2 Kings 8:8

THE MESSAGE

The king ordered Hazael, "Take a gift with you and go meet the Holy Man. Ask God through him, ‘Am I going to recover from this sickness?'"

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
So the king said to Hazael, “Take a gift with you and go meet the man of God. Inquire of the Lord through him, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”

Hebrew Names Version
The king said to Haza'el, Take a present in your hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying, Shall I recover of this sickness?

King James Version
And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thine hand, and go, meet the man of God, and enquire of the Lord by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?

English Standard Version
the king said to Hazael, "Take a present with you and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the Lord through him, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this sickness?'"

New Century Version
The king said to Hazael, "Take a gift in your hand and go meet him. Ask the Lord through him if I will recover from my sickness."

New English Translation
So the king told Hazael, "Take a gift and go visit the prophet. Request from him an oracle from the Lord . Ask him, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?'"

Amplified Bible
And the king said to Hazael, "Take a gift with you and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying, 'Will I recover from this illness?'"

New American Standard Bible
And the king said to Hazael, "Take a gift in your hand and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying, 'Will I recover from this sickness?'"

Geneva Bible (1587)
And the king sayd vnto Hazael, Take a present in thine hande, and goe meete the man of God, that thou mayest inquire of ye Lord by him, saying, Shall I recouer of this disease?

Legacy Standard Bible
And the king said to Hazael, "Take a present in your hand and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of Yahweh by him, saying, ‘Will I be restored to life from this sickness?'"

Contemporary English Version
he said to Hazael, "Go meet with Elisha the man of God and have him ask the Lord if I will get well. And take along a gift for him."

Complete Jewish Bible
The king said to Haza'el, "Take with you a gift, go meet the man of God and consult Adonai through him; ask if I will recover from this illness."

Darby Translation
And the king said to Hazael, Take a present in thy hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of Jehovah by him, saying, Shall I recover from this disease?

Easy-to-Read Version
Then the King Ben-Hadad said to Hazael, "Take a gift and go meet the man of God. Ask him to ask the Lord if I will get well from my sickness."

George Lamsa Translation
And the king said to Hazael, Take a present with you and go to meet the prophet of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?

Good News Translation
he said to Hazael, one of his officials, "Take a gift to the prophet and ask him to consult the Lord to find out whether or not I am going to get well."

Lexham English Bible
Then the king said to Hazael, "Take a gift in your hand and go meet the man of God. Inquire of Yahweh from him, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this illness?'"

Literal Translation
And the king said to Hazael, Take a present in your hand and go to meet the man of God. And you shall seek Jehovah by him, saying, Shall I revive from this sickness?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then sayde the kynge vnto Hasael: Take giftes with the, & go mete the man of God, and axe councell at ye LORDE by him, and saye: Maye I recouer from this sicknesse?

American Standard Version
And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thy hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of Jehovah by him, saying, Shall I recover of this sickness?

Bible in Basic English
Then the king said to Hazael, Take an offering with you, and go to see the man of God and get directions from the Lord by him, saying, Am I going to get better from my disease?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the king sayd vnto Hazael: Take a present in thyne hande, and go meete the man of God, that thou mayest inquire of the Lord by him, saying: Shal I recouer of this disease?

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the king said unto Hazael: 'Take a present in thy hand, and go meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying: Shall I recover of this sickness?'

King James Version (1611)
And the king said vnto Hazael, Take a present in thine hand, and goe meete the man of God, and enquire of the Lord by him, saying, Shall I recouer of this disease?

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the king said to Azael, Take in thine hand a present, and go to meet the man of God, and enquire of the Lord by him, saying, Shall I recover of this my disease?

English Revised Version
And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thine hand, and go meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying, Shall I recover of this sickness?

Berean Standard Bible
So the king said to Hazael, "Take a gift in your hand, go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD through him, 'Will I recover from this illness?'"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the kyng seide to Azael, Take with thee yiftis, and go thou in to the meetyng of the man of God, and `counsele thou bi hym the Lord, and seie thou, Whether Y may ascape fro this `sikenesse of me?

Young's Literal Translation
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?'

Update Bible Version
And the king said to Hazael, Take a present in your hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of Yahweh by him, saying, Shall I recover of this sickness?

Webster's Bible Translation
And the king said to Hazael, Take a present in thy hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?

World English Bible
The king said to Hazael, Take a present in your hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of Yahweh by him, saying, Shall I recover of this sickness?

New King James Version
And the king said to Hazael, "Take a present in your hand, and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying, "Shall I recover from this disease?"'

New Living Translation
the king said to Hazael, "Take a gift to the man of God. Then tell him to ask the Lord , ‘Will I recover from this illness?'"

New Life Bible
The king said to Hazael, "Take a gift and go meet the man of God. Ask the Lord through him, saying, ‘Will I get better from this sickness?'"

New Revised Standard
the king said to Hazael, "Take a present with you and go to meet the man of God. Inquire of the Lord through him, whether I shall recover from this illness."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
So the king said unto Hazael - Take in thy hand a present, and go to meet the man of God, - so shalt thou enquire of Yahweh, from him, saying, Shall I recover from this sickness?

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the king said to Hazael: Take with thee presents, and go to meet the man of God, and consult the Lord by him, saying: Can I recover of this my illness?

Revised Standard Version
the king said to Haz'ael, "Take a present with you and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD through him, saying, 'Shall I recover from this sickness?'"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
The king said to Hazael, "Take a gift in your hand and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying, 'Will I recover from this sickness?'"

