Hazael Murders Ben-hadad

Then Elisha came to Damascus vvv while Ben-hadad king of Aram was sick, and the king was told“The man of God has come here.”

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So the king said to Hazael,“Take a gift in your hand, go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD through him‘Will I recover from this illness?’ ”

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So Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him a gift of forty camel loads of every good thing from Damascus. And he went in and stood before him and said,“Your son vvv Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to ask,‘Will I recover from this illness?’ ”

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Elisha answered,“Go and tell him,‘You will surely recover But the LORD[fn] has shown me that in fact he will die

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[Elisha] fixed his gaze steadily [on him] until Hazael became uncomfortable. Then the man of God began to weep.

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“Why is my lord weeping?” asked Hazael.

“Because I know the evil you will do vvv to the Israelites,” [Elisha] replied.“You will set fire to their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little ones to pieces, and rip open their pregnant women.”

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“But how {could} your servant, a mere dog, do such a monstrous thing?” said Hazael.

And Elisha answered,“The LORD has shown me that you [will be] king over Aram.”

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

And he replied,“He told me [that] you would surely recover 15 But the next day Hazael took a thick cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it over the king’s face.

So Ben-hadad died, and Hazael reigned in his place.

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