2nd Kings 1

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¹Forsooth Moab trespassed against Israel, after that Ahab was dead.

²And Ahaziah felled or fell through the alures, or windows or lattice of his solar, which he had in Samaria, and was made sick; and he sent messengers, and said to them, Go ye, and counsel with Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, whether I may live after this sickness of me.

³Forsooth the angel of the Lord spake to Elijah of Tishbe, and said, Rise thou, and go down into the meeting of the messengers of the king of Samaria; and thou shalt say to them, Whether God is not in Israel, that ye go to counsel Baalzebub, the god of Ekron?

⁴For which thing the Lord saith these things, Thou shalt not go down off the bed, on which thou ascended-est or wentest upon. And Elijah went forth.

⁵And the messengers turned again to Ahaziah. And he said to them, Why turned ye again?

⁶And they answered to him, A man met us, and said to us, Go ye, turn ye again to the king, that sent you; and ye shall say to him, The Lord saith these things, Whether for God was not in Israel, thou sendest, that Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, be counselled? Therefore thou shalt not go down off the bed, on which thou ascendedest or wentest upon, but thou shalt die by death.

⁷Which Ahaziah said to them, Of what figure and habit is that man, that met you, and spake to you these words?

⁸And they said, An hairy man, and gird with a girdle of leather in the reins. Which said to them, It is Elijah of Tishbe.

⁹And he sent to Elijah a prince of fifty, and the fifty men that were under him. Which prince ascended or went up to him, and said to him, sitting in the top of the hill, Man of God, the king commandeth, that thou come down.

¹⁰And Elijah answered, and said to the prince of fifty men, If I am the man of God, fire come down from heaven, and devour thee and thy fifty men. Therefore fire came down from heaven, and devoured him, and the fifty men that were with him.

¹¹Again he sent to Elijah another prince of fifty, and fifty men with him, which spake to Elijah, Man of God, the king saith these things, Haste thou, come thou down.

¹²Elijah answered, and said, If I am the man of God, fire come down from heaven, and devour thee and thy fifty men. Therefore the fire of God came down from heaven, and devour-ed him and his fifty men.

¹³Again he sent the third prince of fifty men, and the fifty men that were with him. And when the prince had come, he bowed the knees against Elijah, and prayed him, and said, Man of God, do not thou despise my life, and the lives of these fifty men, thy servants, that be with me.

¹⁴Lo! fire came down from heaven, and devoured twain or two, the first two princes of fifty men, and the fifty men that were with them; but now, I beseech, that thou have mercy on my life.

¹⁵Forsooth the angel of the Lord spake to Elijah of Tishbe, and said, Go thou down with him; dread thou not. Therefore Elijah rose up, and came down with him to the king;

¹⁶and he spake to the king, The Lord saith these things, For thou sentest messengers to counsel Baalzebub, god of Ekron, as if no God were in Israel, of whom thou mightest ask a word; therefore thou shalt not go down off the bed, on which thou ascendedest or wentest upon, but thou shalt die by death.

¹⁷Therefore he was dead by the word of the Lord, which word Elijah spake; and Joram, his brother, reigned for him, in the second year of Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah; for Ahaziah had no son.

¹⁸Soothly the residue of the words of Ahaziah, which he wrought, whether these be not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?