2 Kings 1

1 After [following, subsequent to] the death [demise, passing away] of Ahab [a king of Israel, who lived a long time ago], Moab [a land and its people, descended from Lot] rebelled [transgressed, revolted] against [in opposition to] Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, and his descendants]. word study 2 Now Ahaziah [the king of Israel, son of Ahab] had fallen [through a lattice, down from a high place] through the lattice [a network, a decorative pattern] of his upper room [a lofty chamber, a private area] in Samaria [the capital city of Israel] and injured [weakened, made sick] himself. So he sent [dispatched, commanded to go] messengers [representatives] and instructed them: “Go [walk, travel] inquire [seek, ask] of Baal-zebub [the lord of the fly, a false god], the god [Elohim, a deity] of Ekron [a city of the Philistines], whether [if, in the event that] I will recover [live, be healed] from this [my current] injury [sickness, disease].” word study 3 But the angel [messenger] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] said to Elijah [my God is Jehovah, a prophet] the Tishbite [from Tishbe, a region in Gilead], “Go up [ascend, rise] to meet the messengers [representatives] of the king [royal person] of Samaria [watch mountain, a region in northern Palestine] and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no [nothing, absence of] God [Elohim, the one supreme God] in Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, also referring to his descendants] that you are on your way [going, walking] to inquire [seek, ask] of Baal-zebub [lord of the fly, a deity worshipped by the Philistines], the god [Elohim, a deity] of Ekron [a city of the Philistines]?’ word study 4 Therefore [thus, in this manner] this is what the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] says: ‘You will not [certainly not] get up from the bed [couch, place of rest] on which you are lying [reclining, resting]. You will surely [without a doubt, most definitely] die [meet your end, pass away].’” So Elijah [my God is Jehovah, the prophet] departed [walked away, went on]. word study 5 When the messengers [representatives] returned [to turn back, to come back] to the king, he asked [said, spoke to] them, “Why [what is the reason] have you returned [come back, turned back]?” word study 6 They replied, “A man [an individual, a person] came up to meet us and said, ‘Go back to the king [the ruler, the monarch] who sent you and tell him that this is what the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] says: Is it because there is no God [Elohim, the supreme Deity] in Israel that you are sending these men to inquire of Baal-zebub [the Lord of the fly, a false deity], the god of Ekron [a Philistine city]? Therefore you will not get up from the bed [the place of rest, the couch] on which you are lying [reclining, resting]. You will surely die [meet your end, perish].’” word study 7 The king [ruler, sovereign] asked them, “What sort [manner, kind] of man [human being, individual] came up [ascended, went up] to meet [encounter, come before] you and spoke [communicated, uttered] these words [things, matters] to you [toward you, in your direction]?” word study 8 “He was a hairy [shaggy, having a lot of hair] man, ” they answered, “with a leather [made from animal skin] belt around his waist [loins, the area of the body between the ribs and hips].” “It was Elijah [my God is Jehovah, a prophet] the Tishbite [from Tishbe, a region in Gilead],” said the king. word study 9 Then King [ruler, monarch] Ahaziah sent [dispatched, commanded] to Elijah a captain [head, leader] with his company [group, detachment] of fifty men. So the captain went up [ascended, climbed] to Elijah, who was sitting [dwelling, residing] on top of a hill [mountain, elevated place], and said to him, “Man [human, individual] of God [Elohim, the divine], the king [monarch, sovereign] declares [commands, speaks], ‘Come down [descend, go down]!’” word study 10 Elijah [the prophet, God’s messenger] answered the captain, “If I am a man [a human, mortal] of God [Elohim, the supreme divine], may fire [divine judgment, refining flame] come down from heaven [the sky, God’s dwelling place] and consume you and your fifty men.” And fire came down from heaven and consumed the captain and his fifty men. word study 11 So the king [ruler, monarch] sent to Elijah [prophet, man of God] another [different, next] captain [leader, commander] with his fifty [group of fifty, unit] men. And the captain [leader, officer] said to Elijah, “Man of God [servant of the Almighty, messenger of the divine], the king [sovereign, ruler] declares [commands, says], ‘Come down [descend, go down] at once [immediately, quickly] [without delay, hasten]!’” word study 12 Again Elijah [the prophet, my God is Jehovah] replied, “If I am a man [a male person, an individual] of God [Elohim, the supreme Creator], may fire [burning, flame] come down from heaven [the visible universe, the abode of God] and consume [to eat, devour] you and your fifty [a quantity of fifty] men.” And the fire [burning, flame] of God came down from heaven and consumed [to eat, devour] the captain [a leader, commander] and his fifty men. word study 13 So the king sent a third [final, last] captain with his fifty men. And the third captain went up, fell on his knees [in reverence, worship] before Elijah, and begged him, “Man of God [prophet], may my life [soul, being] and the lives [souls] of these fifty servants [attendants, slaves] please be precious [valuable, cherished] in your sight [eyes, gaze]. word study 14 Behold [look, see], fire [divine judgment, refining presence] has come down [descended, fallen] from heaven [the sky, God’s abode] and consumed [devoured, eaten] the first two captains of fifty [leaders of fifty men], with all their men [entire companies]. But now [at this time, presently] may my life [soul, living being] be precious [valuable, rare] in your sight [eye, gaze, regard].” word study 15 Then the angel [messenger] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] said to Elijah [my God is Jehovah], “Go down [to a lower place, descend] with him. Do not [in no way] be afraid [fear or revere] of him [his presence].” So Elijah got up [rose, stood up] and went down [descended, to a lower place] with him to the king [royal person, ruler]. word study 16 And Elijah said to King Ahaziah, “This is what the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] says: Is there really no God [Elohim, the one supreme God] in Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, also referring to his descendants] for you to inquire of His word [the divine message, Chronicles]? Is that why you have sent messengers [representatives, often of God] to inquire of Baal-zebub [the Lord of the fly, a deity worshipped by the Philistines], the god of Ekron [one of the five major cities of the Philistines]? Therefore [because of this, as a result] you will not get up from the bed [the place of rest or sickness] on which you are lying [in a state of weakness or helplessness]. You will surely die [experience physical death, as a punishment].” word study 17 So Ahaziah died [according to God’s sovereign plan] according to the word [divine utterance, declaration] of the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] that Elijah [my God is Jehovah, the prophet] had spoken [declared, proclaimed]. And since he had no son [heir, descendant], Jehoram [exalted by the Lord] succeeded him [reigned in his place] in the second [two, dual] year of the reign [kingly rule, dominion] of Jehoram [exalted by the Lord] son of Jehoshaphat [Jehovah has judged, the king] over Judah [praise, the southern kingdom]. word study 18 As for the rest [remainder, what is left] of the acts [accomplishments, deeds] of Ahaziah [a king of Israel, son of Ahab], along with his accomplishments [what he did, achievements], are they not [not at all, certainly not] written [recorded, inscribed] in the Book [scroll, written document] of the Chronicles [events, history] of the Kings [rulers, monarchs] of Israel [God’s chosen people, descendants of Jacob]? word study