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2 Kings

Ahaziah Seeks Counsel and Elijah’s Judgment

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Chapter 1
1 Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. 2 And Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber, which was in Shimron, and he was sick and sent messengers and said to them, "Go, inquire of Beelzebul god of Ekron whether I will live from this sickness of mine." 3 And the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, "Rise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Shimron, and say to them, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Beelzebul, the god of Ekron?'" 4 And therefore thus says the LORD: "The staff which you went up on there—you shall not come down from it, for you shall die." And he went to him. 5 And the messengers returned to him, and he said to them, "What is this that you have rested?" 6 And they said to him, “A man went up to meet us, and he said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you, and say to him, “Thus says the LORD: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you send to inquire of Beelzebul the god of Ekron? Therefore the staff which you went up on there—you shall not come down from it, for you shall die.”’” 7 And he said to them, "What is the manner of the man who went up to meet you and told you these words?" 8 And they said to him, "A hairy man with a belt of leather around his waist." And he said to them, "He is Elijah the Tishbite." 9 He sent to him the ruler of fifty and his fifty, and he went up to him. And there he was, sitting on the top of the mountain, and he said to him, "Man of God, the king says, 'Come down.'" 10 Elijah answered the captain of the fifty, "If I am a man of God, fire will come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty." And fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. 11 And he sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty. He answered and said to him, "Man of God, this is what the king says: 'Come down quickly!'" 12 And he answered Tamar and spoke to them: "If I am a man of God, fire will come down from the heavens and consume you and your fifty, and the fire of God will come down from the heavens and consume him and his fifty." 13 He sat and sent a chief of fifty and his fifty. And he went up and came, a chief of the fifty, the third one. And he knelt on his knees before Elijah and begged him and spoke to him, “Man of God, may my vital life force and the vital life force of your servants these fifty be precious in your eyes, please.” 14 Fire came down from heaven and consumed the two captains of fifties, the first ones, and their fifties. And now, may my life be precious in your eyes. 15 And the angel of the LORD said to Elijah, "Go down with him; do not fear him." So he arose and went down with him to the king. 16 And he said to him, "This is what the LORD says: Because you sent messengers to inquire of Beelzebul the god of Ekron—is there no God in Israel to inquire by his word?—therefore you shall not come down from the bed which you went up on there, for you shall surely die." 17 And he died according to the word of the LORD that he had spoken to Elijah. And Jehoram became king in his place, in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, for he had no son. 18 And the rest of the words of Ahaziah that he did—are they not written in the book of the words of the days for the kings of Israel?