Verse Lens · Concise explanation
2 Kings 5:23 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 23. 23And 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.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence: “And Naaman said, Be content, take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Gehazi pursues payment and receives Naaman's condition.”
Gehazi chases the gift Elisha refused
This verse is one part of that explanation in 2 Kings 5:20–27. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- 2 Kings 5:20–27
Read 2 Kings 5:23 with 5:20–27. The selected wording supplies one step in the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Gehazi secretly obtains goods by lying, hides them, denies his journey, and receives Elisha's judgment that Naaman's condition will cling to his household.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Gehazi pursues payment and receives Naaman's condition,” 2 Kings 5:23 advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence through the wording “And Naaman said, Be content, take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: Gehazi's secret pursuit of payment reverses Elisha's refusal and prevents Naaman's gift from becoming a model for selling prophetic access.
Read 2 Kings 5:20–27 together
Why these verses belong together: 2 Kings 5:20–27 forms one scene or regnal notice: Gehazi secretly obtains goods by lying, hides them, denies his journey, and receives Elisha's judgment that Naaman's condition will cling to his household.
Verse 20. 20 But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: but, as the LORD liveth, I will run after him, and take somewhat of him.
Verse 21. 21 So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he lighted down from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well?
Verse 22. 22 And he said, All is well. My master hath sent me, saying, Behold, even now there be come to me from mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets: give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of garments.
Verse 23. 23 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.
Verse 24. 24 And when he came to the tower, he took them from their hand, and bestowed them in the house: and he let the men go, and they departed.
Verse 25. 25 But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither.
Verse 26. 26 And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants?
Verse 27. 27 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 Remains True
Public power, prophetic authority, and worship remain accountable to truth, human responsibility, affected people, and the limits of the evidence rather than title or success alone. This unit tests that truth through the narrated movement: Gehazi secretly obtains goods by lying, hides them, denies his journey, and receives Elisha's judgment that Naaman's condition will cling to his household. In 2 Kings 5:23, the concrete line “And Naaman said, Be content, take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver…” keeps that truth accountable to narrated evidence.
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 5:20–27 — Gehazi pursues payment and receives Naaman's conditionSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
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 5:20–27, 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 5:20–27
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 5:20–27
Open source ↗