The Meaning of 2 Kings 5:23 Explained

2 Kings 5:23

KJV: And Naaman said, Be content, take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants; and they bare them before him.

YLT: And Naaman saith, 'Be pleased, take two talents;' and he urgeth on him, and bindeth two talents of silver in two purses, and two changes of garments, and giveth unto two of his young men, and they bear before him;

Darby: And Naaman said, Consent to take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of raiment, and laid them upon two of his young men; and they bore them before him.

ASV: And Naaman said, Be pleased to take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of raiment, and laid them upon two of his servants; and they bare them before him.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And Naaman  said,  Be content,  take  two talents.  And he urged  him, and bound  two  talents  of silver  in two  bags,  with two  changes  of garments,  and laid  [them] upon two  of his servants;  and they bare  [them] before  him. 

What does 2 Kings 5:23 Mean?

Context Summary

2 Kings 5:15-27 - The Penalty Of Greed
Naaman was so grateful that he came twenty miles out of his way to render thanks to the man of God, bringing a great sum as a gift. Notice his whole-souled desire to worship Jehovah, as shown in his fear lest his official connection with idolatry might be held to compromise him; and in his ready beneficence toward Gehazi, who, he supposed, had come in Elisha's name. All these are symptoms of a noble soul on whom the Holy Spirit had been at work. We are here reminded of Cornelius, Naaman's counterpart in the New Testament, Acts 10:1. What a comfort it is to believe that God has been influencing men like this in all the centuries, fashioning them, though they knew him not, till the hour arrived when He spoke to them through prophet or apostle.
Gehazi is the sad counterpart of Judas. Like the traitor, he revealed the hardening effect that association with pure goodness may have on the human conscience. If it does not produce life unto life, it issues in death unto death. The same sun that bleaches linen, tans the hand that exposes it to the sunlight. [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Kings 5

1  Naaman, by the report of a captive maid, is sent to Samaria to be cured of leprosy
8  Elisha, sending him to Jordan cures him
15  He refusing Naaman's gifts grants him some of the earth
20  Gehazi, abusing his master's name unto Naaman, is smitten with leprosy

What do the individual words in 2 Kings 5:23 mean?

So said Naaman please take two talents And he urged him and bound two talents of silver in two bags and two with changes of garments and handed [them] to two of his servants and they carried [them] on ahead of him
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר נַעֲמָ֔ן הוֹאֵ֖ל קַ֣ח כִּכָּרָ֑יִם וַיִּפְרָץ־ בּ֗וֹ וַיָּצַר֩ כִּכְּרַ֨יִם כֶּ֜סֶף בִּשְׁנֵ֣י חֲרִטִ֗ים וּשְׁתֵּי֙ חֲלִפ֣וֹת בְּגָדִ֔ים וַיִּתֵּן֙ אֶל־ שְׁנֵ֣י נְעָרָ֔יו וַיִּשְׂא֖וּ לְפָנָֽיו

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר  So  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
נַעֲמָ֔ן  Naaman 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: נַעֲמָן  
Sense: son of Bela of the family of Benjamin; he was among the family of Jacob that went down to Egypt.
הוֹאֵ֖ל  please 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: יָאַל  
Sense: to begin, make a beginning, show willingness, undertake to do, be pleased, be determined.
קַ֣ח  take 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: יָקַח 
Sense: to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away.
כִּכָּרָ֑יִם  two  talents 
Parse: Noun, fd
Root: כִּכָּר  
Sense: round.
וַיִּפְרָץ־  And  he  urged 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: פָּרַץ  
Sense: to break through or down or over, burst, breach.
וַיָּצַר֩  and  bound 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: צָרַר 
Sense: to bind, be narrow, be in distress, make narrow, cause distress, besiege, be straitened, be bound.
כִּכְּרַ֨יִם  two  talents 
Parse: Noun, fd
Root: כִּכָּר  
Sense: round.
כֶּ֜סֶף  of  silver 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: כֶּסֶף  
Sense: silver, money.
בִּשְׁנֵ֣י  in  two 
Parse: Preposition-b, Number, mdc
Root: שְׁנַיִם  
Sense: two.
חֲרִטִ֗ים  bags 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: חָרִיט  
Sense: bag, purse.
וּשְׁתֵּי֙  and  two 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Number, fdc
Root: שְׁנַיִם  
Sense: two.
חֲלִפ֣וֹת  with  changes 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: חֲלִיפָה  
Sense: a change, change (of garments), replacement.
בְּגָדִ֔ים  of  garments 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: בֶּגֶד 
Sense: treachery, deceit.
וַיִּתֵּן֙  and  handed  [them] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
שְׁנֵ֣י  two 
Parse: Number, mdc
Root: שְׁנַיִם  
Sense: two.
נְעָרָ֔יו  of  his  servants 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: נַעַר  
Sense: a boy, lad, servant, youth, retainer.
וַיִּשְׂא֖וּ  and  they  carried  [them] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: נָשָׂא  
Sense: to lift, bear up, carry, take.
לְפָנָֽיו  on  ahead  of  him 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.