The Meaning of 2 Kings 5:16 Explained

2 Kings 5:16

KJV: But he said, As the LORD liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused.

YLT: And he saith, 'Jehovah liveth, before whom I have stood -- if I take it;' and he presseth on him to take, and he refuseth.

Darby: But he said, As Jehovah liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none! And he urged him to take it; but he refused.

ASV: But he said, As Jehovah liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But he said,  [As] the LORD  liveth,  before  whom I stand,  I will receive  none. And he urged  him to take  [it]; but he refused. 

What does 2 Kings 5:16 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 5:16 mean?

But he said [As] lives Yahweh whom I stand before nothing I will receive and he urged him to take [it] but he refused
וַיֹּ֕אמֶר חַי־ יְהוָ֛ה אֲשֶׁר־ עָמַ֥דְתִּי לְפָנָ֖יו אִם־ אֶקָּ֑ח וַיִּפְצַר־ בּ֥וֹ לָקַ֖חַת וַיְמָאֵֽן

וַיֹּ֕אמֶר  But  he  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
חַי־  [As]  lives 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.
יְהוָ֛ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֲשֶׁר־  whom 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
עָמַ֥דְתִּי  I  stand 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: עָמַד  
Sense: to stand, remain, endure, take one’s stand.
לְפָנָ֖יו  before 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
אִם־  nothing 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: אִם  
Sense: if.
אֶקָּ֑ח  I  will  receive 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: יָקַח 
Sense: to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away.
וַיִּפְצַר־  and  he  urged 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: פָּצַר  
Sense: to press, push.
לָקַ֖חַת  to  take  [it] 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: יָקַח 
Sense: to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away.
וַיְמָאֵֽן  but  he  refused 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מָאַן  
Sense: (Piel) to refuse.