2 Kings 8:11-13
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
11 Then he stared him down until he became ill at ease. The man of God wept, 12 and Hazael asked, “Why are you weeping, my lord?” Elisha replied, “Because I know the evil that you will inflict upon the Israelites. You will burn their fortresses, you will slay their youth with the sword, you will dash their little children to pieces, you will rip open their pregnant women.”(A) 13 Hazael exclaimed, “How can your servant, a dog[a] like me, do anything so important?” Elisha replied, “The Lord has showed you to me as king over Aram.”
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- 8:13 To call oneself a “dog” is to admit one’s insignificance (1 Sm 24:15; 2 Sm 9:8); it is not necessarily a term of contempt, as in English. Hazael focuses on the question of his power, making no comment on the atrocities Elisha predicts he will commit.
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