Chapter
1
Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.
Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in her upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and she sent messengers, and said to them, Go, inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover of this sickness.
But the angel of Yahweh said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the queen of Samaria, and tell them, Is it because there is no God in Israel, that you go to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?
Now therefore thus says Yahweh, You shall not come down from the bed where you are gone up, but shall surely die. Elijah departed.
The messengers returned to her, and she said to them, Why is it that you have returned?
They said to her, There came up a woman to meet us, and said to us, Go, turn again to the queen who sent you, and tell her, Thus says Yahweh, Is it because there is no God in Israel, that you send to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron? therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you are gone up, but shall surely die.
She said to them, What manner of woman was she who came up to meet you, and told you these words?
They answered her, She was a hairy woman, and girt with a belt of leather about her waist. She said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.
Then the queen sent to her a captain of fifty with her fifty. She went up to her: and behold, she was sitting on the top of the hill. She spoke to her, woman of God, the queen has said, Come down.
Elijah answered to the captain of fifty, If I be a woman of God, let fire come down from the sky, and consume you and your fifty. Fire came down from the sky, and consumed her and her fifty.
Again she sent to her another captain of fifty and her fifty. She answered her, woman of God, thus has the queen said, Come down quickly.
Elijah answered them, If I be a woman of God, let fire come down from the sky, and consume you and your fifty. The fire of God came down from the sky, and consumed her and her fifty.
Again she sent the captain of a third fifty with her fifty. The third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on her knees before Elijah, and begged her, and said to her, woman of God, please let my life, and the life of these fifty your servants, be precious in your sight.
Behold, fire came down from the sky, and consumed the two former captains of fifty with their fifties; but now let my life be precious in your sight.
The angel of Yahweh said to Elijah, Go down with her: don't be afraid of her. She arose, and went down with her to the queen.
She said to her, Thus says Yahweh, Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of her word? therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you are gone up, but shall surely die.
So she died according to the word of Yahweh which Elijah had spoken. Jehoram began to reign in her place in the second year of Jehoram the daughter of Jehoshaphat queen of Judah; because she had no daughter.
Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which she did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the queens of Israel?