So I will send fire to destroy the palace of King Hazael. It will burn up the forts of his son Ben- Hadad.

我却要降火在哈薛的家中，烧灭便哈达的宫殿。

我要降火在哈薛的王宫，吞灭便‧哈达的宫殿；

我要降火在哈薛的王宫，吞灭便‧哈达的宫殿；

所以我要降火在哈薛王家，烧毁便·哈达王的城堡。

我必降火在哈薛的王宫，烧毁便．哈达的堡垒。

我卻要降火在哈薛的家中，燒滅便‧哈達的宮殿。

我要降火在哈薛的王宮，吞滅便‧哈達的宮殿；

我要降火在哈薛的王宮，吞滅便‧哈達的宮殿；

所以我要降火在哈薛王家，燒毀便·哈達王的城堡。

我必降火在哈薛的王宮，燒毀便．哈達的堡壘。

我必降火於哈薛家，燒燬便哈達的宮堡。

我必使火入於哈薛家、燬便哈達之宮室、

火焚哈泄家、燬便哈達之宮殿。

必使火焚哈薛家、燬便哈達宮殿、

I will send fire on the house of Hazael that will consume the fortresses of Ben-Hadad.

So I will send a fire upon the house of Hazael, and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.

So I will send down fire on King Hazael’s palace, and the fortresses of King Ben hadad will be destroyed.

Therefore, I will send fire against Hazael’s palace, and it will consume Ben-hadad’s citadels.

So I will send fire upon the house of Hazael, And it will consume the citadels of Ben hadad.

But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, Which shall devour the palaces of Ben-Hadad.

But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, and it shall devour the palaces of Ben- hadad.

Therefore, I will send fire against Hazael’s palace, and it will consume Ben-hadad’s citadels.

But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Benhadad.

So I will set Hazael’s house on fire; fire will consume Ben Hadad’s fortresses.

but I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, and it will devour the palaces of Ben Hadad.

“ I will set the walls of Damascus on fire. It will burn down the strong towers of King Ben- Hadad.”

Then Jehoash won back some towns from Ben- Hadad, the son of Hazael. Ben- Hadad had captured them in battle from Jehoahaz, the father of Jehoash. Jehoash won three battles over Ben- Hadad. So Jehoash won back the Israelite towns.

Elisha went to Damascus. Ben- Hadad was sick. He was king of Aram. The king was told,“ The man of God has come all the way up here.”Then the king said to Hazael,“ Take a gift with you. Go and see the man of God. Ask him for the Lord’ s advice. Ask him whether I will get well again.”Hazael went to see Elisha. Hazael took 40 camels with him as a gift. The camels were loaded with all the finest goods of Damascus. Hazael went into Elisha’s house and stood in front of him. Hazael said,“ Ben- Hadad has sent me. He is the king of Aram. He asks,‘ Will I get well again?’ ”Elisha answered,“ Go and tell him,‘ Yes. You will get well again.’ But the Lord has shown me that he will in fact die.”Elisha stared at him without looking away. He did it until Hazael felt uncomfortable. Then the man of God began to weep.“ Why are you weeping?” asked Hazael.“ Because I know how much harm you will do to the people of Israel,” Elisha answered.“ You will set fire to their cities that have high walls around them. You will kill their young men with your swords. You will smash their little children on the ground. You will rip open their pregnant women.”Hazael said,“ How could I possibly do a thing like that? I’m nothing but a dog. I don’t have that kind of power.”“ You will become king of Aram,” Elisha answered.“ That’s what the Lord has shown me.”Then Hazael left Elisha and returned to his master. Ben- Hadad asked,“ What did Elisha say to you?” Hazael replied,“ He told me you would get well again.”But the next day Hazael got a thick cloth. He soaked it in water. He spread it over the king’s face. He held it there until the king died. Then Hazael became the next king after him.

But what if you do not obey me? Suppose you do not keep the Sabbath day holy. And suppose you carry a load through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. Then I will start a fire that can’t be put out. It will begin at the gates of Jerusalem. It will destroy its mighty towers.” ’ ”

So the Lord was very angry with Israel. For a long time he kept them under the power of Hazael, the king of Aram. The Lord also kept them under the power of his son Ben- Hadad.

Some time later, Ben- Hadad gathered his entire army together. Ben- Hadad was the king of Aram. His army marched up and surrounded Samaria. Then they attacked it.

So I will send fire to destroy the walls of Gaza. It will burn up its forts.

“ I will send fire on the land of Magog. It will burn up the people who live in safety on the coast. So they will know that I am the Lord.

