2 Kings 1: Ahaziah asks Baal Zebub, and fire comes down on the captains
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What happens?
King Ahaziah falls through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and sends messengers to ask Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether he will recover. Yahweh's angel sends Elijah to meet them with the word that the king will not come down from his bed but will surely die. The king sends three captains, each with fifty men, to bring Elijah down: fire comes down from the sky on the first two and their fifties, the third begs for his life, and the angel tells Elijah to go down with him. Elijah gives the king the same word to his face, and Ahaziah dies according to Yahweh's word; Jehoram reigns in his place.
Who is speaking?
The narrator tells the story. No verse is in gold: God speaks no words of his own in this chapter. Yahweh's angel speaks to Elijah in verses 3 and 4 and in verse 15; the angel's words are not printed in gold. In verse 4 the angel gives Elijah the message "Yahweh says" for the king's messengers, and in verse 16 Elijah speaks it to the king himself; those are the angel's and Elijah's words. Ahaziah speaks to his messengers in verses 2, 5 and 7, and they answer him in verses 6 and 8; in verse 6 they repeat the words of the man who met them, and in verse 8 the king says it is Elijah. The three captains speak to Elijah in verses 9, 11, 13 and 14, and Elijah answers the first two in verses 10 and 12. Verse 17, that the king died according to Yahweh's word which Elijah had spoken, is the narrator's words. God's own words are printed in gold, and those verses are marked God speaks
1Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.
In plain English: After Ahab died, Moab rebelled against Israel.
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2Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper room that was in Samaria, and was sick. So he sent messengers, and said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this sickness.”
In plain English: Ahaziah fell through the lattice (or: railing) of his upper room in Samaria and became sick. So he sent messengers and said to them, "Go, ask (this Bible: inquire of) Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover (literally: live) from this sickness."
The Hebrew words: The text does not explain the name Baal Zebub. The dictionary gives it as "a special deity of the Ekronites". Baal is the god explained in the note on , and zevuv is the word the dictionary gives as "a fly", as in the "dead flies" of . In the Pharisees speak of "Beelzebul, the prince of the demons".
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3But Yahweh’s angel said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to 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?
In plain English: But Yahweh's angel (or: messenger; see the note) said to Elijah the Tishbite, "Get up, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to ask Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?
The Hebrew word: "Angel" is mal'akh, which the dictionary gives as "a messenger; specifically, of God, i.e. an angel (also a prophet, priest or teacher)". It is the same word as the king's "messengers" in verse 2: Ahaziah sends his messengers, and Yahweh sends his. In the 18 verses of 2 Kings that use the word, this Bible says "messenger" or a longer form in 16 and "angel" in 3 (this verse has both).
Good to know: In this study the words of "Yahweh's angel" are not printed in gold. The angel gives Elijah the words to say, with "Yahweh says" (verse 4), and Elijah later speaks them to the king himself (verse 16).
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4Now therefore Yahweh says, “You will not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but you will surely die.”’” Then Elijah departed.
In plain English: So now Yahweh says this: "You will not come down from the bed you have gone up on. You will surely die."'" Then Elijah went.
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5The messengers returned to him, and he said to them, “Why is it that you have returned?”
In plain English: The messengers came back to him, and he said to them, "Why have you come back?"
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6They 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, “Yahweh 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 where you have gone up, but you will surely die.’”’”
In plain English: They said to him, "A man came up to meet us and said to us, 'Go back to the king who sent you, and tell him, "Yahweh says this: 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to ask Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron? So you will not come down from the bed you have gone up on. You will surely die.'"'"
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7He said to them, “What kind of man was he who came up to meet you and told you these words?”
In plain English: He said to them, "What was the man like (literally: what was the manner of the man) who came up to meet you and told you these things?"
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8They answered him, “He was a hairy man, and wearing a leather belt around his waist.” He said, “It’s Elijah the Tishbite.”
In plain English: They answered him, "He was a hairy man (literally: a man, an owner of hair; see the note), with a leather belt tied around his waist." He said, "It is Elijah the Tishbite."
The Hebrew words: "A hairy man" is word for word "a man, an owner of hair". The dictionary gives ba'al as "a master; hence, a husband, or (figuratively) owner". Se'ar, "hair", is also the word in the prophets' "hairy mantle" in (word for word "a mantle of hair"), and the word for "mantle" there is the word for Elijah's mantle in . "Belt" is ezor, which the dictionary gives as "something girt; a belt".
What changes: Read as "a hairy man", Elijah himself had much hair. Read as "a man of hair", he wore a garment made of hair. Either way, the king knows him from this. says John "wore clothing made of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist".
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9Then the king sent a captain of fifty with his fifty to him. He went up to him; and behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. He said to him, “Man of God, the king has said, ‘Come down!’”
In plain English: Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men. He went up to Elijah, and there he was, sitting on the top of the hill. The captain said to him, "Man of God, the king says, 'Come down!'"
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10Elijah answered to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from the sky and consume you and your fifty!” Then fire came down from the sky, and consumed him and his fifty.
In plain English: Elijah answered the captain of fifty, "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from the sky (or: from heaven) and burn up (this Bible: consume) you and your fifty!" Then fire came down from the sky and burned up him and his fifty.
Good to know: Verse 12 calls it "God's fire" (literally: the fire of God). In James and John ask Jesus, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from the sky and destroy them, just as Elijah did?"
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11Again he sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty. He answered him, “Man of God, the king has said, ‘Come down quickly!’”
In plain English: Again the king sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty men. He spoke up and said to him, "Man of God, the king says this: 'Come down quickly!'"
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12Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from the sky and consume you and your fifty!” Then God’s fire came down from the sky, and consumed him and his fifty.
In plain English: Elijah answered them, "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from the sky and burn up you and your fifty!" Then the fire of God came down from the sky and burned up him and his fifty.
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13Again he sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. The third captain of fifty 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 fifty of your servants be precious in your sight.
In plain English: Again the king sent a third captain of fifty with his fifty men. The third captain of fifty went up, came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and begged him for mercy. He said to him, "Man of God, please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight (literally: in your eyes).
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14Behold, fire came down from the sky and consumed the last two captains of fifty with their fifties. But now let my life be precious in your sight.”
In plain English: Look, fire came down from the sky and burned up the first two (this Bible: the last two) captains of fifty with their fifties. But now let my life be precious in your sight."
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15Yahweh’s angel said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Don’t be afraid of him.” Then he arose and went down with him to the king.
In plain English: Yahweh's angel (or: messenger) said to Elijah, "Go down with him. Do not be afraid of him." So he got up and went down with him to the king.
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16He said to him, “Yahweh says, ‘Because 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 where you have gone up, but you will surely die.’”
In plain English: He said to the king, "Yahweh says this: 'Because you sent messengers to ask Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel whose word you could ask for (literally: to inquire of his word)? So you will not come down from the bed you have gone up on. You will surely die.'"
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17So he died according to Yahweh’s word 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.
In plain English: So he died, according to Yahweh's word that Elijah had spoken. Jehoram became king in his place in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, because Ahaziah had no son.
Good to know: There are two kings named Jehoram in these chapters: this Jehoram, Ahab's son, over Israel, and Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat over Judah. These are the text's own numbers: here Ahab's son becomes king "in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat"; says he became king "in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat"; and says Jehoram of Judah began to reign "in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab". The text does not explain how they fit together.
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18Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
In plain English: The rest of what Ahaziah did, is it not written in the book of the chronicles (literally: the matters of the days) of the kings of Israel?
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