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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Kings 1:9-18

Here, I. The king issues out a warrant for the apprehending of Elijah. If the God of Ekron had told him he should die, it is probable he would have taken it quietly; but now that a prophet of the Lord tells him so, reproving him for his sin and reminding him of the God of Israel, he cannot bear it. So far is he from making any good improvement of the warning given him that he is enraged against the prophet; neither his sickness, nor the thoughts of death, made any good impressions upon him,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 1:9

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... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 1:10

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... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 1:11

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... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 1:12

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. read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 1:13

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... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 1:14

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. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Kings 1:9

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. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Kings 1:10

And there came down fire - Some have blamed the prophet for destroying these men, by bringing down fire from heaven upon them. But they do not consider that it was no more possible for Elijah to bring down fire from heaven, than for them to do it. God alone could send the fire; and as he is just and good, he would not have destroyed these men had there not been a sufficient cause to justify the act. It was not to please Elijah, or to gratify any vindictive humor in him, that God thus... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 1:1-18

THE REVOLT OF MOAB . THE ILLNESS , IMPIETY , AND DEATH OF AHAZIAH The narrative of the Second Book of Kings follows on that of the First Book in the closest possible sequence. The history of Ahaziah's reign begins in 1 Kings 22:51 , and is carried on, without any real break or pause in the sense, to 2 Kings 1:18 . How the two books came to be divided at this point is quite inexplicable. The division is most unhappy. Not only does it, without apparent reason, draw... read more

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