Contextual Overview

⁷ Elisha traveled to Damascus. Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, was sick at the time. He was told, "The Holy Man is in town." ⁸ The king ordered Hazael, "Take a gift with you and go meet the Holy Man. Ask God through him, ‘Am I going to recover from this sickness?'" ⁹ Hazael went and met with Elisha. He brought with him every choice thing he could think of from Damascus—forty camel-loads of items! When he arrived he stood before Elisha and said, "Your son Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, sent me here to ask you, ‘Am I going to recover from this sickness?'" ¹⁰Elisha answered, "Go and tell him, ‘Don't worry; you'll live.' The fact is, though— God showed me—that he's doomed to die." Elisha then stared hard at Hazael, reading his heart. Hazael felt exposed and dropped his eyes. Then the Holy Man wept. ¹² Hazael said, "Why does my master weep?" "Because," said Elisha, "I know what you're going to do to the children of Israel: burn down their forts, murder their youth, smash their babies, rip open their pregnant women." ¹³ Hazael said, "Am I a mongrel dog that I'd do such a horrible thing?" " God showed me," said Elisha, "that you'll be king of Aram." ¹⁴ Hazael left Elisha and returned to his master, who asked, "So, what did Elisha tell you?" "He told me, ‘Don't worry; you'll live.'" ¹⁵ But the very next day, someone took a heavy quilt, soaked it in water, covered the king's face, and suffocated him. Now Hazael was king.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Hazael: 1 Kings 19:15

Take: 2 Kings 5:5, 1 Samuel 9:7, 1 Kings 14:3

inquire: 2 Kings 1:2, 2 Kings 1:6, 2 Kings 3:11-13, 1 Kings 14:1-4, Luke 13:23, Acts 16:30

Reciprocal: Genesis 43:11 - carry down Judges 17:10 - a father Judges 18:19 - a father Ezekiel 14:7 - and cometh

Cross-References

Genesis 8:10
He waited seven more days and sent out the dove again. It came back in the evening with a freshly picked olive leaf in its beak. Noah knew that the flood was about finished.

Genesis 8:12
He waited another seven days and sent the dove out a third time. This time it didn't come back.

Song of Solomon 1:15

The Man

Oh, my dear friend! You're so beautiful! And your eyes so beautiful—like doves!

Song of Solomon 2:14
class="poetry"> I'm just a wildflower picked from the plains of Sharon, a lotus blossom from the valley pools.

The Man

A lotus blossoming in a swamp of weeds— that's my dear friend among the girls in the village.

The Woman

As an apricot tree stands out in the forest, my lover stands above the young men in town. All I want is to sit in his shade, to taste and savor his delicious love. He took me home with him for a festive meal, but his eyes feasted on me! Oh! Give me something refreshing to eat—and quickly! Apricots, raisins—anything. I'm about to faint with love! His left hand cradles my head, and his right arm encircles my waist! Oh, let me warn you, sisters in Jerusalem, by the gazelles, yes, by all the wild deer: Don't excite love, don't stir it up, until the time is ripe—and you're ready. Look! Listen! There's my lover! Do you see him coming? Vaulting the mountains, leaping the hills. My lover is like a gazelle, graceful; like a young stag, virile. Look at him there, on tiptoe at the gate, all ears, all eyes—ready! My lover has arrived and he's speaking to me!

The Man

Get up, my dear friend, fair and beautiful lover—come to me! Look around you: Winter is over; the winter rains are over, gone! Spring flowers are in blossom all over. The whole world's a choir—and singing! Spring warblers are filling the forest with sweet arpeggios. Lilacs are exuberantly purple and perfumed, and cherry trees fragrant with blossoms. Oh, get up, dear friend, my fair and beautiful lover—come to me! Come, my shy and modest dove— leave your seclusion, come out in the open. Let me see your face, let me hear your voice. For your voice is soothing and your face is ravishing.

Matthew 10:16
"Stay alert. This is hazardous work I'm assigning you. You're going to be like sheep running through a wolf pack, so don't call attention to yourselves. Be as cunning as a snake, inoffensive as a dove.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the king said to Hazael,.... The captain general of his army:

take a present in thine hand, and go and meet the man of God, who, perhaps, was not as yet come into the city, only into the region of Damascus: or rather "with thee"; so the Vulgate Latin and Arabic versions; and which Noldius f approves of, since a burden of forty camels, 2 Kings 8:9 could not be carried in the hand:

and inquire of the Lord by him, saying, shall I recover of this disease? he did not desire him to pray the Lord that he might recover, only was curious to know whether he should or not, see 2 Kings 1:2.

f Ebr. Concord. Part. p. 189. No. 362.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Hazael was no doubt a high officer of the court. The names of Hazael and Benhadad occur in the Assyrian inscription on the Black Obelisk now in the British Museum. Both are mentioned as kings of Damascus, who contended with a certain Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, and suffered defeat at his hands. In one of the battles between this king and Benhadad, “Allah of Jezreel” is mentioned among the allies of the latter. This same Shalmaneser took tribute from Jehu. This is the point at which the Assyrian records first come in direct contact with those of the Jews.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Kings 8:8. Take a present in thine hand — But what an immense present was this - forty camels' burden of every good thing of Damascus! The prophet would need to have a very large establishment at Damascus to dispose of so much property.