2 Kings 8:9

Ben-hadad Hazael Damascus Syria

⁷ Then Elisha came to Damascus while Ben-hadad king of Aram was sick, and the king was told, “The man of God has come here.”

⁸ 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?’”

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 Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to ask, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”

¹⁰ Elisha answered, “Go and tell him, ‘You will surely recover.’ But the LORD has shown me that in fact he will die.”

¹¹ Elisha fixed his gaze steadily on him until Hazael became uncomfortable. Then the man of God began to weep.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: 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 Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to ask, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”
KJV: So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Ben-hadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?
WEB: So Hazael went to meet him and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ burden, and came and stood before him and said, “Your son Benhadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”
ASV: So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels` burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Benhadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this sickness?
DARBY: And Hazael went to meet him, and took with him a present, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden; and he came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Ben-Hadad king of Syria has sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover from this disease?
BLB: And Hazael went to meet him, and took a gift in his hand of every good thing of Damascus, a burden of forty camels. And he came and stood before his face and said, “Your son Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to you, saying, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”

ÅB: Så dro Hasael ham i møte og tok en gave med seg av det beste som fantes i Damaskus, så meget som førti kameler kunne bære; og han kom og sto fram for ham og sa: Din sønn Benhadad, kongen i Syria, har sendt meg til deg og lar spørre: Skal jeg komme meg av denne sykdom?
OTB: Så gikk Hasael for å møte ham og tok en gave i sin hånd, av alle gode ting fra Damaskus—førti kamellaster— og han kom og sto foran ham og sa, "Din sønn Ben-Hadad, kongen av Aram, har sendt meg til deg, og sier: 'Vil jeg bli frisk fra denne sykdommen?'"
B1930: Så drog Hasael ham i møte og tok en gave med sig av det beste som fantes i Damaskus, så meget som firti kameler kunde bære; og han kom og stod frem for ham og sa: Din sønn Benhadad, kongen i Syria, har sendt mig til dig og lar spørre: Skal jeg komme mig av denne sykdom?

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

2 Kings 13:14
When Elisha had fallen sick with the illness from which he would die, Jehoash king of Israel came down to him and wept over him, saying, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!”
Read in context
1 Kings 19:15
Then the LORD said to him, “Go back by the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you arrive, you are to anoint Hazael as king over Aram.
Read in context
2 Kings 16:7
So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hands of the kings of Aram and Israel, who are rising up against me.”
Read in context
1 Samuel 25:8
Ask your young men, and they will tell you. So let my young men find favor with you, for we have come on the day of a feast. Please give whatever you can afford to your servants and to your son David.’”
Read in context
2 Kings 5:5
“Go now,” said the king of Aram, “and I will send you with a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman departed, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of clothing.
Read in context
2 Kings 6:21
And when the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”
Read in context
Philemon 1:14
But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your goodness will not be out of compulsion, but by your own free will.
Read in context
2 Kings 5:13
Naaman’s servants, however, approached him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’?”
Read in context