Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
2 Kings 5:15 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 15. 15And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse opens the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech: “And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Naaman confesses, Elisha refuses payment, and a compromise remains.”
Confession, refused silver, and an unfinished compromise
This verse is one part of that explanation in 2 Kings 5:15–19. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- 2 Kings 5:15–19
Read 2 Kings 5:15 with 5:15–19. The selected wording supplies one opening in the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Naaman confesses Israel's God, offers a gift that Elisha refuses, requests earth, and asks pardon for supporting his master in Rimmon's temple before leaving in peace.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Naaman confesses, Elisha refuses payment, and a compromise remains,” 2 Kings 5:15 opens the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech through the wording “And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: 2 Kings 5:8–14 establishes this prior movement: Elisha redirects the king, sends Naaman to wash seven times, and the angry commander finally listens to servants and is cleansed. 2 Kings 5:15–19 responds to the pressure, need, word, or action already established; that evidenced relationship, rather than database adjacency alone, explains its placement.
Read 2 Kings 5:15–19 together
Why these verses belong together: 2 Kings 5:15–19 forms one scene or regnal notice: Naaman confesses Israel's God, offers a gift that Elisha refuses, requests earth, and asks pardon for supporting his master in Rimmon's temple before leaving in peace.
Verse 15. 15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.
Verse 16. 16 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.
Verse 17. 17 And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules’ burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the LORD.
Verse 18. 18 In this thing the LORD pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon thy servant in this thing.
Verse 19. 19 And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way.
Follow the Context
- Naaman confesses Israel's God, offers a gift that Elisha refuses, requests earth, and asks pardon for supporting his master in Rimmon's temple before leaving in peace.
- The unit closes by establishing the result or tension named in “Naaman confesses, Elisha refuses payment, and a compromise remains” before the next narrated movement.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
2 Kings 5:15 does not permit the wording “And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. Outsider inclusion does not erase Naaman's compromised service, authorize religious domination, or turn Elisha's farewell into approval of every future act.
What Remains True
Religious reform and public worship remain answerable to truth, justice, affected people, complete covenant faithfulness, and consequences beyond a leader's lifetime. This unit tests that truth through the narrated movement: Naaman confesses Israel's God, offers a gift that Elisha refuses, requests earth, and asks pardon for supporting his master in Rimmon's temple before leaving in peace. In 2 Kings 5:15, the concrete line “And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before…” keeps that truth accountable to narrated evidence.
Teach It Back
In 70–220 words, explain 2 Kings 5:15's role in 5:15–19. Paraphrase “And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before…,” identify one agent or affected person, state one material source or historical limit, and name one conclusion the context does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read 2 Kings 5:15–19 — Naaman confesses, Elisha refuses payment, and a compromise remainsSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
Naaman's earth request and Rimmon question receive no extended ruling; 'Go in peace' may release rather than resolve the moral tension.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: 2 Kings 5:15–19, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 2 Kings
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, royal formulas, clause relationships, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/2Kgs.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 5:15–19
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: 2 Kings with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: A unit-bounded translation comparison plus only the lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, or older-English notes actually printed for these verses; silence is not treated as evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible 2 Kings PDF, printed pp. 633–635, translation and translator notes for 5:15–19
Open source ↗