2 Kings 8:10

Verse

Elisha answered, “Go and tell him, ‘You will surely recover.’ But the LORD has shown me that in fact he will die.”

American Standard Version (1901)

And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou shalt surely recover; howbeit Jehovah hath showed me that he shall surely die.

Bible in Basic English

And Elisha said to him, Go, say to him, You will certainly get better; but the Lord has made it clear to me that only death is before him.

Douay-Rheims 1899

And Eliseus said to him: Go tell him: Thou shalt recover: bat the Lord hath shewn me that he shall surely die.

Free Bible Version

“Go and tell him, ‘You will definitely recover.’ But the Lord has shown me that definitely he is going to die,” Elisha replied.

Geneva Bible 1599

And Elisha sayd to him, Goe, and say vnto him, Thou shalt recouer: howbeit the Lord hath shewed me, that he shall surely dye.

King James (Authorized) Version

And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover: howbeit the LORD hath shewed me that he shall surely die.

Translation for Translators

Elisha said to Hazael, “Go and say to him, ‘Yes, you will certainly not die from this illness,’ but Yahweh has shown me that he will certainly die before he recovers.”

Unlocked Literal Bible

Elisha said to him, “Go, say to Ben Hadad, 'You will surely recover,' but Yahweh has shown me that he will surely die.”

Noah Webster Bible

And Elisha said to him, Go, say to him, Thou mayest certainly recover: but the LORD hath showed me, that he shall surely die.

World English Bible

Elisha said to him, “Go, tell him, ‘You will surely recover;’ however Yahweh has shown me that he will surely die.”

Young's Literal Translation

And Elisha saith unto him, 'Go, say, Thou dost certainly not revive, seeing Jehovah hath shewed me that he doth surely die.'

Context

Hazael Murders Ben-hadad

⁹So Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him a gift of forty camel loads of every good thing from Damascus. And he went in and stood before him and said, “Your son Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to ask, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’” ¹⁰Elisha answered, “Go and tell him, ‘You will surely recover.’ But the LORD has shown me that in fact he will die.”

Sermons

(Through the Bible) 2 Kings 1-4

Chuck Smith

1.6K

Summary

In this verse, Elisha prophesies to Hazael about his future actions, revealing that he will become king of Aram and bring harm to the Israelites. This prophecy ultimately comes to pass as Hazael ascends to the throne and carries out brutal attacks against God's people. Elisha's foresight demonstrates the divine insight given to prophets, warning of impending danger and consequences of sin. The verse serves as a reminder of God's sovereignty over nations and His use of prophetic voices to communicate His will and purposes.

Commentary

Adam Clarke
Keil-Delitzsch
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill
Tyndale

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Thou mayest certainly recover: howbeit the Lord hath showed me that he shall surely die - That is, God has not determined thy death, nor will it be a necessary consequence of the disease by which thou art now afflicted; but this wicked man will abuse the power and trust thou hast reposed in him, and take away thy life. Even when God has not designed nor appointed the death of a person, he may nevertheless die, though not without the permission of God. This is a farther proof of the doctrine of contingent events: he might live for all his sickness, but thou wilt put an end to his life.

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

According to the Chethb חיה לא, Elisha's answer was, "Thou wilt not live, and (for) Jehovah has shown me that he will die;" according to the Keri חיה לו, "tell him: Thou wilt live, but Jehovah," etc. Most of the commentators follow the ancient versions, and the Masoretes, who reckon our לא among the fifteen passages of the O.T. in which it stands for the pronoun לו (vid., Hilleri Arcan. Keri, p. 62f.), and some of the codices, and decide in favour of the Keri. (1) because the conjecture that לו was altered into לא in order that Elisha might not be made to utter an untruth, is a very natural one; and (2) on account of the extreme rarity with which a negative stands before the inf. abs. with the finite verb following. But there is not much force in either argument. The rarity of the position of לא before the inf. abs. followed by a finite verb, in connection with the omission of the pronoun לו after אמר, might be the very reason why לא was taken as a pronoun; and the confirmation of this opinion might be found in the fact that Hazael brought back this answer to the king: "Thou wilt live" (Kg2 8:14). The reading in the text לא (non) is favoured by the circumstance that it is the more difficult of the two, partly because of the unusual position of the negative, and partly because of the contradiction to Kg2 8:14. But the לא is found in the same position in other passages (Gen 3:4; Psa 49:8, and Amo 9:8), where the emphasis lies upon the negation; and the contradiction to Kg2 8:14 may be explained very simply, from the fact that Hazael did not tell his king the truth, because he wanted to put him to death and usurp the throne. We therefore prefer the reading in the text, since it is not in harmony with the character of the prophets to utter an untruth; and the explanation, "thou wilt not die of thine illness, but come to a violent death," puts into the words a meaning which they do not possess. For even if Benhadad did not die of his illness, he did not recover from it.

2 Kings 8:10

Hazael Murders Ben-hadad

Scripture
Sermons
Commentary

Berean Standard Bible

Elisha answered, “Go and tell him, ‘You will surely recover.’ But the LORD has shown me that in fact he will die.”

American Standard Version (1901)

And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou shalt surely recover; howbeit Jehovah hath showed me that he shall surely die.

Bible in Basic English

And Elisha said to him, Go, say to him, You will certainly get better; but the Lord has made it clear to me that only death is before him.

Douay-Rheims 1899

And Eliseus said to him: Go tell him: Thou shalt recover: bat the Lord hath shewn me that he shall surely die.

Free Bible Version

“Go and tell him, ‘You will definitely recover.’ But the Lord has shown me that definitely he is going to die,” Elisha replied.

Geneva Bible 1599

And Elisha sayd to him, Goe, and say vnto him, Thou shalt recouer: howbeit the Lord hath shewed me, that he shall surely dye.

King James (Authorized) Version

And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover: howbeit the LORD hath shewed me that he shall surely die.

Translation for Translators

Elisha said to Hazael, “Go and say to him, ‘Yes, you will certainly not die from this illness,’ but Yahweh has shown me that he will certainly die before he recovers.”

Unlocked Literal Bible

Elisha said to him, “Go, say to Ben Hadad, 'You will surely recover,' but Yahweh has shown me that he will surely die.”

Noah Webster Bible

And Elisha said to him, Go, say to him, Thou mayest certainly recover: but the LORD hath showed me, that he shall surely die.

World English Bible

Elisha said to him, “Go, tell him, ‘You will surely recover;’ however Yahweh has shown me that he will surely die.”

Young's Literal Translation

And Elisha saith unto him, 'Go, say, Thou dost certainly not revive, seeing Jehovah hath shewed me that he doth surely die.'

Adam Clarke
Keil-Delitzsch
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill
Tyndale

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

2 Kings 8:10

Verse

Context

Hazael Murders Ben-hadad

Sermons

Summary

Commentary

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Tyndale Open Study Notes

2 Kings 8:10

Hazael Murders Ben-hadad

(Through the Bible) 2 Kings 1-4

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Tyndale Open Study Notes