2 Kings

MSTC^{(i) 1} And the Moabites rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. ² And Ahaziah fell through a lattice window out of an upper chamber that he had in Samaria, and fell sick. Then he sent messengers saying unto them, "Go and enquire of Beelzebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover of this disease." ³ But the Angel of the LORD spake to Elijah the Tishbite, "Up, and go against the messengers of the king of Samaria and say unto them, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel, that ye go to ask through Beelzebub the god of Ekron? ⁴ Therefore, thus sayeth the LORD: thou shalt not come down from the bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt die.'" And Elijah departed. ⁵ And the messengers turned back again unto the king. And he said unto them, "Why are ye thus come again?" ⁶ And they said unto him, "There came a man against us and said unto us, 'Go and turn again unto the king that sent you, and say unto him: Thus sayeth the LORD. Is it because there is no God in Israel, that thou sendest to enquire through Beelzebub the god of Ekron? Therefore thou shalt not come down from the bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.'" ⁷ And he said to them, "What manner a man was that which met you and told you these words?" ⁸ And they said unto him, "It was a hairy man and girded with a girdle of a skin about his loins." And he said unto them, "It is Elijah the Tishbite." ⁹ Then the king sent unto him a captain over fifty with his fifty. And when the captain was come to Elijah, behold, he sat on the top of a hill. And the captain said unto him, "Man of God, the king biddeth thee come down." ¹⁰ And Elijah answered and said to the captain over the fifty, "If I be a man of God, fire come down from heaven and consume thee and thy fifty." And there came fire down from heaven and devoured him and his fifty. ¹¹ And the king went again and sent to him another captain over fifty with his fifty, which answered and said unto him, "Oh man of God, thus sayeth the king, 'Make haste and come down.'" ¹² And Elijah answered and said unto them, "If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume thee and thy fifty." And there came fire down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. ¹³ And the king sent again the third captain over fifty. And when the third captain over fifty was come up to him, he fell on his knees before Elijah and besought him and said unto him, "Oh man of God, 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 fore captains over fifty with their fifties. But let my life now be precious in thy sight." ¹⁵ Then said the Angel of the LORD unto Elijah, "Go down with him, and be not afraid of him." And he went down with him unto the king. ¹⁶ And he said unto the king, "Thus sayeth the LORD, 'Forasmuch as thou sentest messengers to ask through Beelzebub the god of Ekron — as though there had been no God in Israel to ask through his word — therefore thou shalt not come off the bed on which thou art ascended, but shalt surely die.'" ¹⁷ And so he died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah spake, and Jehoram was made king in his stead, the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, because he had no son. ¹⁸ The rest of the deeds of Ahaziah which he did, are written in the chronicles of the kings of Israel.