2 Kings 8:11
in 2 Kings 8Elisha fixed his gaze steadily on him until Hazael became uncomfortable. Then the man of God began to weep.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he settled his countenance stedfastly upon him, until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept.
KJV
And he settled his countenance stedfastly, until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept.
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This verse in 2 Kings 8
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
That is, “And he (Elisha) settled his conntenance, and set it (toward Hazael), until he (Hazael) was ashamed.” Elisha fixed on Hazael a long and meaning look, until the latter’s eyes fell before his, and his cheek flushed. Elisha, it would seem, had detected the guilty thought that was in Hazael’s heart, and Hazael perceived that he had detected it. Hence the “shame.”
This site's exposition
until he was ashamed
on 2 Kings 8:11-13
Elisha stares at Hazael until Hazael is ashamed, and then the man of God weeps, seeing what Hazael does not yet see in himself: strongholds set on fire, young men put to the sword, children dashed, women with child ripped up. Hazael's protest, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing, is not innocence but the honest horror of a man who does not yet know what a throne will make of him. Elisha does not soften the vision; he answers it with the fact behind it, the Lord hath shewed me that thou shalt be king over Syria, the very crown Hazael will use for exactly what he was just told.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Go, say to him, 'You shall certainly recover;' but the Lord has shown me that he shall certainly die." These were the words of Elisha to the king, who asked him, "Will I live after this illness?" But it seems that they do not agree …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The man of God could outface the man of war. It was not in Hazael's countenance that Elisha read what he would do, but God did, at this time, reveal it to him, and it fetched tears from his eyes. The more foresight men have the more grief they are liable to.
He settled - The prophet fixed his eyes upon Hazael. Until - 'Till Hazael was ashamed, as apprehending the prophet discerned something of an evil and shameful nature in him.
And he settled his countenance steadfastly,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
he settled his countenance stedfastly until he was ashamed--that is, Hazael. The steadfast, penetrating look of the prophet seemed to have convinced Hazael that his secret designs were known. The deep emotions of Elisha were justified by the horrible atrocities which, too common in ancient warfare, that successful usurper committed in Israel (2Ki 10:32;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
He settled his countenance steadfastly - Of whom does the author speak? Of Hazael, or of Elisha? Several apply this action to the prophet: he had a murderer before him and he saw the bloody acts he was about to commit, and was greatly distressed; but he endeavored to conceal his feelings: at last his face reddened with anguish, his feelings overcame him, and he burst out and wept. The Septuagint, as it stands in the Complutensian and Antwerp Polyglots, makes the text very plain: Και ἑστη Αζαηλ κατα πρωσοπον αυτου, και παρεθηκεν ενωπιον αυτου δωρα, ἑως ῃσχυνετο· και εκλαυσεν ὁ ανθρωπος του Θεου, And Hazael stood before his face, and he presented before him gifts till he was ashamed; and the man of God wept. The Codex Vaticanus, and the Codex Alexandrinus, are nearly as the Hebrew. The Aldine edition agrees in some respects with the Complutensian; but all the versions follow the Hebrew.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
He [Elisha] kept his face emotionless. [He held in] his expression of grief, for he wanted to cry; he held it in, so that he would not cry in front of Chazoeil. He made a concentrated effort to stand and control himself.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
‘You will surely live.’ Pertaining to Chazoeil he said that he would live instead of Ben-Hadad [and occupy] the throne.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּעֲמֵ֥ד | vaiyaamed | and he set | H5975 → | 521 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| פָּנָ֖יו | panav | face his | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| וַיָּ֣שֶׂם | vaiyasem | and he set | H7760 → | 584 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| בֹּ֑שׁ | bosh | was ashamed | H954 → | 127 times |
| וַיֵּ֖בְךְּ | vaiyevek | and he wept | H1058 → | 114 times |
| אִ֥ישׁ | ʾish | [the] man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃ | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
וַיַּעֲמֵ֥דand he set
vaiyaamedH5975 →521 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
פָּנָ֖יוface his
panavH6440 →2123 times
וַיָּ֣שֶׂםand he set
vaiyasemH7760 →584 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
בֹּ֑שׁwas ashamed
boshH954 →127 times
וַיֵּ֖בְךְּand he wept
vaiyevekH1058 →114 times
אִ֥ישׁ[the] man of
ʾishH376 →1663 times
הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 119:136My eyes shed streams of tears because Your law is not obeyed.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 9:1
Oh, 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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 14:17
You 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,…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 9:4
“Go throughout the city of Jerusalem,” said the LORD, “and put a mark on the foreheads of the men sighing and groaning over all the abominations committed there.”
- Jeremiah 9:1
Through
Luke 19:41As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it
it leads to
- Psalms 119:136
My eyes shed streams of tears because Your law is not obeyed.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 13:17
But 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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 13:34–35
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you…
- Psalms 119:136
Through
Jeremiah 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…
it leads to
- Isaiah 22:4
Therefore I said, “Turn away from me, let me weep bitterly! Do not try to console me over the destruction of the daughter of my people.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 22:4
Through
Romans 9:2I have deep sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.
it leads to
- Philippians 3:18
For as I have often told you before, and now say again even with tears: Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.
- Philippians 3:18
About 2 Kings
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonDivided kingdomElishaElijah's successor with the firstborn's double portion; the prophet of the healed spring, the widow's oil, the Shunammite's son, N…
- PersonDivided kingdomHazaelThe Aramean officer over whose face Elisha wept, foreseeing the cruelty of his coming reign; king of Aram and scourge of Israel.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 8:10; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.