Dual PanelElisha and the house of Ahab
1AFTER Ahab's death Moab rebelled against Israel.
2When Ahaziah fell through a latticed window in his roof-chamber in Samaria and injured himself, he sent messengers to enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron whether he would recover from this injury.
3The angel of the LORD ordered Elijah the Tishbite to go and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, “Is there no God in Israel, that you go to consult Baal-zebub the god of Ekron?
4For what you have done the word of the LORD to your master is this: You will not rise from the bed where you are lying; you will die.” With that Elijah departed.
5When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them why they had come back.
6They answered that a man had come to meet them and had ordered them to return to the king who had sent them and say, “This is the word of the LORD: Is there no God in Israel, that you send to enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? In consequence, you will not rise from the bed where you are lying; you will die.”
7The king asked them what kind of man it was who had come to meet them and given them this message.
8“A hairy man”, they answered, “with a leather belt round his waist.” “It is Elijah the Tishbite,” said the king.
9The king sent a captain with his company of fifty men to Elijah. He went up to the prophet, who was sitting on a hilltop, and said, “Man of God, the king orders you to come down.”
10Elijah answered, “If I am a man of God, may fire fall from heaven and consume you and your company!” Fire fell from heaven and consumed the officer and his fifty men.
11The king sent another captain of fifty with his company, and he went up and said to the prophet, “Man of God, this is the king's command: Come down at once.”
12Elijah answered, “If I am a man of God, may fire fall from heaven and consume you and your company!” Fire from God fell from heaven and consumed the man and his company.
13The king sent the captain of a third company with his fifty men, and this third captain went up the hill to Elijah and knelt down before him. “Man of God,” he pleaded, “consider me and these fifty servants of yours, and have some regard for our lives.
14Fire fell from heaven and consumed the other two captains of fifty and their companies; but now have regard for my life.”
15The angel of the LORD said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid.” At that he rose and went down with him to the king,
16to whom he said, “This is the word of the LORD: You have sent to consult Baal-zebub the god of Ekron. Is that because there is no God in Israel you could consult? For what you have done you will not rise from the bed where you are lying; you will die.”
17Ahaziah's death fulfilled the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. Because Ahaziah had no son, his brother Jehoram succeeded him; that was in the second year of Joram son of King Jehoshaphat of Judah.
18The other events of Ahaziah's reign are recorded in the annals of the kings of Israel.