Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Kings 19:17

"And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay; and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay." — 1 Kings 19:17 (ASV)

Him that escapeth the sword of Hazael. —The vengeance executed by Hazael and Jehu on the faithlessness of Israel speaks for itself; it is marked in bloody letters on the history (2 Kings 10:0). But Elisha’s mission was obviously not one of such vengeance. He had to destroy enmity, but not to slay the enemies of God. The difficulty, such as it is, is one of the many marks of historic accuracy in the whole passage. Probably Elisha’s mission is here described in the terms in which Elijah would best understand it. His spirit was for war; he could hardly have conceived how the completion of his mission was to be carried out by the weapons of peace in the hand of his successor. (Compare to 2 Corinthians 10:3–6.)