2 Kings 1:11

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.

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.

Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly.

¹² And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.

¹³ And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: So the king sent to Elijah another captain with his fifty men. And the captain said to Elijah, “Man of God, the king declares, ‘Come down at once!’”
KJV: Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly.
WEB: Again he sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty. He answered him, “Man of God, the king has said, ‘Come down quickly!’”
ASV: And again he sent unto him another captain of fifty and his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly.
DARBY: And again he sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he spoke and said to him, Man of God, thus says the king: Come down quickly!
BLB: And he turned and sent to him another captain of fifty, and his fifty. And he answered and said to him, “Man of God, thus has said the king: ‘Quickly come down.’”

ÅB: Så sendte han til ham en annen høvedsmann over femti med sine menn; og han tok til orde og sa til ham: Du Guds mann! Så sier kongen: Kom straks ned!
OTB: Ved dette sendte kongen en annen kaptein med femti mann. Han sa til Elia, “Guds mann, dette sier kongen: ‘Kom ned straks!’”
B1930: Så sendte han til ham en annen høvedsmann over femti med sine menn; og han tok til orde og sa til ham: Du Guds mann! Så sier kongen: Kom straks ned!

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

John 18:5–12
They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.
Read in context
Isaiah 26:11
LORD, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them.
Read in context
Jeremiah 5:3
O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.
Read in context
1 Samuel 22:17–19
And the king said unto the footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of the LORD; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not shew it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the LORD.
Read in context
Numbers 16:41
But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the LORD.
Read in context
Matthew 2:16
Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.
Read in context
Proverbs 29:12
If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.
Read in context
Isaiah 32:7
The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.
Read in context