2 Kings 8:7–15

Aram’s King Hazael

⁷Elisha came to Damascus ^swhile Ben-hadad ^tking of Aram was sick, and the king was told, “The man of God ^uhas come here.” ⁸So the king said to Hazael, ^v“Take a gift ^wwith you and go meet the man of God. Inquire of the Lord through him, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’ ” ^x

⁹Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him a gift: 40 camel-loads of all kinds of goods from Damascus. When he came and stood before him, he said, “Your son, ^yBen-hadad king of Aram, has sent me to ask you, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’ ”

¹⁰Elisha told him, “Go say to him, ‘You are sure to ^zrecover.’ But the Lord has shown me that he is sure to die.” ¹¹Then Elisha stared steadily at him until Hazael was ashamed. ^a

The man of God wept, ^b12and Hazael asked, “Why is my lord weeping?”

He replied, “Because I know the evil you will do to the people of Israel. You will set their fortresses on fire. You will kill their young men with the sword. You will dash their little ones to pieces. You will rip open their pregnant women.” ^c

¹³Hazael said, “How could your servant, a mere dog, ^ddo this monstrous thing?”

Elisha answered, “The Lord has shown me that you will be king over Aram.” ^e

¹⁴Hazael left Elisha and went to his master, who asked him, “What did Elisha say to you?”

He responded, “He told me you are sure to recover.” ¹⁵The next day Hazael took a heavy cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it over the king’s face. Ben-hadad died, and Hazael reigned instead of him.