2 Kings 5:13

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

But his servants approached him and said, 'My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he says to you, “Wash and be cleansed”? '

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וַיִּגְּשׁ֣וּ עֲבָדָיו֮ וַיְדַבְּר֣וּ אֵלָיו֒ וַיֹּאמְר֗וּ אָבִי֙ דָּבָ֣ר גָּד֗וֹל הַנָּבִ֛יא דִּבֶּ֥ר אֵלֶ֖יךָ הֲל֣וֹא תַעֲשֶׂ֑ה וְאַ֛ף כִּֽי־אָמַ֥ר אֵלֶ֖יךָ רְחַ֥ץ וּטְהָֽר׃

Transliteration

wa-yiggəšû ʿăḇādāyw wa-yədabbərû ʾēlāyw wa-yōʾmərû ʾāḇî dāḇār gādôl ha-nāḇîʾ dibber ʾēlêkā hălôʾ taʿăśeh wə-ʾap kî-ʾāmar ʾēlêkā rəḥaṣ û-ṭəhār

Grammar Details

• *wa-yiggəšû*: conjunction with qal imperfect, 3rd masculine plural - and they approached
• *ʿăḇādāyw*: noun, masculine plural with 3rd masculine singular suffix - his servants
• *wa-yədabbərû*: conjunction with piel imperfect, 3rd masculine plural - and they spoke
• *ʾēlāyw*: preposition with 3rd masculine singular suffix - to him
• *wa-yōʾmərû*: conjunction with qal imperfect, 3rd masculine plural - and they said
• *ʾāḇî*: noun, masculine singular with 1st singular suffix - my father
• *dāḇār*: noun, masculine singular - word/thing
• *gādôl*: adjective, masculine singular - great
• *ha-nāḇîʾ*: definite article with noun, masculine singular - the prophet
• *dibber*: piel perfect, 3rd masculine singular - spoke
• *ʾēlêkā*: preposition with 2nd masculine singular suffix - to you
• *hălôʾ*: interrogative particle with negative - would you not
• *taʿăśeh*: qal imperfect, 2nd masculine singular - do
• *wə-ʾap*: conjunction with adverb - how much more
• *kî*: conjunction - when
• *ʾāmar*: qal perfect, 3rd masculine singular - he said
• *rəḥaṣ*: qal imperative, masculine singular - wash
• *û-ṭəhār*: conjunction with qal imperative, masculine singular - and be clean

Word Meanings

• *ʾāḇî*: my father (respectful address to master)
• *dāḇār gādôl*: great thing/important matter
• *wə-ʾap kî*: how much more/all the more

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?

• KJV1611 – Modern English

  And his servants came near, and spoke to him, and said, My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, Wash and be clean?

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

  And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  And his servants{H5650} came near,{H5066} and spake{H1696} unto him, and said,{H559} My father,{H1} if the prophet{H5030} had bid{H1696} thee do some great{H1419} thing,{H1697} wouldest thou not have done{H6213} it? how much rather then,{H637} when he saith{H559} to thee, Wash,{H7364} and be clean?{H2891}

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  And his servants{H5650} came near{H5066}{(H8799)}, and spake{H1696}{(H8762)} unto him, and said{H559}{(H8799)}, My father{H1}, if the prophet{H5030} had bid{H1696}{(H8765)} thee do some great{H1419} thing{H1697}, wouldest thou not have done{H6213}{(H8799)} it? how much rather then{H637}, when he saith{H559}{(H8804)} to thee, Wash{H7364}{(H8798)}, and be clean{H2891}{(H8798)}?

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  Then his seruauntes gat the to him, and sayde: Father, yf the prophet had comaunded the eny greate thinge, shuldest thou not haue done it? moch more the yf he saye vnto the: Wasshe the, & thou shalt be cleane.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  But his seruants came, and spake vnto him, and sayd, Father, if the Prophet had commaunded thee a great thing, wouldest thou not haue done it? howe much rather then, when hee sayth to thee, Wash and be cleane?

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  And his seruauntes came, and communed with him, and saide: Father, if the prophet had byd thee do some great thing, oughtest thou not to haue done it? How much rather then when he saith to thee, washe, and be cleane?

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, [if] the prophet had bid thee [do some] great thing, wouldest thou not have done [it]? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  His servants came near, and spoke to him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid you do some great thing, wouldn't you have done it? how much rather then, when he says to you, Wash, and be clean?

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  And his servants come nigh, and speak unto him, and say, `My father, a great thing had the prophet spoken unto thee -- dost thou not do `it'? and surely, when he hath said unto thee, Wash, and be clean.'

