2 Kings 8:11

11 Then the man {fixed his gaze and stared at him} until he was ashamed and the man of God cried.

2 Kings 8:11 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 8:11

And he settled his countenance steadfastly
Refrained himself as much as possible, that he might not weep, as some Jewish writers interpret it; or, as others, he turned his face on one side, and covered it with his hands, that Hazael might not see him weep; or rather he set his face on Hazael, and looked at him so wistly:

until he was ashamed;
that is, Hazael; the prophet looked him out of countenance:

and the man of God wept;
at the thought of what calamities the man before him, he looked on, would be the cause of in Israel, as the following words show.

2 Kings 8:11 In-Context

9 So Hazael went to meet him and took a gift in his hand of all of the good things of Damascus, a load [on each] of forty camels, and he came and stood before him. Then he said, "Your son Ben-Hadad king of Aram has sent me to you, saying, 'Shall I recover from this illness?'"
10 Elisha said to him, "Go; say to him, 'You shall certainly recover,' but Yahweh has shown me that he certainly will die."
11 Then the man {fixed his gaze and stared at him} until he was ashamed and the man of God cried.
12 Then Hazael asked, "Why [is] my lord crying?" He said, "Because I know what evil you will do to the {Israelites}. You will {set their fortifications on fire}, and you will kill their young men with the sword. Their little ones you will dash to pieces, and their pregnant women you will rip open!"
13 Then Hazael said, "But how could your servant, who [is] like a dog, do this great thing?" Elisha said, "Yahweh has shown me [that] you [are to be] king over Aram."

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Literally "caused his face to stand and set it"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.