2 Kings 1 — Hebrew and Greek compared
Each card keeps the independently rendered source readings above their shared comparison and reception notes. The badge records the source’s governing classification; disparate readings are marked in red. Each reading retains its original reference.
Chapter 1
Ahaziah, Elijah, and the word of judgment
Verse 1:1 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
1:1 Moab rebelled against Israel after Ahab's death.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
1:1 Moab broke faith with Israel after Ahab died.
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: Hebrew פשע describes revolt; Greek ἀθετέω expresses repudiation or breach of allegiance. Both locate it after Ahab's death.
Verse 1:2 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
1:2 Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper room in Samaria and became ill. He sent messengers and said to them, ‘Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this illness.’
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
1:2 Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper room in Samaria and became ill. He sent messengers and said to them, ‘Come, and inquire of Baal Fly, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this illness of mine.’ And they went to inquire through him.
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: Greek adds that the messengers went to inquire through him. Greek μυῖαν renders ‘fly’; Hebrew retains the name Baal-zebub. The final Greek pronoun is retained without resolving its precise referent.
Verse 1:3 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
1:3 The angel of YHWH spoke to Elijah the Tishbite: ‘Rise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
1:3 An angel of the Lord spoke to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘Rise, come to meet the messengers of Ahaziah king of Samaria, and say to them: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal Fly, the god of Ekron?’
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek explicitly names Ahaziah and uses ‘come’; Hebrew identifies him by office and uses ‘go up.’ Both question seeking the foreign god.
Verse 1:4 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
1:4 ‘Therefore, thus says YHWH: The bed onto which you have gone up—you will not come down from it, for you will surely die.’ And Elijah went.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
1:4 ‘It shall not be so! For thus says the Lord: The bed onto which you have gone up—you will not come down from it, for there you will surely die.’ And Elijah went and spoke to them.
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: Greek adds ‘there’ to the death announcement and explicitly says Elijah spoke to them. Its οὐχ οὕτως, ‘not so,’ differs from Hebrew ‘therefore.’
Verse 1:5 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
1:5 The messengers returned to him, and he said to them, ‘Why have you returned?’
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
1:5 The messengers returned to him, and he said to them, ‘Why have you returned?’
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both report the messengers' return and the king's question.
Verse 1:6 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
1:6 They said to him, ‘A man came up to meet us and said to us: Go, return to the king who sent you and tell him, Thus says YHWH: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore, the bed onto which you have gone up—you will not come down from it, for you will surely die.’
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
1:6 They said to him, ‘A man came up to meet us and said to us: Come, return to the king who sent you and tell him, Thus says the Lord: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal Fly, the god of Ekron? It shall not be so! The bed onto which you have gone up—you will not come down from it, for you will surely die.’
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew accuses the king of ‘sending’; Greek addresses him as ‘going.’ Both retain the death sentence. Hebrew ‘therefore’ corresponds to Greek ‘not so.’
Verse 1:7 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
1:7 He said to them, ‘What was the appearance of the man who came up to meet you and spoke these words to you?’
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
1:7 He spoke to them, saying, ‘What was the character of the man who came up to meet you and spoke these words to you?’
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: Hebrew מִשְׁפַּט and Greek κρίσις can mean judgment or manner; the reply concerns his visible characteristics. Neither column inserts a personal identification before verse eight.
Verse 1:8 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
1:8 They said to him, ‘A hairy man, with a leather belt fastened around his waist.’ He said, ‘It is Elijah the Tishbite.’
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
1:8 They said to him, ‘A hairy man, with a leather belt fastened around his waist.’ He said, ‘This is Elijah the Tishbite.’
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both identify the hairy man with the leather belt as Elijah. Hebrew ‘a man possessing hair’ is rendered without deciding whether it describes his body or a hairy garment.
Verse 1:9 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
1:9 He sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men. He went up to him, and there he was, sitting on the top of the mountain. He said to him, ‘Man of God, the king says: Come down!’
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
1:9 He sent to him a commander, a captain of fifty, with his fifty men. He went up and came to him, and there Elijah was, sitting on the top of the mountain. The captain of fifty spoke to him and said, ‘Man of God, the king has summoned you. Come down!’
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew reports what the king ‘says’; Greek says the king ‘has summoned you.’ Greek makes Elijah and the captain explicit where Hebrew uses pronouns.
Verse 1:10 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
1:10 Elijah answered the captain of fifty, ‘If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.’ Fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
1:10 Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, ‘If I am a man of God, fire will come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.’ Fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: Hebrew's context permits a jussive wish, ‘let fire come down’; Greek uses future indicatives, ‘will come down’ and ‘will consume.’ Both narrate its fulfillment.
Verse 1:11 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
1:11 Again he sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty men. He addressed him and said, ‘Man of God, thus says the king: Come down quickly!’
