2 Kings 1 · Verse 9

2 Kings 1:9

Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down.
2 Kings 1:9, King James Version

2 Kings 1:9 in other translations

BSBThen King Ahaziah sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. So the captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on top of a hill, and said to him, “Man of God, the king declares, ‘Come down!’”
WEBThen the king sent a captain of fifty with his fifty to him. He went up to him; and behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. He said to him, “Man of God, the king has said, ‘Come down!’”
ASVThen the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. And he spake unto him, O man of God, the king hath said, Come down.
YLTAnd 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.'
DARBYAnd he sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him, and behold, he sat on the top of the mount. And he spoke to him: Man of God, the king says, Come down!
BBEThen the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men; and he went up to him where he was seated on the top of a hill, and said to him, O man of God, the king has said, Come down.
WebsterThen the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and behold, he sat on the top of a hill. And he spoke to him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down.

What does 2 Kings 1:9 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
9. Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty--Any appearance of cruelty that there is in the fate of the two captains and their men will be removed, on a full consideration of the circumstances. God being the King of Israel, Ahaziah was bound to govern the kingdom according to the divine law; to apprehend the Lord's prophet, for discharging a commanded duty, was that of an impious and notorious rebel. The captains abetted the king in his rebellion; and they exceeded their military duty by contemptuous insults. man of God--In using this term, they either spoke derisively, believing him to be no true prophet; or, if they regarded him as a true prophet, the summons to him to surrender himself bound to the king was a still more flagrant insult; the language of the second captain being worse than that of the first.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 9 A captain of fifty with his fifty - It is impossible that such a man as Ahaziah, in such circumstances, could have had any friendly designs in sending a captain and fifty soldiers for the prophet; and the manner in which they are treated shows plainly that they went with a hostile intent. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God - Thou prophet of the Most High.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Kings 1:9-18
Elijah called for fire from heaven, to consume the haughty, daring sinners; not to secure himself, but to prove his mission, and to reveal the wrath of God from heaven, against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Elijah did this by a Divine impulse, yet our Saviour would not allow the disciples to do the like, Lu 9:54. The dispensation of the Spirit and of grace by no means allowed it. Elijah was concerned for God's glory, those for their own reputation. The Lord judges men's practices by their principles, and his judgment is according to truth. The third captain humbled himself, and cast himself upon the mercy of God and Elijah. There is nothing to be got by contending with God; and those are wise for themselves, who learn submission from the fatal end of obstinacy in others. The courage of faith has often struck terror into the heart of the proudest sinner. So thunderstruck is Ahaziah with the prophet's words, that neither he, nor any about him, offer him violence. Who can harm those whom God shelters? Many who think to prosper in sin, are called hence like Ahaziah, when they do not expect it. All warns us to seek the Lord while he may be found.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

2 Kings 1:9 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיִּשְׁלַ֥חvai.yish.Lachand he sentH7971
אֵלָ֛יו'e.Lavto himH413
שַׂר\־sar-a commander ofH8269
חֲמִשִּׁ֖יםcha.mi.Shima fiftyH2572
וַחֲמִשָּׁ֑יוva.cha.mi.Shavand fifty [men] hisH2572
וַיַּ֣עַלvai.Ya.'aland he went upH5927
אֵלָ֗יו'e.Lavto himH413
וְהִנֵּה֙ve.hi.Nehand there!H2009
יֹשֵׁב֙yo.Shev[he was] sittingH3427
עַל\־'al-onH5921
רֹ֣אשׁrosh[the] top ofH7218
הָהָ֔רha.Harthe hillH2022
וַיְדַבֵּ֣רvay.da.Berand he spokeH1696
אֵלָ֔יו'e.Lavto himH413
אִ֚ישׁ'ishO man ofH376
הָֽאֱלֹהִ֔יםha.'E.lo.Him<the> GodH430
הַמֶּ֥לֶךְha.Me.lekhthe kingH4428
דִּבֶּ֖רdi.Berhe has spokenH1696
רֵֽדָה\׃Re.dahcome down !H3381

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 2 Kings 1:9

  • Hebrews 11:36

    And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:

  • 2 Kings 6:13-14

    And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.

  • Luke 6:11-12

    And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus. And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

  • Amos 7:12

    Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there:

  • Matthew 26:68

    Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?

  • Matthew 14:3

    For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife.

  • 1 Kings 22:26-27

    And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son; And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace.

  • 1 Kings 18:4

    For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.)

  • 1 Kings 18:42

    So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees,

  • 1 Kings 19:2

    Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.

  • 1 Kings 22:8

    And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the Lord: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

  • 1 Kings 18:10

    As the Lord thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
sent unto.
6:13,14; 1Ki 18:4,10; 19:2; 22:8,26,27; Mt 14:3
he sat.
1Ki 18:42; Lu 6:11,12
Thou man.
Am 7:12; Mt 26:68; 27:29,41-43; Mr 15:29,32; Heb 11:36

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 2 Kings 1:8

    And they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.

  • 2 Kings 1:9

    Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down.

  • 2 Kings 1:10

    And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.

Read all of 2 Kings 1

2 Kings 1:9 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y envió luego á él un capitán de cincuenta con sus cincuenta, el cual subió á él; y he aquí que él estaba sentado en la cumbre del monte. Y él le dijo: Varón de Dios, el rey ha dicho que desciendas.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et il envoya vers lui un chef de cinquantaine et sa cinquantaine; et il monta vers lui. Et voici, il était assis au sommet d’une montagne. Et il lui dit: Homme de Dieu, le roi dit: Descends!
German
Elberfelder 1871		Da sandte er zu ihm einen Obersten über fünfzig und seine Fünfzig. Und er ging zu ihm hinauf, und siehe, er saß auf dem Gipfel des Berges; und er sprach zu ihm: Mann Gottes! der König sagt: Komm herab.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Misitque ad eum quinquagenarium principem, et quinquaginta qui erant sub eo. Qui ascendit ad eum: sedentique in vertice montis, ait: Homo Dei, rex præcepit ut descendas.