And Elisha came to Damascus, and Ben-hadad,
the king of Syria, was sick, and it was told him,
saying, The man of God is come hither. And the
king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thy hand,
and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of
the Lord by him, saying, Shall I recover of this
disease? So Hazael went to meet him, and took
a present with him, even of every good thing of
Damascus, forty camels' burden, and came and stood
before him, and said, Thy son Ben-hadad, king of
Syria, hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover
of this disease? And Elisha said unto him, Go,
say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover: how-
beit, the Lord hath shewn me, that he shall surely
die. And he settled his countenance stedfastly,
until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept.
And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he
answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt
do unto the children of Israel: their strong holds
wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou
slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children,
and rip up their women with child. And Hazael
said, But what, is thy servant a dog that he should
do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The
Lord hath shewn me that thou shalt be king over
Syria. So he departed from Elisha, and came to
his master, who said to him, What said Elisha to
Servants, be obedient to them that are your
Masters according to the flesh, with fear and trem-
bling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;
not with eye service as men-pleasers; but as the
servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the
heart; with good will, doing service, as to the Lord
and not to men; knowing that whatsoever good
thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the
Lord, whether he be bond or free. And ye, Masters,
do the same things unto them, forbearing threaten-
ing, knowing that your master also is in Heaven,
neither is there respect of persons with him.
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