This is exactly what happened to him. The people trampled him to death in the city gate.p>

Therefore this is what the <sc>Lordsc> says, &#8220;You will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die!&#8221;&#8217;&#8221; So Elijah went on his way.p>

Elijah<n id="1" /> replied, &#8220;That&#8217;s a difficult request!<n id="2" /> If you see me taken from you, may it be so, but if you don&#8217;t, it will not happen.&#8221;p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">Later King Ben Hadad of Syria assembled his entire army and attacked<n id="1" /> and besieged Samaria.<n id="2" />

His assassination brought to fulfillment the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s word to Jehu,<n id="1" /> &#8220;Four generations of your descendants will rule over Israel.&#8221;<n id="2" /> That is exactly what happened.<n id="3" />p>

So this is what the <sc>Lordsc> God of Israel says, &#8216;I am about to bring disaster on Jerusalem and Judah. The news will reverberate in the ears of those who hear about it.<n id="1" />

Then they said to one another, &#8220;It&#8217;s not right what we&#8217;re doing! This is a day to celebrate, but we haven&#8217;t told anyone.<n id="1" /> If we wait until dawn,<n id="2" /> we&#8217;ll be punished.<n id="3" /> So come on, let&#8217;s go and inform the royal palace.&#8221;

Uriah the priest built an altar in conformity to the plans King Ahaz had sent from Damascus.<n id="1" /> Uriah the priest finished it before King Ahaz arrived back from Damascus.<n id="2" />

The Israelites said things about the <sc>Lordsc> their God that were not right.<n id="1" /> They built high places in all their cities, from the watchtower to the fortress.<n id="2" />

Now look, you must be trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed staff. If a man leans for support on it, it punctures his hand and wounds him. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt does to all who trust in him.

<p class="poetry">So this is what the <sc>Lordsc> says about the king of Assyria:p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;He will not enter this city,p> <p class="poetry">nor will he shoot an arrow here.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">He will not attack it with his shield-carrying warriors,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">nor will he build siege works against it.p>

&#8216;Therefore I will allow you to die and be buried in peace.<n id="1" /> You will not have to witness<n id="2" /> all the disaster I will bring on this place.&#8217;&#8221;&#8217;&#8221; Then they reported back to the king.p>

<p class="bodytext">Elijah<n id="1" /> said to the king,<n id="2" /> &#8220;This is what the <sc>Lordsc> says, &#8216;You sent messengers to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. You must think there is no God in Israel from whom you can seek an oracle!<n id="3" /> Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.&#8217;&#8221;<n id="4" />p>

They replied,<n id="1" /> &#8220;A man came up to meet us. He told us, &#8220;Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, &#8216;This is what the <sc>Lordsc> says: &#8220;You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are sending for an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron.<n id="2" /> Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.&#8221;&#8217;&#8221;