Elijah Denounces Ahaziah
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 became sick. So he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this illness.”
3 But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Get up, go and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and tell them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel, that you go to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron? 4 Now therefore the Lord says: You will not come down from the bed that you have gotten upon, but you will surely die.’ ” Then Elijah departed.
5 The messengers returned to him, and he said to them, “Why is it that you have returned?”
6 They said to him, “A man came up to meet us and said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you and tell him that the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel, that you send to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not come down from the bed that you have gotten upon, but you will surely die.’ ”
7 He said to them, “What kind of man was he who came up to meet you and told you these words?”
8 They answered him, “He was a hairy man and wearing a leather belt around his waist.”
He said, “It’s Elijah the Tishbite.”
9 Then the king sent a captain with his 50 men to him. He went up to him, and he was sitting on the top of the hill. He said to him, “Man of God, the king has said, ‘Come down!’ ”
10 Elijah answered to the captain of 50, “If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from the sky and consume you and your 50 men!” Then fire came down from the sky and consumed him and his 50 men.
11 Again, he sent to him another captain with his 50 men. He answered him, “Man of God, the king has said, ‘Come down quickly!’ ”
12 Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from the sky and consume you and your 50 men!” Then the fire of the Lord came down from the sky and consumed him and his 50 men.
13 Again he sent a third captain with his 50 men. The third captain of 50 went up and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and begged him and said to him, “Man of God, please let my life, and the life of these 50 of your servants, be precious in your sight. 14 Fire has come down from the sky and consumed the last two captains of 50 men, but now let my life be precious in your sight.”
15 The Angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Do not be afraid of him.”
Then he arose and went down with him to the king. 16 He said to him, “The Lord says, ‘You have sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. Is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word? Therefore you will not come down from the bed the you have gotten upon, but you will surely die.’ ”
Jehoram Succeeds Ahaziah
17 So he died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken. Jehoram began to reign in his place 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?