2 Kings 8:11

11 He settled his gaze steadfastly [on him], until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept.

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 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, Shall I recover of this sickness?
10 Elisha said to him, Go, tell him, You shall surely recover; however Yahweh has shown me that he shall surely die.
11 He settled his gaze steadfastly [on him], until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept.
12 Hazael said, Why weeps my lord? He answered, Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel: their strongholds will you set on fire, and their young men will you kill with the sword, and will dash in pieces their little ones, and rip up their women with child.
13 Hazael said, But what is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing? Elisha answered, Yahweh has shown me that you shall be king over Syria.
The World English Bible is in the public domain.