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16 Elijah said to the king,[a] “This is what the Lord has said, ‘You sent messengers to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. Is it because there is no God in Israel from whom you can seek a message? Therefore[b] you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.’”[c]

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 1:16 tn Heb “he spoke to him,”
  2. 2 Kings 1:16 tn Heb “Because you sent… therefore you will not leave.” The rhetorical question is a parenthetical remark inserted into the proposition for dramatic effect.
  3. 2 Kings 1:16 sn For the third time in this chapter we read the Lord’s sarcastic question to the king and the accompanying announcement of judgment. The repetition emphasizes one of the chapter’s main themes. Israel’s leaders should seek guidance from their own God, not a pagan deity, for Israel’s sovereign God is the one who controls life and death.

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!”

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