2Ki 1:11 | NETfull | STEP | The king sent another captain and his fifty soldiers to retrieve Elijah. He went up and told him, “Prophet, this is what the king says, ‘Come down at once!’”

2 Kings 1:11

11 The king ^{▼▼ Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.} sent another captain and his fifty soldiers to retrieve Elijah. He went up and told him, ^{▼▼ The MT reads, “he answered and said to him.” The verb “he answered” (וַיַּעַן, vayya’an) is probably a corruption of “he went up” (וַיַּעַל, vayya’al). See v. 9.} “Prophet, this is what the king says, ‘Come down at once!’” ^{▼▼ In this second panel of the three-paneled narrative, the king and his captain are more arrogant than before. The captain uses a more official sounding introduction (“this is what the king says”) and the king adds “at once” to the command.}