⁸Then the king said to Hazael, “Take a gift with you. Go and see the man of God. Ask him for the Lord’s advice. Ask him whether I will get well again.”

⁹Hazael went to see Elisha. He took 40 camels with him as a gift. The camels were loaded with all of the finest goods of Damascus. Hazael went into Elisha’s house and stood in front of him. He said, “Ben-Hadad has sent me. He is the king of Aram. He asks, ‘Will I get well again?’ ”

¹⁰Elisha answered, “Go and speak to him. Tell him, ‘Yes. You will get well again.’ But the Lord has shown me that he will in fact die.”

¹¹Elisha stared at him without looking away. He did it until Hazael felt ashamed. Then the man of God began to sob.

¹²“Why are you sobbing?” asked Hazael.

“Because I know how much harm you will do to the people of Israel,” he answered. “You will set fire to their cities that have high walls around them. You will kill their young men with your sword. You will smash their little children on the ground. You will rip open their pregnant women.”

¹³Hazael said, “How could I possibly do a thing like that? I’m nothing but a dog. I don’t have that kind of power.”

“You will become king of Aram,” Elisha answered. “That’s what the Lord has shown me.”

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