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
1:11 The king again sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty men. The captain went up and spoke to him, saying, ‘Man of God, thus says the king: Come down quickly!’
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew וַיַּעַן means ‘he answered/addressed’; Greek ἀνέβη means ‘he went up.’ Greek expressly identifies the king and the captain.
Verse 1:12 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
1:12 Elijah answered them, ‘If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.’ Fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
1:12 Elijah answered and spoke to him, saying, ‘If I am a man of God, fire will come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.’ Fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew addresses ‘them’ and calls the descending flame ‘fire of God.’ Greek addresses ‘him’ and has simply ‘fire.’ Both attribute the consuming event to the same prophetic exchange.
Verse 1:13 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
1:13 Again he sent a third captain of fifty with his fifty men. The third captain of fifty went up and came, knelt before Elijah, and pleaded with him, saying, ‘Man of God, please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your eyes.’
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
1:13 The king again sent a commander, a third captain of fifty, with his fifty men. The third captain of fifty came to him, bent his knees before Elijah, and pleaded with him, saying, ‘Man of God, please let my life and the lives of these fifty slaves of yours be honored in your eyes.’
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: Both preserve the third captain's kneeling plea for himself and fifty men. Greek δούλων is ‘slaves’; the self-abasing address does not itself establish these soldiers' legal status.
Verse 1:14 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
1:14 ‘Look, fire came down from heaven and consumed the first two captains of fifty and their fifty men. But now let my life be precious in your eyes.’
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
1:14 ‘Look, fire came down from heaven and consumed the first two captains of fifty and their fifty men. But now please let the lives of your slaves be honored in your eyes.’
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew's renewed plea is for ‘my life’; Greek's is for ‘the lives of your slaves.’ The scope of the final petition therefore differs.
Verse 1:15 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
1:15 The angel of YHWH said to Elijah, ‘Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.’ He rose and went down with him to the king.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
1:15 An angel of the Lord spoke to Elijah and said, ‘Go down with him; do not be afraid of them.’ Elijah rose and went down with him to the king.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew says not to fear ‘him’; Greek says not to fear ‘them.’ Both direct Elijah to accompany the captain.
Verse 1:16 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
1:16 He said to him, ‘Thus says YHWH: Because you sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel whose word you could inquire of?—therefore, the bed onto which you have gone up—you will not come down from it, for you will surely die.’
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
1:16 Elijah spoke to him and said, ‘Thus says the Lord: Why did you send messengers to inquire of Baal Fly, the god of Ekron? It shall not be so! The bed onto which you have gone up—you will not come down from it, for you will surely die.’
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: Hebrew includes the rhetorical question about Israel's God and inquiring of His word. This clause is absent from the selected Greek main text here; the death sentence remains in both.
Verse 1:17 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
1:17 He died according to the word of YHWH that Elijah had spoken. Jehoram became king in his place, in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, because he had no son.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
1:17 He died according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken.
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: Greek ends with fulfillment of Elijah's word. Hebrew continues with succession, its date, and Ahaziah's lack of a son. Greek 1:18a supplies a differently dated accession notice; it is retained separately in source order.
Verse 1:18 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
1:18 The rest of the acts of Ahaziah that he did—are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
1:18 The rest of the acts of Ahaziah, all that he did—look, are these not written in the book of the daily records for the kings of Israel?
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both close Ahaziah's account with the record-book formula. ‘Chronicles’ and ‘daily records’ express the respective equivalent title constructions.
Verse 1:18a Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[No corresponding Hebrew source unit at this location.]
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
1:18a Jehoram son of Ahab reigns over Israel in Samaria for twelve years, beginning in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah.
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: This Greek accession notice is additional at this location. Its eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat differs from Hebrew 1:17's second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat. It anticipates the parallel accession material in chapter three; no co-regency solution is inserted.
Verse 1:18b Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[No corresponding Hebrew source unit at this location.]
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
1:18b He did what was evil before the Lord, though not as his brothers did, nor as his mother did.
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: Greek adds this assessment here and says ‘his brothers,’ plural. The added wording is not replaced with the ‘father’ found in the later accession account.
Verse 1:18c Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[No corresponding Hebrew source unit at this location.]
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
1:18c He removed the pillars of Baal that his father had made and shattered them. Yet he clung to the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who caused Israel to sin; he did not turn away from them.
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: This additional Greek unit includes plural pillars, their destruction, and the house of Jeroboam. Its wording is preserved independently of chapter three.
Verse 1:18d Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[No corresponding Hebrew source unit at this location.]
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
1:18d The Lord was stirred to anger against the house of Ahab.
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: Greek adds an explicit declaration of the Lord's anger against Ahab's house at the chapter's close.