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2 Kings Chapter
One
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 1
This
chapter begins with the rebellion of Moab against Israel, 2 Kings 1:1,
relates a fall of the king of Israel in his house, which brought on him a
sickness, about which he sent messengers to inquire of the god of Ekron, who
were stopped by Elijah, and bid to return, as they did; and upon the king's
examination of them about the cause of their return, he perceived it was Elijah
that forbad them, 2 Kings 1:2, upon
which the king sent to him two captains, with fifty men each, one after
another, to bring him to him, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them,
2 Kings 1:9, but a
third with fifty men sent to him were spared, and he is bid to go along with
them with a message to the king, as he did, 2 Kings 1:13 and
the chapter is closed with the death of Ahaziah, 2 Kings 1:17.
2 Kings 1:1 Moab
rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.
YLT
1And Moab transgresseth
against Israel after the death of Ahab,
Then Moab rebelled against
Israel after the death of Ahab. Which had been in subjection to them from
the times of David, 2 Samuel 8:2
refusing to pay a tribute as they had done; taking advantage of Ahab's ill
success with the king of Syria, and of his death, and the condition and
circumstances of his successor.
2 Kings 1:2 2 Now Ahaziah fell through
the lattice of his upper room in Samaria, and was injured; so he sent
messengers and said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron,
whether I shall recover from this injury.”
YLT
2and Ahaziah falleth through
the lattice in his upper chamber that [is] in Samaria, and is sick, and sendeth
messengers, and saith unto them, `Go ye, inquire of Baal-Zebub god of Ekron if
I recover from this sickness.'
And Ahaziah fell down a
lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria,.... Which was either a
window or lattice in the form of network, to let in light; or rather were the
rails of a balcony or battlement on the roof of his palace, in this form, on
which leaning, it broke down, and he fell into the garden or court yard; or
walking on the roof of his house, and treading unawares on a sky light, which
let in light into a room underneath, he fell through it into it:
and was sick; the fall perhaps threw him into a fever,
and which seemed threatening, being violent:
and he sent messengers, and said unto them, go inquire of
Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover of this disease; not to heal
him of it, but to know the issue of it; a vain curiosity this! Ekron was one of
the principalities of the Philistines, and this idol was the god they
worshipped, which signifies a master fly: which some think was a large metallic
fly; made under a planet that rules over flies; and the Heathens had deities
they called Myiodes, Myagros, and απομυιος,
which signifies a driver away of flies; as Jupiter and Hercules were called by
the Eleans and Romans, and worshipped and sacrificed to by them on that accountF1Pausan.
Eliac. 1. sive, l. 5. p. 313. & Arcadica, sive, l. 8. p. 491. Clement.
Alex. Admon. ad Gentes, p. 24. ; and so the Cyreneans, a people of Lybia,
worshipped the god Achor, which seems to be a corruption of the word Ekron,
because he freed them from flies, after they had been infested with a
pestilence through themF2Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 10. c. 27. Vid.
Chartarii Imagines Deorum, p. 151. & Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 6. c.
26. ; and Ekron being a place near the sea, and both hot and moist, might be
much infested with those creatures. Within the haven of Ptolemais, or Acco, was
formerly a temple of Baalzebub, called in later times "the tower of
flies", and used as a PharusF3Adrichom. Theatrum Ter. Sanct.
fol. 6. 1. .
2 Kings 1:3 3 But the angel[a] of the Lord said to Elijah
the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and
say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that
you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?’
YLT
3And a messenger of Jehovah
hath spoken unto Elijah the Tishbite, `Rise, go up to meet the messengers of
the king of Samaria, and speak unto them, Is it because there is not a God in
Israel -- ye are going to inquire of Baal Zebub god of Ekron?
But the angel of the Lord
said unto Elijah,.... One of the ministering spirits sent by the Lord to him:
arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria: that is, the
king of Israel, whose capital city was Samaria:
is it not because there is not a God in Israel; known,
acknowledged, and worshipped there, of whom there had been sufficient proof of
his deity and divine perfections, as omniscience, omnipotence, &c.
that ye go to inquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron? about future
things, when they had God nigh unto them, fully acquainted with them, as this
message shows.
