⁷Then Elisha came to Damascus while Ben-hadad king of Aram was sick, and the king was told, “The man of God has come here.” ⁸So 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?’” 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.” ¹¹Elisha fixed his gaze steadily on him until Hazael became uncomfortable. Then the man of God began to weep. ¹²“Why is my lord weeping?” asked Hazael. ¹³“But how could your servant, a mere dog, do such a monstrous thing?” said Hazael. ¹⁴So Hazael left Elisha and went to his master, who asked him, “What did Elisha say to you?” ¹⁵And he replied, “He told me that you would surely recover.” But the next day Hazael took a thick cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it over the king’s face.