• American Standard Version (1901)

  And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?

• American Standard Version (1901)

  And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  Then his servants came to him and said, If the prophet had given you orders to do some great thing, would you not have done it? how much more then, when he says to you, Be washed and become clean?

• World English Bible (2000)

  His servants came near, and spoke to him, and said, "My father, if the prophet had asked you do some great thing, wouldn't you have done it? How much rather then, when he says to you, 'Wash, and be clean?'"

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  His servants approached and said to him,“O master, if the prophet had told you to do some difficult task, you would have been willing to do it. It seems you should be happy that he simply said,“Wash and you will be healed.”

Referenced Verses

• 2 Kgs 6:21 : 21 When the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, "My father, should I kill them? Should I kill them?"
• 2 Kgs 2:12 : 12 Elisha saw this and cried out, 'My father, my father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!' And he saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces.
• 2 Kgs 13:14 : 14 Now Elisha had fallen sick with the illness from which he would die. Joash king of Israel came down to him, wept over him, and said, 'My father, my father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!'
• Job 32:8-9 : 8 But it is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives understanding. 9 It is not merely the old who are wise, nor the aged who understand what is right.
• Ps 51:2 : 2 When Nathan the prophet came to him after David had gone to Bathsheba.
• Ps 51:7 : 7 Surely I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.
• Isa 1:16 : 16 Wash yourselves and make yourselves clean. Remove your evil deeds from My sight; stop doing evil.
• Jer 38:7-9 : 7 Now Ebed-Melech, a Cushite, an official in the royal palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Benjamin Gate, 8 Ebed-Melech went out of the palace and said to the king, 9 "My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have thrown him into a cistern, where he will die from hunger, since there is no longer any bread in the city." 10 The king commanded Ebed-Melech the Cushite, "Take thirty men from here with you and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies."
• Mal 1:6 : 6 A son honors his father, and a servant respects his master. If I am a father, where is the honor I deserve? If I am a master, where is the respect due me? says the LORD of Hosts to you priests who despise my name. But you ask, 'How have we despised your name?'
• Matt 23:9 : 9 And do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.
• John 13:8 : 8 Peter said to Him, 'You will never wash my feet!' Jesus answered, 'If I do not wash you, you have no share with Me.'
• Acts 22:16 : 16 And now, why delay? Get up, be baptized, and wash away your sins by calling on His name.
• 1 Cor 1:21 : 21 For since in God’s wisdom the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
• 1 Cor 1:27 : 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
• 1 Cor 4:15 : 15 For even if you have countless teachers in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, I became your father through the gospel.
• Eph 5:26-27 : 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing of water through the word, 27 and to present her to Himself as a glorious church, without stain or wrinkle or any such blemish, but holy and blameless.
• Titus 3:5 : 5 He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
• Heb 10:22 : 22 let us draw near with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
• 1 Pet 3:21 : 21 This water symbolizes baptism, which now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
• Rev 7:14 : 14 I said to him, 'Sir, you know.' And he said to me, 'These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.'
• 2 Kgs 5:3 : 3 She said to her mistress, 'If only my master would go to see the prophet in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.'
• 2 Kgs 5:10 : 10 Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, 'Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored, and you will be cleansed.'
• 2 Kgs 8:9 : 9 Hazael went to meet him, taking a gift in his hand that included all the finest products of Damascus, loaded on forty camels. When he came, he stood before him and said, "Your son, Ben-Hadad, the king of Aram, has sent me to ask, 'Will I recover from this sickness?'"
• Gen 41:43 : 43 He had Joseph ride in the chariot of his second-in-command, and they called out before him, 'Bow down!' So he was put in charge of all the land of Egypt.
• 1 Sam 25:14-17 : 14 One of Nabal’s young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, "David sent messengers from the wilderness to bless our master, but he screamed insults at them. 15 These men were very good to us. They didn’t harm us, nor did we lose anything during all the time we were with them in the fields. 16 They were a wall of protection around us, both night and day, the whole time we were with them tending the sheep. 17 Now consider and see what you should do, for disaster is certain for our master and his entire household. He is such a worthless man that no one can speak to him.
• 1 Kgs 20:23 : 23 Meanwhile, the servants of the king of Aram said to him, 'Their gods are gods of the hills; that is why they were stronger than us. But if we fight them on the plains, surely we will be stronger than they are.'
• 1 Kgs 20:31 : 31 His servants said to him, "We have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful. Let us put sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads and go to the king of Israel; perhaps he will spare your life."