2 Kings 1:4-14

4 For which thing the Lord saith these things, Thou shalt not go down off the bed, on which thou ascendedest, (but thou shalt die). And Elijah went (forth).
5 And the messengers turned again to Ahaziah. And he said to them, Why turned ye again? (And the messengers returned to Ahaziah. And he said to them, Why have ye returned?)
6 And 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, but thou shalt die by death. (And they answered to him, A man met us, and said to us, Go ye, return ye to the king, who sent you; and ye shall say to him, The Lord saith these things, Thinkest thou that God was not in Israel, and thou sentest out messengers, so that Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, could be counselled with? And so thou shalt not go down off the bed, on which thou liest, but thou shalt die.)
7 Which Ahaziah said to them, Of what figure and habit is that man, that met you, and spake to you these words?
8 And they said, An hairy man, and gird with a girdle of leather in the reins. Which said to them, It is Elijah of Tishbe. (And they said, A hairy man, and girded with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said to them, It is Elijah of Tishbe.)
9 And he sent to Elijah a prince of fifty, and [the] fifty men that were under him. Which prince ascended to him, and said to him, sitting in the top of the hill, Man of God, the king commandeth, that thou come down. (And he sent to Elijah a leader of fifty men, and the fifty men who were under him. Which leader went up to him, and said to him, as he was sitting on the hill-top, Man of God, the king commandeth, that thou come down.)
10 And Elijah answered, and said to the prince of fifty men (and said to the leader of fifty men), If I am the man of God, (let) 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.
11 Again 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. (And he sent to Elijah another leader of fifty men, and the fifty men who were with him, who spoke to Elijah, and said, Man of God, the king saith these things, Hasten thou, come thou down.)
12 Elijah answered, and said, If I am the man of God, (let) fire come down from heaven, and devour thee and thy fifty men. Therefore the fire of God came down from heaven, and devoured him and his fifty men.
13 Again 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 when the leader had come near, he bowed his knees before 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.
14 Lo! fire came down from heaven, and devoured twain, 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. (Lo! fire came down from heaven, and devoured the first two leaders of fifty men, and the fifty men who were with each of them; but now, I beseech thee, that thou have mercy on my life.)

2 Kings 1:4-14 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS

\\COMMONLY CALLED THE FOURTH BOOK OF THE KINGS\\

This, and the preceding book, are properly but one book divided into two parts, because of the size of it, as the book of Samuel; it is a continuation of the history of the kings of Israel and Judah; and for a further account of it the reader is referred to the title of the preceding book.

\\INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 1\\

This chapter begins with the rebellion of Moab against Israel, 2Ki 1:1, relates a fall of the king of Israel in his house, which brought on him a sickness, about which he sent messengers to inquire of the god of Ekron, who were stopped by Elijah, and bid to return, as they did; and upon the king's examination of them about the cause of their return, he perceived it was Elijah that forbad them, 2Ki 1:2-8, upon which the king sent to him two captains, with fifty men each, one after another, to bring him to him, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, 2Ki 1:9-12, but a third with fifty men sent to him were spared, and he is bid to go along with them with a message to the king, as he did, 2Ki 1:13-16 and the chapter is closed with the death of Ahaziah, 2Ki 1:17,18.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.