9. Hazael went to meet Elisha. He took with him a present and all kinds of goods from Damascus. He had loaded the goods on 40 camels. He stood in front of Elisha and said, “Your humble servant King Benhadad of Aram has sent me to you. He asks whether he will recover from this illness.”
10. Elisha replied, “Tell him that he will get better, although the Lord has shown me that he is actually going to die.”
11. He stared at him until he became embarrassed. Then the man of God began to cry.
12. “Sir, why are you crying?” Hazael asked.Elisha answered, “I know the evil you will do to the Israelites: You will set their fortresses on fire, kill their best young men, smash their little children, and rip open their pregnant women.”
13. But Hazael asked, “How can a dog like me do such a significant thing?”Elisha answered, “The Lord has shown me that you will become king of Aram.”
14. Hazael left Elisha and went to his master Benhadad, who asked him what Elisha had said.Hazael answered, “He told me that you will get better.”
15. But the next day Hazael took a blanket, soaked it in water, and smothered the king with it. Hazael ruled as king in his place.
16. Joram (Ahab’s son) was in his fifth year as king of Israel when Jehoram, son of King Jehoshaphat of Judah, began to rule. Jehoram ruled while Jehoshaphat was still king of Judah.
17. He was 32 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for 8 years in Jerusalem.
18. He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, as Ahab’s family had done, because his wife was Ahab’s daughter. So he did what the Lord considered evil.
19. But for David’s sake the Lord didn’t want to destroy Judah. The Lord had told David that he would always give him and his descendants a ⌊shining⌋ lamp.