New Living Translation
2 Kings 8:12
12“What’s the matter, my lord?” Hazael asked him. Elisha replied, “I know the terrible things you will do to the people of Israel. You will burn their fortified cities, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little children to the ground, and rip open their pregnant women!”
2 Kings 8:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child.
- New International Version (NIV)“Why is my lord weeping?” asked Hazael. “Because I know the harm you will do to the Israelites,” he answered. “You will set fire to their fortified places, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little children to the ground, and rip open their pregnant women.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And Hazael said, "Why does my lord weep?" He answered, "Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel. You will set on fire their fortresses, and you will kill their young men with the sword and dash in pieces their little ones and rip open their pregnant women."
- New King James Version (NKJV)And Hazael said, “Why is my lord weeping?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel: Their strongholds you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword; and you will dash their children, and rip open their women with child.”
Context of 2 Kings 8:12
10And Elisha replied, “Go and tell him, ‘You will surely recover.’ But actually the Lord has shown me that he will surely die!” 11Elisha stared at Hazael with a fixed gaze until Hazael became uneasy. Then the man of God started weeping. “What’s the matter, my lord?” Hazael asked him. Elisha replied, “I know the terrible things you will do to the people of Israel. You will burn their fortified cities, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little children to the ground, and rip open their pregnant women!” 13Hazael responded, “How could a nobody like me ever accomplish such great things?” Elisha answered, “The Lord has shown me that you are going to be the king of Aram.” 14When Hazael left Elisha and went back, the king asked him, “What did Elisha tell you?” And Hazael replied, “He told me that you will surely recover.”
Read all of 2 Kings 82 Kings 8:12 word by word
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר חֲזָאֵ֔ל מַדּ֖וּעַ אֲדֹנִ֣י בֹכֶ֑ה וַיֹּ֡אמֶר כִּֽי־יָדַ֡עְתִּי אֵ֣ת אֲשֶׁר־תַּעֲשֶׂה֩ לִבְנֵ֨י יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל רָעָ֗ה מִבְצְרֵיהֶ֞ם תְּשַׁלַּ֤ח בָּאֵשׁ֙ וּבַחֻֽרֵיהֶם֙ בַּחֶ֣רֶב תַּהֲרֹ֔ג וְעֹלְלֵיהֶ֣ם תְּרַטֵּ֔שׁ וְהָרֹתֵיהֶ֖ם תְּבַקֵּֽעַ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And Hazaelחֲזָהאֵלchăzâ'êl chăzâh'êl · HazaelH2371
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Why weepethבָּכָהbâkâh · to weepH1058
- my lordאָדוֹן'âdôn 'âdôn · lordH113
- Because I knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
- the evilרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: evilH7451
- that thou wilt doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- unto the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- their strong holdsמִבְצָרmibtsâr mibtsârâh · fortificationH4013
- wilt thou setשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: burnH7971
- on fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
- and their young menבָּחוּרbâchûr bâchûr · youthH970
- wilt thou slayהָרַגhârag · to killH2026
- with the swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
- and wilt dashרָטַשׁrâţash · to dash in piecesH7376
- their childrenעוֹלֵל‛ôlêl ‛ôlâl · infantH5768
- and rip upבָּקַעbâqa‛ · to break up/openH1234
- their women with childהָרָהhâreh hârîy · pregnantH2030
Cross-references for 2 Kings 8:12
- 2 Kings 4:28Then she said, “Did I ask you for a son, my lord? And didn’t I say, ‘Don’t deceive me and get my hopes up’?”
- 1 Kings 18:13Has no one told you, my lord, about the time when Jezebel was trying to kill the Lord’s prophets? I hid 100 of them in two caves and supplied them with food and water.
- 2 Kings 10:32At about that time the Lord began to cut down the size of Israel’s territory. King Hazael conquered several sections of the country
- 2 Kings 12:17About this time King Hazael of Aram went to war against Gath and captured it. Then he turned to attack Jerusalem.
- 2 Kings 13:3So the Lord was very angry with Israel, and he allowed King Hazael of Aram and his son Ben-hadad to defeat them repeatedly.
- Amos 1:3This is what the Lord says: “The people of Damascus have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! They beat down my people in Gilead as grain is threshed with iron sledges.
- 2 Kings 15:16At that time Menahem destroyed the town of Tappuah and all the surrounding countryside as far as Tirzah, because its citizens refused to surrender the town. He killed the entire population and ripped open the pregnant women.
- Psalms 137:8O Babylon, you will be destroyed. Happy is the one who pays you back for what you have done to us.
- Isaiah 13:16Their little children will be dashed to death before their eyes. Their homes will be sacked, and their wives will be raped.
- Hosea 10:14Now the terrors of war will rise among your people. All your fortifications will fall, just as when Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel. Even mothers and children were dashed to death there.
- Hosea 13:16The people of Samaria must bear the consequences of their guilt because they rebelled against their God. They will be killed by an invading army, their little ones dashed to death against the ground, their pregnant women ripped open by swords.”
- Nahum 3:10Yet Thebes fell, and her people were led away as captives. Her babies were dashed to death against the stones of the streets. Soldiers threw dice to get Egyptian officers as servants. All their leaders were bound in chains.
Commentaries on 2 Kings 8:12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12I know the evil that thou wilt do - We may see something of the accomplishment of this prediction, 2 Kings 10:32, 2 Kings 10:33; 2 Kings 13:3, 2 Kings 13:7.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12The evil that thou wilt do - The intention is not to tax Hazael with special cruelty, but only to enumerate the ordinary horrors of war, as it was conducted among the Oriental nations of the time. Compare the marginal references.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-15Verses 7-15 Among other changes of men's minds by affliction, it often gives other thoughts of God's ministers, and teaches to value the counsels and prayers of those whom they have hated and despised. It was not in Hazael's countenance that Elisha read what he would do, but God revealed it to him, and it fetched tears from his eyes: the more foresight men have, the more grief they are liable to. It is possible for a man, under the convictions and…Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Kings 8:12
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 2 Kings 8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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