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.