2 Kings 5:5 (ASV)

Passage

And the king of Syria said, Go now, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand [pieces] of gold, and ten changes of raiment.

Nearby Context

2 Kings 5:3 And she said unto her mistress, Would that my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! then would he recover him of his leprosy.

2 Kings 5:4 And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maiden that is of the land of Israel.

2 Kings 5:5 And the king of Syria said, Go now, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand [pieces] of gold, and ten changes of raiment.

2 Kings 5:6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, And now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.

2 Kings 5:7 And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? but consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "king", "syria", "said", "send", "letter", "israel", and "departed". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "king" and "syria", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "And one went in and told his..." into verse 6's "And he brought the letter to the...", so "king" and "syria" 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 "king" and "syria" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.