Elisha fixed his gaze steadily on him until Hazael became uncomfortable. Then the man of God began to weep.
Parallel translations
- WEB He settled his gaze steadfastly on him, until he was ashamed. Then the man of God wept.
- KJV And he settled his countenance stedfastly, until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept.
- NKJV Then he set his countenance in a stare until he was ashamed; and the man of God wept.
- NASB And he stared steadily at him until Hazael was embarrassed, and then the man of God wept.
- NLT Elisha stared at Hazael with a fixed gaze until Hazael became uneasy. Then the man of God started weeping.
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 stares at Hazael until he is ashamed, then the prophet weeps. His tears anticipate the evil Hazael will bring.
Overview
The prophet's fixed, sorrowful gaze unsettles Hazael, and Elisha breaks into weeping. His grief springs from foreknowledge of the suffering Hazael will inflict on Israel. The scene reveals a prophet who mourns the judgments he must announce. It displays compassion even amid the sober delivery of God's revelation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Luke 19:41As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it
- Rom 9:2I have deep sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.
- Jer 4:19My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh, the pain in my chest! My heart pounds within me; I cannot be silent. For I have heard the sound of the horn, the alarm of battle.
- Jer 9:18Let them come quickly and take up a lament over us, that our eyes may overflow with tears, and our eyelids may gush with water.
- Ps 119:136My eyes shed streams of tears because Your law is not obeyed.
- John 11:35Jesus wept.
- Jer 9:1Oh, that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night over the slain daughter of my people.
- Acts 20:31Therefore be alert and remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
- Jer 14:17You are to speak this word to them: ‘My eyes overflow with tears; day and night they do not cease, for the virgin daughter of my people has been shattered by a crushing blow, a severely grievous wound.
- Jer 13:17But if you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride. My eyes will overflow with tears, because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.
- Gen 45:2But he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household soon heard of it.
- 2 Kgs 2:17But when they pressed him to the point of embarrassment, he said, “Send them.” And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find Elijah.
- Phil 3:18For as I have often told you before, and now say again even with tears: Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.
- Acts 20:19I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, especially in the trials that came upon me through the plots of the Jews.
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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 8:11 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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