2 Kings 1:4 4 Now therefore, thus says
the Lord:
‘You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall
surely die.’” So Elijah departed.
YLT
4and therefore, thus said
Jehovah, The bed whither thou hast gone up, thou dost not come down from it,
for thou dost certainly die;' and Elijah goeth on.
Now therefore thus saith
the Lord,.... Jehovah, the only true God:
thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up,
but shall surely die; this sickness should be unto death, and the bed he had betaken
himself to should be his deathbed. The phrases of going up to bed, and coming
down, are used with great propriety; for in the eastern countries, in their
bedchambers, they had a gallery raised four or five feet above the floor, with
a balustrade on the frontF4See Dr. Shaw's Travels, p. 209. Ed. 2. ,
and steps leading up to it; or ladders, which had more or fewer rounds,
according as the beds were higher or lowerF5Vid. Isidor. Origin. l.
20. c. 11. & Alstorph. de Lect. Vet. c. 2. :
and Elijah departed; having met the
messengers, and delivered his message from the Lord unto them.
2 Kings 1:5 5 And when the messengers
returned to him, he said to them, “Why have you come back?”
YLT
5And the messengers turn
back unto him, and he saith unto them, `What [is] this -- ye have turned back!'
And when the messengers
turned back unto him,.... To Ahaziah king of Israel, as they did as soon as Elijah was
gone from them; concluding from his habit, his gravity, and the authority with
which he spoke, that he was a prophet of the Lord, and especially from his
knowledge of them, and of what they were sent about:
he said unto them, why are ye now turned back? for, by the
time they had been gone, he knew they could never have been at Ekron and
returned.
2 Kings 1:6 6 So they said to him, “A
man came up to meet us, and said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you,
and say to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Is it because there
is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-Zebub,
the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you
have gone up, but you shall surely die.’”’”
YLT
6And they say unto him, `A
man hath come up to meet us, and saith unto us, Go, turn back unto the king who
sent you, and ye have said unto him, Thus said Jehovah, Is it because there is
not a God in Israel -- thou art sending to inquire of Baal-Zebub god of Ekron?
therefore, the bed whither thou hast gone up, thou dost not come down from it,
for thou dost certainly die.'
And they said unto him,
there came a man up to meet us, and said unto us, go, turn again unto the king
that sent you,.... King Ahaziah:
and say unto him; and then they repeated all that is said by
the angel to Elijah, and he had delivered to them, 2 Kings 1:3 and
which was a sufficient reason for their turning back, since they got a full
answer from a man of God, of what they were to inquire of at Ekron; which was,
whether the king would recover of this disease or not.
2 Kings 1:7 7 Then he said to them,
“What kind of man was it who came up to meet you and told you these
words?”
YLT
7And he saith unto them,
`What [is] the fashion of the man who hath come up to meet you, and speaketh
unto you these words?'
And he said unto them,
what manner of man was he,.... What appearance or figure did he make?
what his habit or clothing?
which came up to meet you, and told you these words? they had
related to him.
2 Kings 1:8 8 So they answered him, “A
hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist.” And he said, “It is
Elijah the Tishbite.”
YLT
8And they say unto him, `A
man -- hairy, and a girdle of skin girt about his loins;' and he saith, `He
[is] Elijah the Tishbite.'
And they answered him, he
was an hairy man,.... Either the hair of his head and beard were grown very long,
having been much neglected for a great while; or he had an hairy garment on,
either of goats' hair, such as the Chinese wearF6Semedo's History of
China, part 1. ch. 3. , whose women spin it, see Exodus 35:26 and of
which garments are made; or of camels' hair, such as John the Baptist wore, who
came in his spirit and power, and imitated him in his dress, being also, as
Elijah here:
girt with a girdle of leather about his loins: for more
expeditious travelling, not for warmth, the climate being hot:
and he said, it is Elijah the Tishbite; for he had
seen him formerly in his father's court in this dress.
