<p class="bodytext">At that time King Hazael of Syria attacked<n id="1" /> Gath and captured it. Hazael then decided to attack Jerusalem.<n id="2" />

The <sc>Lordsc> was furious with<n id="1" /> Israel and handed them over to<n id="2" /> King Hazael of Syria and to Hazael&#8217;s son Ben Hadad for many years.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">So I will set Hazael&#8217;s house<n id="1" /> on fire;p> <p class="poetry">fire<n id="2" /> will consume Ben Hadad&#8217;s<n id="3" /> fortresses.p>

Jehu will kill anyone who escapes Hazael&#8217;s sword, and Elisha will kill anyone who escapes Jehu&#8217;s sword.

<p class="bodytext">In those days the <sc>Lordsc> began to reduce the size of Israel&#8217;s territory.<n id="1" /> Hazael attacked their eastern border.<n id="2" />

When King Hazael of Syria died, his son Ben Hadad replaced him as king.

The <sc>Lordsc> said to him, &#8220;Go back the way you came and then head for the Desert of Damascus. Go and anoint Hazael king over Syria.

So Hazael went to visit Elisha.<n id="1" /> He took along a gift,<n id="2" /> as well as<n id="3" /> forty camel loads of all the fine things of Damascus. When he arrived, he stood before him and said, &#8220;Your son,<n id="4" /> King Ben Hadad of Syria, has sent me to you with this question,<n id="5" /> &#8216;Will I recover from this sickness?&#8217;&#8221;

Hazael asked, &#8220;Why are you crying, my master?&#8221; He replied, &#8220;Because I know the trouble you will cause the Israelites. You will set fire to their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword, smash their children to bits, and rip open their pregnant women.&#8221;

Then Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi conspired against Joram.p><t /><p class="bodytext">Now Joram had been in Ramoth Gilead with the whole Israelite army,<n id="1" /> guarding against an invasion by King Hazael of Syria.

But King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he received from the Syrians<n id="1" /> when he fought against King Hazael of Syria.<n id="2" /> Jehu told his supporters,<n id="3" /> &#8220;If you really want me to be king,<n id="4" /> then don&#8217;t let anyone escape from the city to go and warn Jezreel.&#8221;

Jehoahaz&#8217;s son Jehoash took back from<n id="1" /> Ben Hadad son of Hazael the cities that he had taken from his father Jehoahaz in war. Joash defeated him three times and recovered the Israelite cities.p>

He followed their advice and joined Ahab&#8217;s son King Joram<n id="1" /> of Israel in a battle against King Hazael of Syria<n id="2" /> at Ramoth Gilead in which the Syrians defeated Joram.