And he settled his countenance stedfastly, until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept.
Parallel translations
- WEB He settled his gaze steadfastly on him, until he was ashamed. Then the man of God wept.
- BSB Elisha fixed his gaze steadily on him until Hazael became uncomfortable. Then the man of God began to weep.
- 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 19:41And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,
- Rom 9:2That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.
- Jer 4:19My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
- Jer 9:18And let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters.
- Ps 119:136Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.
- John 11:35Jesus wept.
- Jer 9:1Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
- Acts 20:31Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.
- Jer 14:17Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow.
- Jer 13:17But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the LORD’s flock is carried away captive.
- Gen 45:2And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.
- 2 Kgs 2:17And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not.
- Phil 3:18(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
- Acts 20:19Serving the LORD with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait 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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