of Judah. 18 Everything else Ahaziah did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.
1 Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. 2 And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease. 3 But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? 4 Now therefore thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed.
5 ¶ And when the messengers turned back unto him, he said unto them, Why are ye now turned back? 6 And they said unto him, There came a man up to meet us, and said unto us, Go, turn again unto the king that sent you, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that thou sendest to enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. 7 And he said unto them, What manner of man was he which came up to meet you, and told you these words? 8 And they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.
9 Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down. 10 And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. 11 Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly. 12 And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.
13 ¶ And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight. 14 Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties: therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight. 15 And the angel of the LORD said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king. 16 And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron, is it not because there is no God in Israel to enquire of his word? therefore thou shalt not come down off that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.
17 ¶ So he died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram reigned in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son. 18 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?