John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 8. And the king said to Hazael , etc.] 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 approves of, since a burden of forty camels, ( 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).
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 7-15 - Among other changes of men's minds by affliction, it often gives othe thoughts of God's ministers, and teaches to value the counsels an 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 mor foresight men have, the more grief they are liable to. It is possibl for a man, under the convictions and restraints of natural conscience to express great abhorrence of a sin, yet afterwards to be reconcile to it. Those that are little and low in the world, cannot imagine ho strong the temptations of power and prosperity are, which, if ever the arrive at, they will find how deceitful their hearts are, how muc worse than they suspected. The devil ruins men, by saying they shal certainly recover and do well, so rocking them asleep in security Hazael's false account was an injury to the king, who lost the benefi 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 Hazae murdered his master, or if he caused his death it may have been withou any design. But he was a dissembler, and afterwards proved a persecuto to Israel.
Original Hebrew ויאמר559 המלך4428 אל413 חזהאל2371 קח3947 בידך3027 מנחה4503 ולך1980 לקראת7125 אישׁ376 האלהים430 ודרשׁת1875 את854 יהוה3069 מאותו853 לאמר559 האחיה2421 מחלי2483 זה׃2088
