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2 Kings 1:16-18
The Voice
2 Kings 1:16-18
The Voice
Elijah (to Ahaziah): 16 This is the message of the Eternal: “You dispatched messengers to appeal to Baal-zebub, Ekron’s god, about your healing. Is it because you believe Israel has no God of its own to whom you can appeal? Because you did this, you will never leave your bed in your upper room; it will become your grave.”
17 Ahaziah met his death just as Elijah reported in the message from the Eternal. Ahaziah did not have a son, so Jehoram inherited the throne during the second year of the reign of Jehoram (Jehoshaphat’s son) in Judah.
In this record, the compiler constantly switches back and forth between Judah and Israel, telling the history of both simultaneously. Nowhere is that more confusing than here, when both nations’ kings have the same name. But the format serves two purposes: the reader gets a picture of what is happening in both regions at the same time, and the response of each nation to one event may be compared and contrasted. Who will prove to be the more faithful kingdom—the North or the South?
18 Is not the rest of Ahaziah’s story—his actions and lasting legacy—documented in the book of the chronicles of Israel’s kings?
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2 Kings 1:16-18
New International Version
2 Kings 1:16-18
New International Version
16 He told the king, “This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel for you to consult that you have sent messengers(A) to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Because you have done this, you will never leave(B) the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!” 17 So he died,(C) according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken.
Because Ahaziah had no son, Joram[a](D) succeeded him as king in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. 18 As for all the other events of Ahaziah’s reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 1:17 Hebrew Jehoram, a variant of Joram
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