Asa took the silver and gold from among the treasures of the Lord’ s temple and his own palace. He sent it to Ben- Hadad. Ben- Hadad was king of Aram. He was ruling in Damascus.

So I will set fire to destroy the walls of Rabbah. It will burn up its forts. War cries will be heard on that day of battle. Strong winds will blow on that stormy day.

The Lord said to him,“ Go back the way you came. Go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael as king over Aram.

So I will send fire to destroy the city of Teman. It will burn up Bozrah’s forts.”

God also made the people of Shechem pay for all the evil things they had done. The curse of Jotham came down on them. He was the son of Jerub- Baal.

Ben- Hadad brought his whole army together. He was king of Aram. He went up to Samaria. He took 32 kings and their horses and chariots with him. All of them surrounded Samaria and attacked it.Ben- Hadad sent messengers into the city. They spoke to Ahab, the king of Israel. They told him,“ Ben- Hadad says,‘ Your silver and gold belong to me. The best of your wives and children also belong to me.’ ”The king of Israel replied,“ What you say is true. You are my king and master. I belong to you. And everything I have belongs to you.”The messengers came again. They told Ahab,“ Ben- Hadad says,‘ I commanded you to give me your silver and gold. I also commanded you to give me your wives and children.But now I’m going to send my officials to you. They will come about this time tomorrow. They’ll search your palace. They’ll search the houses of your officials. They’ll take everything you value. And they’ll carry it all away.’ ”The king of Israel sent for all the elders of the land. He said to them,“ This man is really looking for trouble! He sent for my wives and children. He sent for my silver and gold. And I agreed to give them to him.”All the elders and people answered,“ Don’t listen to him. Don’t agree to give him what he wants.”So Ahab replied to Ben- Hadad’s messengers. He said,“ Tell my king and master,‘ I will do everything you commanded me to do the first time. But this time, I can’t do what you want me to do.’ ” They took Ahab’s answer back to Ben- Hadad.Then Ben- Hadad sent another message to Ahab. Ben- Hadad said,“ There won’t be enough dust left in Samaria to give each of my followers even a handful. If there is, may the gods punish me greatly.”The king of Israel replied. He said,“ Tell him,‘ Someone who puts his armor on shouldn’t brag like someone who takes it off.’ ”Ben- Hadad and the kings were in their tents drinking. That’s when he heard the message. He ordered his men,“ Get ready to attack.” So they prepared to attack the city.During that time a prophet came to Ahab, the king of Israel. He announced,“ The Lord says,‘ Do you see this huge army? I will hand it over to you today. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’ ”“ But who will do it?” Ahab asked. The prophet answered,“ The Lord says,‘ The junior officers who are under the area commanders will do it.’ ”“ And who will start the battle?” Ahab asked. The prophet answered,“ You will.”So Ahab sent for the junior officers who were under the area commanders. The total number of officers was 232. Ahab gathered together the rest of the Israelites. The total number of them was 7,000.They started out at noon. At that time Ben- Hadad and the 32 kings helping him were in their tents. They were getting drunk.The junior officers who were under Ahab’s area commanders marched out first. Ben- Hadad had sent out scouts. They came back and reported,“ Men are marching against us from Samaria.”Ben- Hadad said,“ They might be coming to make peace. If they are, take them alive. Or they might be coming to make war. If they are, take them alive.”The junior officers marched out of the city. The army was right behind them.Each man struck down the one fighting against him. When that happened, the army of Aram ran away. The Israelites chased them. But Ben- Hadad, the king of Aram, escaped on a horse. Some of his horsemen escaped with him.The king of Israel attacked them. He overpowered the horses and chariots. Large numbers of the men of Aram were wounded or killed.After that, the prophet came to the king of Israel again. The prophet said,“ Make your position stronger. Do what needs to be done. Next spring the king of Aram will attack you again.”

So I will send fire to destroy the walls of Tyre. It will burn up its forts.”

So I will send fire to destroy Judah. It will burn up Jerusalem’s forts.”

So I will send fire to destroy Moab. It will burn up Kerioth’s forts. Moab will come crashing down with a loud noise. War cries will be heard. So will the blast of trumpets.

I will set Egypt on fire. All those who came to help it will be crushed. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

Israel has forgotten the God who made them. They have built palaces for themselves. Judah has built forts in many towns. But I will send down fire on their cities. It will burn up their forts.”

Have you citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo acted in an honest way toward Jerub- Baal? Have you done the right thing to his family today? If you have, may you be happy with Abimelek! And may he be happy with you!But if you haven’t, let fire come out from Abimelek and burn you up! And let fire come out from you and burn Abimelek up!”