2 Kings 5:13

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?

📖 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

• 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”? '

• 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?

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  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?

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  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?

• 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 And the king of Israel said to Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I strike them? shall I strike them?
• 2 Kgs 2:12 : 12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and tore them in two pieces.
• 2 Kgs 13:14 : 14 Now Elisha had fallen sick of the illness from which he died, and Joash the king of Israel came down to him, wept over him, and said, "O my father, my father, the chariots of Israel and their horsemen!"
• Job 32:8-9 : 8 But there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty gives them understanding. 9 Great men are not always wise, nor do the aged understand judgment.
• Ps 51:2 : 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
• Ps 51:7 : 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
• Isa 1:16 : 16 Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil;
• Jer 38:7-9 : 7 Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon, the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin; 8 Ebedmelech went out of the king's house and spoke to the king, saying, 9 My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is likely to die from hunger in the place where he is, for there is no more bread in the city. 10 Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from here thirty men with you, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon before he dies.
• Mal 1:6 : 6 A son honors his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is my honor? and if I be a master, where is my fear? says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, that despise my name. And you say, How have we despised your name?
• Matt 23:9 : 9 And call no man on earth your father: for one is your Father, who is in heaven.
• John 13:8 : 8 Peter said to him, You shall never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I do not wash you, you have no part with me.
• Acts 22:16 : 16 And now why do you delay? Arise, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
• 1 Cor 1:21 : 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe.
• 1 Cor 1:27 : 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
• 1 Cor 4:15 : 15 For though you have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.
• Eph 5:26-27 : 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
• Titus 3:5 : 5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
• Heb 10:22 : 22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
• 1 Pet 3:21 : 21 There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
• Rev 7:14 : 14 And I said to him, Sir, you know. And he said to me, These are those who came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
• 2 Kgs 5:3 : 3 And she said to her mistress, If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy.
• 2 Kgs 5:10 : 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.
• 2 Kgs 8:9 : 9 So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' load, and came and stood before him, and said, "Your son Benhadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, 'Shall I recover from this disease?'"
• Gen 41:43 : 43 And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had, and they cried out before him, Bow the knee; thus he set him over all the land of Egypt.
• 1 Sam 25:14-17 : 14 But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master, and he railed on them. 15 But the men were very good to us, and we were not harmed, nor did we miss anything, as long as we were associating with them, when we were in the fields. 16 They were a wall to us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. 17 Now therefore know and consider what you will do, for harm is determined against our master and against all his household, for he is such a scoundrel that one cannot speak to him.
• 1 Kgs 20:23 : 23 And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.
• 1 Kgs 20:31 : 31 And his servants said to him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray you, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: perhaps he will save your life.