2 Kings 1:9 9 Then the king sent to him
a captain of fifty with his fifty men. So he went up to him; and there he was,
sitting on the top of a hill. And he spoke to him: “Man of God, the king has
said, ‘Come down!’”
YLT
9And he sendeth unto him a
head of fifty and his fifty, and he goeth up unto him (and lo, he is sitting on
the top of the hill), and he speaketh unto him, `O man of God, the king hath
spoken, Come down.'
Then the king sent unto
him a captain of fifty with his fifty,.... Not in honour to
him, but to bring him by force if he refused to come willingly:
and he went up to him, and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill; generally
supposed to be Mount Carmel:
and he spake unto him; at the bottom of the
hill, so loud that he might hear him:
thou man of God; or the prophet of the Lord, as the Targum,
as thou callest thyself; for this was said in a sneering, flouting, manner:
the king hath said, come down; and in the king's name
he ordered him to come down, signifying, if he would not, he would send his men
to fetch him down.
2 Kings 1:10 10 So Elijah answered and
said to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, then let fire come
down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And fire came down from
heaven and consumed him and his fifty.
YLT
10And Elijah answereth and
speaketh unto the head of the fifty, `And if I [am] a man of God, fire doth
come down from the heavens, and consume thee and thy fifty;' and fire cometh
down from the heavens, and consumeth him and his fifty.
And Elijah answered and
said to the captain of fifty, if I be a man of God,.... As I am,
and thou shalt know it by the following token, though thou callest me so
jeeringly:
then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy
fifty; this he said not in a passion, and from a private spirit of
revenge, but for the vindication of the honour and glory of God, and under the
impulse of his spirit, who was abused through the insult on him as his prophet:
and there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his
fifty; a flash of lightning, which destroyed them at once; the Lord
hearkening to the voice of his prophet, in vindication of him in his office,
and of his own glory.
2 Kings 1:11 11 Then he sent to him
another captain of fifty with his fifty men. And he answered and said to him:
“Man of God, thus has the king said, ‘Come down quickly!’”
YLT
11And he turneth and sendeth
unto him another head of fifty and his fifty, and he answereth and speaketh
unto him, `O man of God, thus said the king, Haste, come down.'
Again also he sent unto
him another captain of fifty with his fifty,.... The king, not being
at all terrified with the awful judgment upon the former, sends another:
and he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the
king said, come down quickly; he flouts the prophet in the same manner as
the former, and in the king's name commands him to come down, and that
immediately; which the king added to his orders, or he himself, signifying he
would not be trifled with, if he did not come down directly, he would force
him.
2 Kings 1:12 12 So Elijah answered and
said to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and
consume you and your fifty men.” And the fire of God came down from heaven and
consumed him and his fifty.
YLT
12And Elijah answereth and
speaketh unto them, `If I [am] a man of God, fire doth come down from the
heavens, and consume thee and thy fifty;' and fire of God cometh down from the
heavens, and consumeth him and his fifty.
And Elijah answered and
said unto them,.... The same as he had to the first captain, and made the same
request of fire from heaven; which accordingly came down, and destroyed this
captain and his fifty also.
2 Kings 1:13 13 Again, he sent a third
captain of fifty with his fifty men. And the third captain of fifty went up,
and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and pleaded with him, and said to
him: “Man of God, please let my life and the life of these fifty servants of
yours be precious in your sight.
YLT
13And he turneth and sendeth
a third head of fifty and his fifty, and the third head of fifty goeth up, and
cometh in, and boweth on his knees over-against Elijah, and maketh supplication
unto him, and speaketh unto him, `O man of God, let be precious, I pray thee,
my soul and the soul of thy servants -- these fifty -- in thine eyes.
And he sent again a
captain of the third fifty with his fifty,.... Which was most
daring and insolent, and showed him to be dreadfully hardened, to persist in
his messages after such rebuffs: and the third captain of fifty went up;
instead of calling to the prophet at the bottom of the hill as the other did,
he went up to the top of it:
and came and fell on his knees before Elijah: in reverence
of him as a prophet of the Lord, and under a dread of the power he was
possessed of, of calling for fire from heaven on him and his men, as the former
instances showed:
and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee,
let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight: he owns their
lives lay at his mercy; he begs they might be spared, since it was not in
contempt of him, and through ill will to him as the prophet of the Lord, but in
obedience to the king's command, that they were come to him.
