2 Kings 5:14 (YLT)

Passage

And he goeth down and dippeth in Jordan seven times, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh doth turn back as the flesh of a little youth, and is clean.

Nearby Context

2 Kings 5:12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? do I not wash in them and I have been clean?' and he turneth and goeth on in fury.

2 Kings 5:13 And his servants come nigh, and speak unto him, and say, `My father, a great thing had the prophet spoken unto thee--dost thou not do <FI>it<Fi> ? and surely, when he hath said unto thee, Wash, and be clean.'

2 Kings 5:14 And he goeth down and dippeth in Jordan seven times, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh doth turn back as the flesh of a little youth, and is clean.

2 Kings 5:15 And he turneth back unto the man of God, he and all his camp, and cometh in, and standeth before him, and saith, `Lo, I pray thee, I have known that there is not a God in all the earth except in Israel; and now, take, I pray thee, a blessing from thy servant.'

2 Kings 5:16 And he saith, `Jehovah liveth, before whom I have stood--if I take <FI>it<Fi> ;' and he presseth on him to take, and he refuseth.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "goeth", "down", "dippeth", "jordan", "seven", "times", "word", and "flesh". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "goeth" and "down", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "And his servants come nigh and speak..." into verse 15's "And he turneth back unto the man...", so "goeth" and "down" 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 "goeth" and "down" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.