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Therefore this is what the Lord has said, “You will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die!”’” So Elijah went on his way.

When the messengers returned to the king,[a] he asked them, “Why have you returned?” They replied,[b] “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 has said: ‘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.[c] Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.’”’”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 1:5 tn Heb “to him.”sn The narrative is elliptical and telescoped here. The account of Elijah encountering the messengers and delivering the Lord’s message is omitted; we only hear of it as the messengers report what happened to the king.
  2. 2 Kings 1:6 tn Heb “said to him.”
  3. 2 Kings 1:6 tn 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).