2 Kings 5:8
in 2 Kings 5Now when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king: “Why have you torn your clothes? Please let the man come to me, and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it was so, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.
KJV
And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.
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This verse in 2 Kings 5
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
there is a prophet in Israel
on 2 Kings 5:8-9
Elisha hears of the king's despair and sends word requiring nothing from the crown, only that Naaman come to him, so that the king may know a prophet answers where a king cannot. Naaman arrives in full state, horses and chariot, and stops at the door of a house rather than a palace, the first small demotion of a proud man before the cure even begins.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Naaman was suffering from leprosy, and when he heard that a prophet who lived under the command of Jehoram, king of Israel, could cure him, he left and proceeded to the country of the healer and went to the house of Elisha, because he had …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): He shall know that there is a prophet in Israel (and it were sad with Israel if there were not), that there is a prophet in Israel who can do that which the king of Israel dares not attempt, which the prophets of Syria cannot pretend to.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, . . . let him come now to me--This was the grand and ultimate object to which, in the providence of God, the journey of Naaman was subservient.
quarantine:debris,scripture (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase; scripture-overlap:84%@v6-8
Let him come now to me - Do not be afflicted; the matter belongs to me, as the prophet of the Most High; send him to me, and he shall know that I am such.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
He shall know ... Israel - namely, “That which thou (the king of Israel) appearest to have forgotten, that there is a prophet - a real Yahweh prophet - in Israel.”
The words behind it
26 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֞י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כִּשְׁמֹ֣עַ׀ | kishmoa' | when heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֱלִישָׁ֣ע | ʾelisha' | Elisha | H477 → | 58 times |
| אִישׁ־ | ʾish- | [the] man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֗ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| קָרַ֤ע | kara' | he had torn | H7167 → | 63 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּגָדָ֔יו | begadav | clothes his | H899 → | 217 times |
| וַיִּשְׁלַח֙ | vaiyishlach | and he sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לָ֥מָּה | lamah | <to> why? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| קָרַ֖עְתָּ | kara'ta | did you tear | H7167 → | 63 times |
| בְּגָדֶ֑יךָ | begadeikha | clothes your | H899 → | 217 times |
| יָבֹֽא־ | yavo'- | let him come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| נָ֣א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| אֵלַ֔י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וְיֵדַ֕ע | veyeda' | so he may know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| כִּ֛י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יֵ֥שׁ | yesh | there | H3426 → | 140 times |
| נָבִ֖יא | navi' | [is] a prophet | H5030 → | 314 times |
| בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | beyisrael | in Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וַיְהִ֞יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
כִּשְׁמֹ֣עַ׀when heard
kishmoa'H8085 →1159 times
אֱלִישָׁ֣עElisha
ʾelisha'H477 →58 times
אִישׁ־[the] man of
ʾish-H376 →1663 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֗ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
קָרַ֤עhe had torn
kara'H7167 →63 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּגָדָ֔יוclothes his
begadavH899 →217 times
וַיִּשְׁלַח֙and he sent
vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַמֶּ֣לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
לָ֥מָּה<to> why?
lamahH4100 →752 times
קָרַ֖עְתָּdid you tear
kara'taH7167 →63 times
בְּגָדֶ֑יךָclothes your
begadeikhaH899 →217 times
יָבֹֽא־let him come
yavo'-H935 →2568 times
נָ֣אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
אֵלַ֔יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
וְיֵדַ֕עso he may know
veyeda'H3045 →945 times
כִּ֛יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
יֵ֥שׁthere
yeshH3426 →140 times
נָבִ֖יא[is] a prophet
navi'H5030 →314 times
בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃in Israel
beyisraelH3478 →2507 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ezekiel 2:5And whether they listen or refuse to listen—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 33:33
So when it comes to pass—and surely it will come—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”
- Ezekiel 3:27
But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you are to tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says.’ Whoever listens, let him listen; and whoever refuses, let him…
- John 15:22
If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin.
- Matthew 10:12–15
As you enter the home, greet its occupants.
- Ezekiel 33:33
Through
2 Kings 5:7When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and asked, “Am I God, killing and giving life, that this man expects me to cure a leper? Surely you can see…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 2:6
The LORD brings death and gives life; He brings down to Sheol and raises up.
- 1 Kings 20:7
Then the king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said, “Please take note and see that this man is looking for trouble, for when he demanded my wives, my children,…
- Genesis 30:2
Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld children from you?”
- Deuteronomy 32:39
See now that I am He; there is no God besides Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My…
- 1 Samuel 2:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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About 2 Kings

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 5:10-11; F. W. Farrar, The Second Book of Kings (Expositor's Bible); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
