⁹The king sent an army officer with 50 men to Elijah. When the officer found Elijah sitting on top of a hill, he told Elijah, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’ ”

¹⁰Elijah answered the officer, “If I’m a man of God, fire will come from heaven and burn up you and your 50 men.” Then fire came from heaven and burned up the officer and his 50 men.

¹¹The king sent another officer with 50 men to Elijah. The officer said, “Man of God, this is what the king says: Come here right away!”

¹²Elijah answered the officer, “If I’m a man of God, fire will come from heaven and burn up you and your 50 men.” Then God’s fire came from heaven and burned up the officer and his 50 men.

¹³The king sent a third officer with 50 men. The officer of the third group went up the hill and knelt in front of Elijah. The officer begged him, “Man of God, please treat my life and the lives of these 50 servants of yours as something precious. ¹⁴Fire has come from heaven and burned up the first two officers and their 100 men. But treat my life as something precious.”

¹⁵The angel of the Lord told Elijah, “Go with him. Don’t be afraid of him.” So Elijah got up and went with him to the king. ¹⁶Elijah told the king, “This is what the Lord says: You sent messengers to seek advice from Baalzebub, the god of Ekron. Is this because ⸤you think⸥ there is no God in Israel whose word you can seek? You will not get up from the bed you are lying on. Instead, you will die there.”

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