Elisha said to him, “Go, tell him, ‘You will surely recover;’ however Yahweh has shown me that he will surely die.”
Parallel translations
- KJV And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover: howbeit the LORD hath shewed me that he shall surely die.
- BSB Elisha answered, “Go and tell him, ‘You will surely recover.’ But the LORD has shown me that in fact he will die.”
- NKJV And Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You shall certainly recover.’ However the Lord has shown me that he will really die.”
- NASB Then Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You will certainly recover’; but the Lord has shown me that he will certainly die.”
- NLT And Elisha replied, “Go and tell him, ‘You will surely recover.’ But actually the Lord has shown me that he will surely die!”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Elisha tells Hazael to say Benhadad will recover, though the Lord has shown he will surely die. The cryptic reply unmasks coming treachery.
Overview
Elisha's words distinguish between the illness, from which the king might recover, and his certain death by other means. The statement is widely understood to foretell Hazael's coming assassination of his master. Some read it as Elisha exposing Hazael's intent rather than commanding a lie. Either way, it reveals God's foreknowledge of events soon to unfold.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Ezek 11:25Then I spoke to them of the captivity all the things that Yahweh had shown me.
- Amos 7:7Thus he showed me and behold, the Lord stood beside a wall made by a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand.
- 2 Kgs 8:13–15Hazael said, “But what is your servant, who is but a dog, that he could do this great thing?” Elisha answered, “Yahweh has shown me that you will be king over Syria.”
- Amos 7:1Thus the Lord Yahweh showed me: and behold, he formed locusts in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and behold, it was the latter growth after the king’s harvest.
- Amos 8:1Thus the Lord Yahweh showed me: behold, a basket of summer fruit.
- Zech 1:20Yahweh showed me four craftsmen.
- Jer 38:21But if you refuse to go out, this is the word that Yahweh has shown me:
- Gen 2:17but you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”
- 1 Kgs 22:15When he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall we forbear?” He answered him, “Go up and prosper; and Yahweh will deliver it into the hand of the king.”
- Amos 3:7Surely the Lord Yahweh will do nothing, unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets.
- Amos 7:4Thus the Lord Yahweh showed me and behold, the Lord Yahweh called for judgment by fire; and it dried up the great deep, and would have devoured the land.
- 2 Kgs 1:16He said to him, “Yahweh says, ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word? Therefore you will not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but you will surely die.’”
- Gen 41:39Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Because God has shown you all of this, there is no one so discreet and wise as you.
- Ezek 18:13has lent on interest, and has taken increase; shall he then live? He shall not live. He has done all these abominations. He shall surely die. His blood shall be on him.
- 2 Kgs 1:4Now therefore Yahweh says, “You will not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but you will surely die.”’” Then Elijah departed.
- Rev 22:1He showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb,
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Christ at the center
Amid the long decline toward exile, the promise to David's house refuses to die; the flickering lamp kept burning anticipates the coming King who will not fail or be cut off.
How 2 Kings 8:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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