1After Ahab died, Moab rebelled against Israel.

2Ahaziah ⁰had fallen through the lattice-work ¹of his upper room in Samaria and had hurt himself badly. So he sent out messengers, telling them: “Go and ask Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will get better from this injury.”

3But the angel of the Lord told Elijah the Tishbite, “Go and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there's no God in Israel that you're going to ask advice from Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?’

4So this is the Lord's answer: ‘You will not leave the bed on which you are lying. You're definitely going to die.’” And Elijah left.

5The messengers returned to the king, and he asked them, “Why have you come back?”

6“A man came and met us,” they replied. “He told us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you, and tell him, This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to ask advice from Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? As a result you will not leave the bed on which you are lying. You're definitely going to die.’”

7“What was he like, this man who met you and told you all this?” the king asked.

8“He was a hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist,” they replied. “It's Elijah the Tishbite,” said the king.

9Then the king sent an army captain with fifty men to Elijah. The captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and told him, “Man of God, the king orders you, ‘Come down!’”

10Elijah replied to the captain, “If I am a man of God, then let fire fall from heaven and burn up you and your fifty men.” Fire fell from heaven and burned up the captain and his men.

11So the king sent another captain with his fifty men to Elijah. The captain said to Elijah, “Man of God, the king orders you, ‘Come down immediately!’”

12Elijah replied to the captain, “If I am a man of God, then let fire fall from heaven and burn up you and your fifty men.” Fire fell from heaven and burned up the captain and his men.

13So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. The third captain went up, kneeled before Elijah, and pleaded with him, “Man of God, please value my life and the lives of these fifty men.

14Yes, fire has fallen from heaven and burned up the first two captains of fifty, along with all their men. But now please value my life!”

15Then the angel of the Lord told Elijah, “Go down with him. You don't have to be afraid of him.” So Elijah got up and went down with him to the king.

16Elijah told the king, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Is it because there's no God in Israel for you to consult that you have sent messengers to ask advice of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? As a result you will not leave the bed on which you are lying. You're definitely going to die.’”

17Ahaziah died just as the Lord had said through Elijah. Because he had no son, Joram ²succeeded him as king in the second year of the reign of Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah.

18The rest of what happened in Ahaziah's reign and what he did are recorded in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.