^1:2Ahaziah fell through a window lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria² and was injured. He sent messengers with these orders,³ “Go, ask⁴ Baal Zebub,⁵ the god of Ekron, if I will survive this injury.”

^1:3But the Lord’s angelic messenger told Elijah the Tishbite, “Get up, go to meet the messengers from the king of Samaria. Say this to them: ‘You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are on your way to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub the god of Ekron.⁶^1:4Therefore this is what the Lord says, “You will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die!” ’ ” So Elijah went on his way.

^1:5When the messengers returned to the king,⁷ he asked them, “Why have you returned?” ^1:6They replied,⁸ “A man came up to meet us. He told us, “Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are sending for an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron.⁹ Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.” ’ ”

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Footnotes

2 For location see ; ; ; ; .
3 Heb “and he sent messengers and said to them.”
4 That is, “seek an oracle from.”
5 Apparently Baal Zebub refers to a local manifestation of the god Baal at the Philistine city of Ekron. The name appears to mean “Lord of the Flies,” but it may be a deliberate scribal corruption of Baal Zebul, “Baal, the Prince,” a title known from the Ugaritic texts. For further discussion and bibliography, see זְבוּב בַּעַל and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (), .
6 Heb “Is it because there is no God in Israel [that] you are going to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?” The translation seeks to bring out the sarcastic tone of the rhetorical question.
7 Heb “to him.” The narrative is elliptical and telescoped here. The account of Elijah encountering the messengers and delivering the Lord’s message is omitted; we only here of it as the messengers report what happened to the king.
8 Heb “said to him.”
9 Heb “Is it because there is no God in Israel [that] you are sending to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?” The translation seeks to bring out the sarcastic tone of the rhetorical question. In v. 3 the messengers are addressed (in the phrase “you are on your way” the second person plural pronoun is used in Hebrew), but here the king is addressed (in the phrase “you are sending” the second person singular pronoun is used).