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 ⁰, his brother, reigned for him, in the second year of Jehoram ¹, 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?