2 Kings 5:16 (YLT)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

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.

2 Kings 5:17 And Naaman saith, `If not--let be given, I pray thee, to thy servant, a couple of mules' burden of earth, for thy servant doth make no more burnt-offering and sacrifice to other gods, but to Jehovah.

2 Kings 5:18 For this thing Jehovah be propitious to thy servant, in the coming in of my lord into the house of Rimmon to bow himself there, and he was supported by my hand, and I bowed myself <FI>in<Fi> the house of Rimmon; for my bowing myself in the house of Rimmon Jehovah be propitious, I pray thee, to thy servant in this thing.'

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "saith", "jehovah", "liveth", "before", "stood--if", "take", and "presseth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "saith" and "jehovah", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "And he turneth back unto the man..." into verse 17's "And Naaman saith If not--let be given...", so "saith" and "jehovah" 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 "saith" and "jehovah" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.