2 Kings 1:14 14 Look, fire has come down
from heaven and burned up the first two captains of fifties with their fifties.
But let my life now be precious in your sight.”
YLT
14Lo, come down hath fire
from the heavens, and consumeth the two heads of the former fifties and their
fifties; and, now, let my soul be precious in thine eyes.'
Behold, there came fire
down from heaven and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties with their
fifties,.... He owns the facts, and ascribes the death of them to the
true cause, and appears to have an awful sense of the judgment of God on them,
fearing the same would befall him and his:
therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight; by sparing
it, what is precious and valuable being spared.
2 Kings 1:15 15 And the angel[b] of the Lord said to
Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he arose and went down
with him to the king.
YLT
15And a messenger of Jehovah
speaketh unto Elijah, `Go down with him, be not afraid of him;' and he riseth
and goeth down with him unto the king,
And the angel of the Lord
said unto Elijah, The same as in 2 Kings 1:3 or
"had said"F7וידבר "edixerat
autem", Junius & Tremellius. , as some render it, before this captain
came:
go down with him; the captain and his men:
and be not afraid of him; of King Ahaziah, whom he
might fear, because of the message he had sent him, that he should die of that
sickness, and for turning back his messengers to the god of Ekron, and for
destroying his two captains and their fifties; nor of his mother Jezebel, who
had threatened his life for killing her prophets:
and he arose, and went down with him unto the king; boldly and
courageously, not fearing his wrath; so that the captain not only had his life
and the life of his men spared, but answered the end of his message also.
2 Kings 1:16 16 Then he said to him, “Thus
says the Lord:
‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, is
it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word?
Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but
you shall surely die.’”
YLT
16and speaketh unto him, `Thus
said Jehovah, Because that thou hast sent messengers to inquire of Baal-Zebub
god of Ekron -- is it because there is not a God in Israel to inquire of His
word? therefore, the bed whither thou hast gone up -- thou dost not come down
from it, for thou dost certainly die.'
And he said unto him,.... Elijah to
King Ahaziah when introduced into his chamber; and after some discourse passed
between them, he confirmed what he had said to his messengers, and expressed it
in the same language as in 2 Kings 1:3; see
Gill on 2 Kings 1:3, 2 Kings 1:4
2 Kings 1:17 17 So Ahaziah died
according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken.
Because he had no son, Jehoram[c] became
king in his place, in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king
of Judah.
YLT
17And he dieth, according to
the word of Jehovah that Elijah spake, and Jehoram reigneth in his stead, in
the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, for he had no son.
So he died, according to
the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken,.... How long or how soon
after this is not said; however, he died of the sickness, and on the bed to
which he went up, as he said:
and Jehoram reigned in his stead: who was another son of
Ahab, and brother of Ahaziah, 2 Kings 3:1, in the
second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; but as he must
begin his reign in the nineteenth, or in the latter end of the eighteenth year
of Jehoshaphat, see 1 Kings 22:51 and
Jehoshaphat reigned in all twenty five years, 1 Kings 22:42, he
must live and reign after this six or seven years; this therefore is to be
reconciled by observing, that this son of Jehoshaphat was made viceroy, or was
taken into partnership in the throne by his father when he went with Ahab to
Ramothgilead; and it was in the second year of this his reign with his father
that the other Jehoram began his:
because he had no son; that is, Ahaziah,
wherefore his brother reigned in his stead.
2 Kings 1:18 18 Now the rest of the acts
of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of the
chronicles of the kings of Israel?
YLT
18And the rest of the matters
of Ahaziah that he did, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of
the kings of Israel?
Now the rest of the acts
of Ahaziah which he did,.... During his two years' reign, which yet were imperfect, and
his acts must be but few:
are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of
Israel? in which were written his father Ahab's also, and his
predecessors', see 1 Kings 22:39.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)