John Gill Commentary 2 Kings 1:5

"And the messengers returned unto him, and he said unto them, Why is it that ye are returned?" — 2 Kings 1:5 (ASV)

And when the messengers turned back to him To Ahaziah king of Israel, as they did as soon as Elijah was gone from them; concluding from his habit, his gravity, and the authority with which he spoke, that he was a prophet of the Lord, and especially from his knowledge of them, and of what they were sent about:

he said to them, why are you now turned back ? for, by the time they had been gone, he knew they could never have been at Ekron and returned.