1 Moab rebelled against Israel after Ahab’s death. 2 Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upstairs room in Samaria and became ill. He sent messengers, telling them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this illness.”

3 But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Get up, go to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and tell them, ‘Is there no God in Israel, that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? 4 Therefore this is what the LORD says: You will not come down from the bed you have climbed onto, for you will surely die.’ ” Then Elijah went away. 5 The messengers returned to the king, and he asked them, “Why have you returned?” 6 They answered, “A man came up to meet us and told us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and tell him: This is what the LORD says: Is there no God in Israel, that you are sending to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not come down from the bed you have climbed onto, for you will surely die.’ ” 7 He asked them, “What did the man look like who came to meet you and told you these things?” 8 They answered, “He was a hairy man, with a leather belt around his waist.” He said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.” 9 The king sent a captain of fifty with his fifty men to him. The captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on top of the hill, and said, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’ ” 10 Elijah answered the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” Fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men. 11 The king sent another captain of fifty with his fifty men. He said to him, “Man of God, this is what the king says: ‘Come down at once.’ ” 12 Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” The fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men. 13 The king sent a third captain of fifty with his fifty men. The third captain went up, approached Elijah, and knelt before him. He pleaded with him, “Man of God, please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight. 14 Fire has come down from heaven and consumed the first two captains of fifty with their fifty men. Now let my life be precious in your sight.”

15 The angel of the LORD said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Do not be afraid of him.” So he got up and went down with him to the king. 16 He told him, “This is what the LORD says: Because you sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron—is there no God in Israel to inquire for his word?—you will not come down from the bed you have climbed onto, for you will surely die.” 17 He died according to the word the LORD had spoken through Elijah. Jehoram reigned in his place in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, because Ahaziah had no son.

18 The rest of Ahaziah’s acts, what he did—are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?