2 Kings 8:12

12 And Hazael said, "Why does my lord weep?" He answered, "Because I know ¹the evil that you will do to the people of Israel. You will set on fire their fortresses, and you will kill their young men with the sword ²and dash in pieces their little ones and rip open their pregnant women."

2 Kings 8:12 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 8:12

And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord?
&c.] Imagining it was for the death of Benhadad he had predicted, for which he could see no reason; of the title, "my lord", see ( 1 Kings 18:7 )

and he answered, because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the
children of Israel;
which he foresaw by a spirit of prophecy; and Israel being his own people, he sympathized in their calamities before they came:

their strong holds wilt thou set on fire;
which should be taken by him, see ( 2 Kings 10:32 )

and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword;
in battle:

and wilt dash their children;
against rocks and stones, or stone walls, or upon the ground, floor, or pavement, as was usual in war ^F7, see ( Psalms 137:9 ) ,

and rip up their women with child:
which was the height of barbarity and cruelty. Ben Gersom and Ben Melech interpret this of breaking down the walls of fortified cities, built strong, like hills and mountains; but this is supposed in the first clause.

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FOOTNOTES:

F7 Vid. Homer. Iliad. 22. ver. 63, 64.

2 Kings 8:12 In-Context

10 And Elisha said to him, "Go, say to him, 'You shall certainly recover,' but the LORD has shown me that he shall certainly die."

11 And he fixed his gaze and stared at him, until he was embarrassed. And the man of God wept.

12 And Hazael said, "Why does my lord weep?" He answered, "Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel. You will set on fire their fortresses, and you will kill their young men with the sword and dash in pieces their little ones and rip open their pregnant women."

13 And Hazael said, "What is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?" Elisha answered, "The LORD has shown me that you are to be king over Syria."

14 Then he departed from Elisha and came to his master, who said to him, "What did Elisha say to you?" And he answered, "He told me that you would certainly recover."

Cross References

• 1. 2 Kings 10:32; 2 Kings 12:17; 2 Kings 13:3, 7, 22; Amos 1:3, 4
• 2. Isaiah 13:16; Hosea 13:16; Nahum 3:10; [Psalms 137:9; Hosea 10:14]