Passage

2 Kings 1.3

Book: 2 Kings · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. And Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. 2. And Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover of this sickness."

"3. But the angel of Jehovah said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it because there is no God in Israel, that ye go to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?"

"4. Now therefore thus saith Jehovah, Thou shalt not come down from the bed whither thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed. 5. And the messengers returned unto him, and he said unto them, Why is it that ye are returned?" (2 Kings 1:1-5, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. 2. Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper room that was in Samaria, and was sick. So he sent messengers, and said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover of this sickness.”"

"3. But Yahweh’s angel said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and tell them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel, that you go to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?"

"4. Now therefore Yahweh says, “You will not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but you will surely die.”’” Then Elijah departed. 5. The messengers returned to him, and he said to them, “Why is it that you have returned?”" (2 Kings 1:1-5, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. 2. And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease."

"3. But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron?"

"4. Now therefore thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed. ^{Thou shalt: Heb. The bed whither thou art gone up, thou shalt not come down from it} 5. And when the messengers turned back unto him, he said unto them, Why are ye now turned back?" (2 Kings 1:1-5, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. And Moab transgresseth against Israel after the death of Ahab, 2. and 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.'"

"3. And 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?"

"4. and 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. 5. And the messengers turn back unto him, and he saith unto them, 'What [is] this, ye have turned back!'" (2 Kings 1:1-5, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: narrator (anonymous; deuteronomistic-school)
Audience: exilic Israel
Location: Israel + Judah through the exiles
Time period: events c. 850-560 BC; composed c. 560-540 BC

Theological reading

Key words

H0430 - elohim, elohim (Strong's H430). Also appears in: Genesis 1.1, Genesis 1.2, Genesis 1.14-19.
H3068 - YHWH, YHWH (Strong's H3068). Also appears in: Genesis 2.4, Genesis 2.7, Genesis 2.16-17.

Quoted in

Angel of the LORD

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.