2 Kings 5:17 (ASV)

Passage

And Naaman said, If not, yet, I pray thee, let there be given to thy servant two mules` burden of earth; for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt-offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto Jehovah.

Nearby Context

2 Kings 5:15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him; and he said, Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a present of thy servant.

2 Kings 5:16 But he said, As Jehovah liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused.

2 Kings 5:17 And Naaman said, If not, yet, I pray thee, let there be given to thy servant two mules` burden of earth; for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt-offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto Jehovah.

2 Kings 5:18 In this thing Jehovah pardon thy servant: when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, Jehovah pardon thy servant in this thing.

2 Kings 5:19 And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "naaman", "said", "pray", "thee", "given", "servant", "mules", and "burden". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "naaman" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "But he said As Jehovah liveth before..." into verse 18's "In this thing Jehovah pardon thy servant...", so "naaman" and "said" belong inside that flow. In 2 Kings context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "naaman" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.