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Read the Bible

THE MESSAGE

2 Kings 1:5

The messengers went back. The king said, "So why are you back so soon—what's going on?"

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Elijah;   Prophecy;   Scofield Reference Index - Miracles;   Thompson Chain Reference - Elijah;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Ahaziah;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Gods and Goddesses, Pagan;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Elijah;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Divination;   Philistia;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Ahaziah;   Diseases;   Ekron;   Kings, 1 and 2;   Philistines, the;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ahaziah;   Elijah;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Ahaziah;   Samaria;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Philis'tines;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Ahaziah;   Punishments of the Hebrews;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Israel;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Baal;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Elijah;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The messengers returned to the king, who asked them, “Why have you come back?”
Hebrew Names Version
The messengers returned to him, and he said to them, Why is it that you have returned?
King James Version
And when the messengers turned back unto him, he said unto them, Why are ye now turned back?
English Standard Version
The messengers returned to the king, and he said to them, "Why have you returned?"
New Century Version
When the messengers returned to Ahaziah, he asked them, "Why have you returned?"
New English Translation
When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, "Why have you returned?"
Amplified Bible
When the messengers returned to Ahaziah, he said to them, "Why have you returned [so soon]?"
New American Standard Bible
When the messengers returned to Ahaziah, he said to them, "Why have you returned?"
Geneva Bible (1587)
And the messengers returned vnto him, to whome he said, Why are ye nowe returned?
Legacy Standard Bible
So the messengers returned to him, and he said to them, "Why have you returned?"
Contemporary English Version
When the messengers returned to Ahaziah, he asked, "Why are you back so soon?"
Complete Jewish Bible
The messengers returned to Achazyah, and he asked them, "Why have you come back?"
Darby Translation
And the messengers returned to him; and he said to them, Why have ye returned?
Easy-to-Read Version
When messengers came back to Ahaziah, he asked them, "Why did you come back so soon?"
George Lamsa Translation
And when the messengers returned to Ahaziah, he said to them, Why have you turned back?
Good News Translation
and the messengers returned to the king. "Why have you come back?" he asked.
Lexham English Bible
When the messengers returned to him, he asked them, "Why have you returned?"
Literal Translation
And the messengers returned to him. And he said to them, What is this, that you have turned back?
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And wha ye messaunges came to Ochosias agayne, he sayde vnto the: Why come ye agayne?
American Standard Version
And the messengers returned unto him, and he said unto them, Why is it that ye are returned?
Bible in Basic English
And the men he had sent came back to the king; and he said to them, Why have you come back?
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And when the messengers turned backe againe vnto him, he saide vnto them: Why are ye now come againe?
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the messengers returned unto him, and he said unto them: 'Why is it that ye are returned?'
King James Version (1611)
And when the messengers turned backe vnto him, he said vnto them, Why are ye now turned backe?
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the messengers returned to him, and he said to them, Why have ye returned?
English Revised Version
And the messengers returned unto him, and he said unto them, Why is it that ye are returned?
Berean Standard Bible
When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, "Why have you returned?"
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Elie yede. And the messangeris turneden ayen to Ocozie. And he seide to hem, Whi turneden ye ayen?
Young's Literal Translation
And the messengers turn back unto him, and he saith unto them, `What [is] this -- ye have turned back!'
Update Bible Version
And the messengers returned to him, and he said to them, Why is it that you have returned?
Webster's Bible Translation
And when the messengers turned back to him, he said to them, Why have ye now returned?
World English Bible
The messengers returned to him, and he said to them, Why is it that you have returned?
New King James Version
And when the messengers returned to him, he said to them, "Why have you come back?"
New Living Translation
When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, "Why have you returned so soon?"
New Life Bible
When the men returned to Ahaziah, he said to them, "Why have you returned?"
New Revised Standard
The messengers returned to the king, who said to them, "Why have you returned?"
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, when the messengers returned unto him, he said unto them - How is it that ye have returned?
Douay-Rheims Bible
And the messengers turned back to Ochozias. And he said to them: Why are you come back?
Revised Standard Version
The messengers returned to the king, and he said to them, "Why have you returned?"
New American Standard Bible (1995)
When the messengers returned to him he said to them, "Why have you returned?"

Contextual Overview

1 After Ahab died, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 One day Ahaziah fell through the balcony railing on the rooftop of his house in Samaria and was injured. He sent messengers off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, "Am I going to recover from this accident?" 3 God 's angel spoke to Elijah the Tishbite: "Up on your feet! Go out and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria with this word, ‘Is it because there's no God in Israel that you're running off to consult Baal-Zebub god of Ekron?' Here's a message from the God you've tried to bypass: ‘You're not going to get out of that bed you're in—you're as good as dead already.'" Elijah delivered the message and was gone. 5 The messengers went back. The king said, "So why are you back so soon—what's going on?" 6 They told him, "A man met us and said, ‘Turn around and go back to the king who sent you; tell him, God 's message: Is it because there's no God in Israel that you're running off to consult Baal-Zebub god of Ekron? You needn't bother. You're not going to get out of that bed you're in—you're as good as dead already.'" 7 The king said, "Tell me more about this man who met you and said these things to you. What was he like?" 8 "Shaggy," they said, "and wearing a leather belt." He said, "That has to be Elijah the Tishbite!"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Cross-References

Genesis 1:31
God looked over everything he had made; it was so good, so very good! It was evening, it was morning— Day Six.
Genesis 8:22
For as long as Earth lasts, planting and harvest, cold and heat, Summer and winter, day and night will never stop."
Psalms 104:20
class="poetry"> O my soul, bless God ! God , my God, how great you are! beautifully, gloriously robed, Dressed up in sunshine, and all heaven stretched out for your tent. You built your palace on the ocean deeps, made a chariot out of clouds and took off on wind-wings. You commandeered winds as messengers, appointed fire and flame as ambassadors. You set earth on a firm foundation so that nothing can shake it, ever. You blanketed earth with ocean, covered the mountains with deep waters; Then you roared and the water ran away— your thunder crash put it to flight. Mountains pushed up, valleys spread out in the places you assigned them. You set boundaries between earth and sea; never again will earth be flooded. You started the springs and rivers, sent them flowing among the hills. All the wild animals now drink their fill, wild donkeys quench their thirst. Along the riverbanks the birds build nests, ravens make their voices heard. You water the mountains from your heavenly cisterns; earth is supplied with plenty of water. You make grass grow for the livestock, hay for the animals that plow the ground. Oh yes, God brings grain from the land, wine to make people happy, Their faces glowing with health, a people well-fed and hearty. God 's trees are well-watered— the Lebanon cedars he planted. Birds build their nests in those trees; look—the stork at home in the treetop. Mountain goats climb about the cliffs; badgers burrow among the rocks. The moon keeps track of the seasons, the sun is in charge of each day. When it's dark and night takes over, all the forest creatures come out. The young lions roar for their prey, clamoring to God for their supper. When the sun comes up, they vanish, lazily stretched out in their dens. Meanwhile, men and women go out to work, busy at their jobs until evening. What a wildly wonderful world, God ! You made it all, with Wisdom at your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations. Oh, look—the deep, wide sea, brimming with fish past counting, sardines and sharks and salmon. Ships plow those waters, and Leviathan, your pet dragon, romps in them. All the creatures look expectantly to you to give them their meals on time. You come, and they gather around; you open your hand and they eat from it. If you turned your back, they'd die in a minute— Take back your Spirit and they die, revert to original mud; Send out your Spirit and they spring to life— the whole countryside in bloom and blossom. The glory of God —let it last forever! Let God enjoy his creation! He takes one look at earth and triggers an earthquake, points a finger at the mountains, and volcanoes erupt. Oh, let me sing to God all my life long, sing hymns to my God as long as I live! Oh, let my song please him; I'm so pleased to be singing to God . But clear the ground of sinners— no more godless men and women! O my soul, bless God !
1 Corinthians 3:13
But for right now, friends, I'm completely frustrated by your unspiritual dealings with each other and with God. You're acting like infants in relation to Christ, capable of nothing much more than nursing at the breast. Well, then, I'll nurse you since you don't seem capable of anything more. As long as you grab for what makes you feel good or makes you look important, are you really much different than a babe at the breast, content only when everything's going your way? When one of you says, "I'm on Paul's side," and another says, "I'm for Apollos," aren't you being totally infantile? Who do you think Paul is, anyway? Or Apollos, for that matter? Servants, both of us—servants who waited on you as you gradually learned to entrust your lives to our mutual Master. We each carried out our servant assignment. I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plants, but God made you grow. It's not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this process but God, who makes things grow. Planting and watering are menial servant jobs at minimum wages. What makes them worth doing is the God we are serving. You happen to be God's field in which we are working. Or, to put it another way, you are God's house. Using the gift God gave me as a good architect, I designed blueprints; Apollos is putting up the walls. Let each carpenter who comes on the job take care to build on the foundation! Remember, there is only one foundation, the one already laid: Jesus Christ. Take particular care in picking out your building materials. Eventually there is going to be an inspection. If you use cheap or inferior materials, you'll be found out. The inspection will be thorough and rigorous. You won't get by with a thing. If your work passes inspection, fine; if it doesn't, your part of the building will be torn out and started over. But you won't be torn out; you'll survive—but just barely. You realize, don't you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you? No one will get by with vandalizing God's temple, you can be sure of that. God's temple is sacred—and you, remember, are the temple. Don't fool yourself. Don't think that you can be wise merely by being up-to-date with the times. Be God's fool—that's the path to true wisdom. What the world calls smart, God calls stupid. It's written in Scripture, He exposes the chicanery of the chic. The Master sees through the smoke screens of the know-it-alls. I don't want to hear any of you bragging about yourself or anyone else. Everything is already yours as a gift—Paul, Apollos, Peter, the world, life, death, the present, the future—all of it is yours, and you are privileged to be in union with Christ, who is in union with God.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

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.


 
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