2nd Kings Chapter 1 verse 9 Holy Bible
Then `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.
read chapter 1 in ASV
Then 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.
read chapter 1 in BBE
And 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!
read chapter 1 in DARBY
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.
read chapter 1 in KJV
Then 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.
read chapter 1 in WBT
Then [the king] sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty. He went up to him: and, behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. He spoke to him, man of God, the king has said, Come down.
read chapter 1 in WEB
And 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.'
read chapter 1 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 9. - The king sent unto him a captain of fifty. "Captains of fifties" were first instituted in the wilderness by the advice of Jethro (Exodus 18:21-25). Though not expressly mentioned in the military organization of David, they probably formed a part of it, and so passed into the institutions of the kingdom of Israel. With his fifty. Some recognition of Elijah's superhuman power would seem to have led Ahaziah to send so large a body. His doing so was a sort of challenge to the prophet to show whether Ahaziah or the God whom he represented was the stronger. The circumstances recall those of the "band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees" (John 18:3), which was sent, "with swords and staves," to arrest another righteous Person. He sat on the top of a hill; literally, on the top of the hill (ἐπὶ τῆς κορυφῆς τοῦ ὄρους, LXX.). The high ground where Elijah had met the messengers (ver. 3) seems to be intended. When they were gone, the prophet took his seat on the highest point, conspicuous on all sides, so avoiding any attempt at concealment, and awaiting the next step that the king would take, calmly and quietly. He spake unto him; Thou man of God. The captain is thought by some to have spoken ironically; but there is no evidence of this. The address is respectful, submissive. The miraculous powers of Elijah (1 Kings 17:22; 1 Kings 18:38) were probably known to the officer, who hoped by the tone of his address to escape the prophet's anger. In the same spirit he avoids issuing any command of his own, and prefers simply to deliver the king's command - The king hath said, Come down.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(9) Then the king sent.--Heb., And he sent. With hostile intentions, as is proved by his sending soldiers, and by the words of the angel in 2Kings 1:15. (Comp. 1Kings 18:8; 1Kings 22:26, seq.)He sat.--Was sitting. The LXX. has "Elias was sitting," which is probably original.A captain of fifty.--The army of Israel was organised by thousands, hundreds, and fifties, each of which had its "captain" (sar). (Comp. Numbers 31:14; Numbers 31:48; 1Samuel 8:12.) . . .
