7 And Elisha cometh in to Damascus, and Ben-Hadad king of Aram is sick, and it is declared to him, saying, 'The man of God hath come hither.' 8 And the king saith unto Hazael, 'Take in thy hand a present, and go to meet the man of God, and thou hast sought Jehovah by him, saying, Do I revive from this sickness?' 9 And Hazael goeth to meet him, and taketh a present in his hand, even of every good thing of Damascus, a burden of forty camels, and he cometh in and standeth before him, and saith, 'Thy son Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, hath sent me unto thee, saying, Do I revive from this sickness?' 10 And Elisha saith unto him, 'Go, say, Thou dost certainly not revive, seeing Jehovah hath shewed me that he doth surely die.' 11 And he setteth his face, yea, he setteth 'it' till he is ashamed, and the man of God weepeth. 12 And Hazael saith, 'Wherefore is my lord weeping?' and he saith, 'Because I have known the evil that thou dost to the sons of Israel—their fenced places thou dost send into fire, and their young men with sword thou dost slay, and their sucklings thou dost dash to pieces, and their pregnant women thou dost rip up.' 13 And Hazael saith, 'But what, 'is' thy servant the dog, that he doth this great thing?' And Elisha saith, 'Jehovah hath shewed me thee—king of Aram.' 14 And he goeth from Elisha, and cometh in unto his lord, and he saith unto him, 'What said Elisha to thee?' and he saith, 'He said to me, Thou dost certainly recover.' 15 And it cometh to pass on the morrow, that he taketh the coarse cloth, and dippeth in water, and spreadeth on his face, and he dieth, and Hazael reigneth in his stead.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 2 Kings 8:7-15
Commentary on 2 Kings 8:7-15
(Read 2 Kings 8:7-15)
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 restraints of natural conscience, to express great abhorrence of a sin, yet afterwards to be reconciled to it. Those that are little and low in the world, cannot imagine how strong the temptations of power and prosperity are, which, if ever they arrive at, they will find how deceitful their hearts are, how much worse than they suspected. The devil ruins men, by saying they shall certainly recover and do well, so rocking them asleep in security. Hazael's false account was an injury to the king, who lost the benefit of the prophet's warning to prepare for death, and an injury to Elisha, who would be counted a false prophet. It is not certain that Hazael murdered his master, or if he caused his death it may have been without any design. But he was a dissembler, and afterwards proved a persecutor to Israel.