New International Version
2 Kings 5:12
12Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.
2 Kings 5:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Aren’t the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than any of the rivers of Israel? Why shouldn’t I wash in them and be healed?” So Naaman turned and went away in a rage.
Context of 2 Kings 5:12
10Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.” 11But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage. 13Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” 14So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.
Read all of 2 Kings 52 Kings 5:12 word by word
הֲלֹ֡א טוֹב֩ אֲמָנָ֨ה וּפַרְפַּ֜ר נַהֲר֣וֹת דַּמֶּ֗שֶׂק מִכֹּל֙ מֵימֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל הֲלֹֽא־אֶרְחַ֥ץ בָּהֶ֖ם וְטָהָ֑רְתִּי וַיִּ֖פֶן וַיֵּ֥לֶךְ בְּחֵמָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- not Abanaאֲמָנָה'ămânâh · AmanaH549
- not Abanaאֲבָנָה'ăbânâh · AbanaH71
- and Pharparפַּרְפַּרparpar · PharparH6554
- riversנָהָרnâhâr · riverH5104
- of Damascusדַּמֶּ֫שֶׂקdammeώeq dûmeώeq darmeώeq · DamascusH1834
- betterטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
- than all the watersמַיmayim · waterH4325
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- may I not washרָחַץrâchats · to wash: washH7364
- in them, and be cleanטָהֵרţâhêr · be pureH2891
- So he turnedפָּנָהpânâh · to turnH6437
- and went awayיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
- in a rageחֵמָהchêmâh chêmâ' · rageH2534
Cross-references for 2 Kings 5:12
- 2 Kings 5:17“If you will not,” said Naaman, “please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the Lord.
- 2 Kings 2:8Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
- Joshua 3:15Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge,
- Ezekiel 47:1The man brought me back to the entrance to the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar.
- Zechariah 13:1“On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.
- Zechariah 14:8On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it east to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter.
- Mark 1:9At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
Commentaries on 2 Kings 5:12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12Are not Abana and Pharpar - At present these rivers do not exist by these names; and where they are we know not; nor whether they were the Orontes and Chrysorroes. Mr. Maundrell, who traveled over all this ground, could find no vestige of the names Abana and Pharpar. The river Barrady he accurately describes: it has its source in Antilibanus; and, after having plentifully watered the city of Damascus and the gardens, dividing into three branches, (one of…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12The Abana is the Barada, or true river of Damascus, which, rising in the anti-Libanus, flows westward from its foot and forms the oasis within which Damascus is placed. The Pharpar is usually identified with the Awaaj. Naaman thinks that, if washing is to cure him, his own rivers may serve the purpose. Their water was brighter, clearer, and colder than that of Jordan.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-14Verses 9-14 Elisha knew Naaman to be a proud man, and he would let him know, that before the great God all men stand upon the same level. All God's commands make trial of men's spirits, especially those which direct a sinner how to apply for the blessings of salvation. See in Naaman the folly of pride; a cure will not content him, unless he be cured with pomp and parade. He scorns to be healed, unless he be humoured. The way by which a sinner is received…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9-12Instead of welcoming Naaman, who came to pay for his healing, Elisha left him at the door and sent a messenger to speak with him. Naaman expected special treatment because of his status and felt let down by Elisha's refusal to meet him and by the instructions to wash seven times in the Jordan River. He thought the Jordan was inferior to the rivers of Aram. Washing in the Jordan would visibly show that only Yahweh, the God of Israel, could heal Naaman.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 8-128-12. when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, ... let him come now to me--This was the grand and ultimate object to which, in the providence of God, the journey of Naaman was subservient. When the Syrian general, with his imposing retinue, arrived at the prophet's house, Elisha sent him a message to "go and wash in Jordan seven times." This apparently rude reception to a…Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Kings 5:12
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 2 Kings 5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries