1 ¶ After the death of Ahab Moab rebelled against Israel.

2 And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and was ailing: so he sent messengers, saying, Go, ask Baalzebub the god of Ekron if I will recover from this distress.

3 But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, and go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and ask them, Is it because there is no God in Israel, that you are going inquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron?

4 Therefore the LORD says, You will not leave the bed on which you lie, but will surely die. And Elijah departed.

5 And when the messengers returned to Ahaziah, he asked them, Why have you returned?

6 And they said to him, A man came up to meet us, and said to us, Go, return to the king who sent you, and say to him, The LORD says, Is it because there is no a God in Israel, that you are sending men to inquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron? therefore you will not leave the bed on which you lie, but will surely die.

7 And he said to them, What sort of man was the man who came up to meet you, and told you those things?

8 And they replied, He was a hairy man, with a leather belt around his waist. And he said, It was Elijah the Tishbite.

9 ¶ Then the king sent a captain of fifty men after Elijah, with his fifty. And he went up to Elijah: who was sitting on the top of a hill. And he said to him, You man of God, the king has said, Come down.

10 And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume you and your fifty. And fire came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.

11 Again the king sent another captain of fifty men to him with his fifty. And he said to him, O man of God, the king has said, Come down quickly.

12 And Elijah replied, If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume you and your fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.

13 And he again sent a captain of a third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and fell on his knees before Elijah, and pleaded with him, saying, O man of God, I beg you, let my life, and the life of these fifty servants of yours, be precious in your sight.

14 Behold, fire came down from heaven, and burned up the two former captains of fifty men with their fifties: therefore let my life now be precious in your sight.

15 And the angel of the LORD said to Elijah, Go down with him: do not be afraid of him. And he got up, and went down to the king with him.

16 And Elijah said to the king, The LORD says this, Since you have sent messengers to inquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word? therefore you will not leave the bed on which you lie, but will surely die.

17 So he died according to the word of the LORD that Elijah had spoken. And since he had no son Joram his brother reigned in his place. This happened in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah.

18 Now are not the rest of the things that Ahaziah did written in the book of the records of the kings of Israel?