2 Kings 5:19-27
New English Translation
19 Elisha[a] said to him, “Go in peace.”
When he had gone a short distance,[b] 20 Gehazi, the prophet Elisha’s servant, thought,[c] “Look, my master did not accept what this Syrian Naaman offered him.[d] As certainly as the Lord lives, I will run after him and accept something from him.” 21 So Gehazi ran after Naaman. When Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from his chariot to meet him and asked, “Is everything all right?”[e] 22 He answered, “Everything is fine.[f] My master sent me with this message, ‘Look, two servants of the prophets just arrived from the Ephraimite hill country.[g] Please give them a talent[h] of silver and two suits of clothes.’” 23 Naaman said, “Please accept two talents of silver.”[i] He insisted, and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, along with two suits of clothes. He gave them to two of his servants and they carried them for Gehazi.[j] 24 When he arrived at the hill, he took them from the servants[k] and put them in the house. Then he sent the men on their way.[l]
25 When he came and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” He answered, “Your servant hasn’t been anywhere.” 26 Elisha[m] replied, “I was there in spirit when a man turned and got down from his chariot to meet you.[n] This is not the proper time to accept silver or to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, sheep, cattle, and male and female servants.[o] 27 Therefore Naaman’s skin disease will afflict[p] you and your descendants forever!” When Gehazi[q] went out from his presence, his skin was as white as snow.[r]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Kings 5:19 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 2 Kings 5:19 tn Heb “and he went from him a distance of land.” The precise meaning of כִּבְרַה (kivrah) “distance,” is uncertain. See BDB 460 s.v. כִּבְרַה, and HALOT 459-60 s.v. II *כְּבָרַה, and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 65.
- 2 Kings 5:20 tn Heb “said” (i.e., to himself).
- 2 Kings 5:20 tn Heb “Look, my master spared this Syrian Naaman by not taking from his hand what he brought.”
- 2 Kings 5:21 tn Heb “Is there peace?”
- 2 Kings 5:22 tn Heb “peace.”
- 2 Kings 5:22 tn Heb “Look now, here, two servants came to me from the Ephraimite hill country, from the sons of the prophets.”
- 2 Kings 5:22 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 75 pounds of silver (cf. NCV, NLT, CEV).
- 2 Kings 5:23 tn Heb “Be resolved and accept two talents.”
- 2 Kings 5:23 tn Heb “before him.”
- 2 Kings 5:24 tn Heb “from their hand.”
- 2 Kings 5:24 tn Heb “and he sent the men away and they went.”
- 2 Kings 5:26 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 2 Kings 5:26 tn Heb “Did not my heart go as a man turned from his chariot to meet you?” The rhetorical question emphasizes that he was indeed present in “heart” (or “spirit”) and was very much aware of what Gehazi had done. In the MT the interrogative particle has been accidentally omitted before the negative particle.
- 2 Kings 5:26 tn In the MT the statement is phrased as a rhetorical question, “Is this the time…?” It expects an emphatic negative response.
- 2 Kings 5:27 tn Heb “cling to.”
- 2 Kings 5:27 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gehazi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 2 Kings 5:27 tn Traditionally, “he went from before him, leprous like snow.” But see the note at 5:1, as well as M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 66.
2 Kings 5:19-27
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
19 He said to him, “Go in peace.”
Gehazi’s Greed
But when Naaman had gone from him a short distance, 20 Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, thought, “My master has let that Aramean Naaman off too lightly by not accepting from him what he offered. As the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something from him.”(A) 21 So Gehazi went after Naaman. When Naaman saw someone running after him, he jumped down from the chariot to meet him and said, “Is everything all right?” 22 He replied, “Yes, but my master has sent me to say, ‘Two members of a company of prophets have just come to me from the hill country of Ephraim; please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothing.’ ”(B) 23 Naaman said, “Please accept two talents.” He urged him and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of clothing, and gave them to two of his servants, who carried them in front of Gehazi.[a] 24 When he came to the citadel, he took the bags[b] from them and stored them inside; he dismissed the men, and they left.
25 He went in and stood before his master, and Elisha said to him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” He answered, “Your servant has not gone anywhere at all.”(C) 26 But he said to him, “Did I not go with you in spirit when someone left his chariot to meet you? Is this a time to accept silver and to accept clothing, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, and male and female slaves?(D) 27 Therefore the skin disease of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever.” So he left his presence diseased, as white as snow.(E)
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