The Meaning of 2 Kings 5:27 Explained

2 Kings 5:27

KJV: The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.

YLT: yea, the leprosy of Naaman doth cleave to thee, and to thy seed, -- to the age;' and he goeth out from before him -- leprous as snow.

Darby: But the leprosy of Naaman shall fasten upon thee, and upon thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence leprous, as snow.

ASV: The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The leprosy  therefore of Naaman  shall cleave  unto thee, and unto thy seed  for ever.  And he went out  from his presence  a leper  [as white] as snow. 

What does 2 Kings 5:27 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 5:27 mean?

therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever And he went out from his presence leprous [as white] as snow -
וְצָרַ֤עַת נַֽעֲמָן֙ תִּֽדְבַּק־ בְּךָ֔ וּֽבְזַרְעֲךָ לְעוֹלָ֑ם וַיֵּצֵ֥א מִלְּפָנָ֖יו מְצֹרָ֥ע כַּשָּֽׁלֶג ס

וְצָרַ֤עַת  therefore  the  leprosy 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: צָרַעַת  
Sense: leprosy.
נַֽעֲמָן֙  of  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.
תִּֽדְבַּק־  shall  cling 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: דָּבַק  
Sense: to cling, stick, stay close, cleave, keep close, stick to, stick with, follow closely, join to, overtake, catch.
בְּךָ֔  to  you 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine singular
וּֽבְזַרְעֲךָ  and  your  descendants 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: זֶרַע  
Sense: seed, sowing, offspring.
לְעוֹלָ֑ם  forever 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֹולָם  
Sense: long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world.
וַיֵּצֵ֥א  And  he  went  out 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.
מִלְּפָנָ֖יו  from  his  presence 
Parse: Preposition-m, Preposition-l, Noun, common plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
מְצֹרָ֥ע  leprous 
Parse: Verb, Pual, Participle, masculine singular
Root: צָרַע  
Sense: to be diseased of skin, be leprous.
כַּשָּֽׁלֶג  [as  white]  as  snow 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: שֶׁלֶג 
Sense: snow.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation