2 Kings 1:5

5 The messengers went back. The king said, "So why are you back so soon - what's going on?"

2 Kings 1:5 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 1:5

And when the messengers turned back unto him
To Ahaziah king of Israel, as they did as soon as Elijah was gone from them; concluding from his habit, his gravity, and the authority with which he spoke, that he was a prophet of the Lord, and especially from his knowledge of them, and of what they were sent about: he said unto them, why are ye now turned back?
for, by the time they had been gone, he knew they could never have been at Ekron and returned.

2 Kings 1:5 In-Context

3 God's angel spoke to Elijah the Tishbite: "Up on your feet! Go out and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria with this word, 'Is it because there's no God in Israel that you're running off to consult Baal-Zebub god of Ekron?'

4 Here's a message from the God you've tried to bypass: 'You're not going to get out of that bed you're in - you're as good as dead already.'" Elijah delivered the message and was gone.

5 The messengers went back. The king said, "So why are you back so soon - what's going on?"

6 They told him, "A man met us and said, 'Turn around and go back to the king who sent you; tell him, God's message: Is it because there's no God in Israel that you're running off to consult Baal-Zebub god of Ekron? You needn't bother. You're not going to get out of that bed you're in - you're as good as dead already.'"

7 The king said, "Tell me more about this man who met you and said these things to you. What was he like?"