2 Kings 5 · Verse 12

2 Kings 5:12

Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
2 Kings 5:12, King James Version

2 Kings 5:12 in other translations

BSBAre not the Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not have washed in them and been cleansed?” So he turned and went away in a rage.
WEBAren’t Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.
ASVAre not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
YLTAre not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? do I not wash in them and I have been clean?' and he turneth and goeth on in fury.
DARBYAre not the Abanah and the Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them and be clean? And he turned and went away in a rage.
BBEAre not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not be washed in them and become clean? So turning, he went away in wrath.
WebsterAre not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.

What does 2 Kings 5:12 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Kings 5:8-12

8-12. 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. When the Syrian general, with his imposing retinue, arrived at the prophet's house, Elisha sent him a message to "go and wash in Jordan seven times." This…

Read the full comment on 2 Kings 5:8-12 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar - At present these rivers do not exist by these names; and where they are we know not; nor whether they were the Orontes and Chrysorroes. Mr. Maundrell, who traveled over all this ground, could find no vestige of the names Abana and Pharpar. The river Barrady he accurately describes: it has its source in Antilibanus; and, after having plentifully watered the city of Damascus and the gardens, dividing into three branches, (one of which goes through the city, and the two others are distributed among the gardens), it is lost in the marshy country about five or six leagues from Damascus. Two of these branches were doubtless called in the time of Elisha Abana, or Amana, as many copies have it; and Pharpar. And in the time in which the Arabic version was made, one of these branches were called Barda and Toura, for these are the names by which this version translates those of the text. May I not wash in them, and be clean? - No, for God has directed thee to Jordan! and by its waters, or none, shalt thou be cleansed. Abana and Pharpar may be as good as Jordan; and in respect to thy cleansing, the simple difference is, God will convey his influence by the latter, and not by the former. There is often contention among the people of Bengal and other places, concerning the superior efficacy of rivers; though the Ganges bears the bell in Bengal, as the Thames does in England, and the Nile in Egypt.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Kings 5:9-14

Elisha knew Naaman to be a proud man, and he would let him know, that before the great God all men stand upon the same level. All God's commands make trial of men's spirits, especially those which direct a sinner how to apply for the blessings of salvation. See in Naaman the folly of pride; a cure will not content him, unless he be cured with pomp and parade. He scorns to be healed, unless he be humoured. The way by…

Read the full comment on 2 Kings 5:9-14 →

2 Kings 5:12 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

הֲלֹ֡אha.Lo'¿ notH3808
טוֹב֩tOvgoodH2896
אֲמָנָ֨ה'a.va.nah[are] AmanaH549
וּפַרְפַּ֜רu.far.Parand PharparH6554
נַהֲר֣וֹתna.ha.Rot[the] rivers ofH5104
דַּמֶּ֗שֶׂקda.Me.sekDamascusH1834
מִכֹּל֙mi.Kolmore than allH3605
מֵימֵ֣יmei.Mei[the] waters ofH4325
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לYis.ra.'ElIsraelH3478
הֲלֹֽא\־ha.lo'-¿ notH3808
אֶרְחַ֥ץ'er.Chatzwill I washH7364
בָּהֶ֖םba.Hemin them
וְטָהָ֑רְתִּיve.ta.Ha.re.tiand I will be cleanH2891
וַיִּ֖פֶןvai.Yi.fenand he turnedH6437
וַיֵּ֥לֶךְvai.Ye.lekhand he wentH1980
בְּחֵמָֽה\׃be.che.Mahin a rageH2534

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 2 Kings 5:12

  • Mark 1:9

    And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.

  • Joshua 3:15-17

    And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.

  • 2 Kings 2:14

    And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.

  • 2 Kings 5:17

    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.

  • Proverbs 19:11

    The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.

  • Zechariah 13:1

    In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.

  • Ezekiel 47:1-8

    Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar. Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side. And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins. …

  • Proverbs 14:17

    He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated.

  • 2 Kings 2:8

    And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground.

  • Zechariah 14:8

    And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Abana and Pharpar. or, Amana.This river is evidently the Barrada, or Barda, as the Arabic renders, the Chrysorrhoas of the Greeks, which taking its rise in Antilibanus, runs eastward towards Damascus, where it is divided into three streams, one of which passes through the city, and the other two through the gardens; which reuniting at the east of the city, forms a lake about five or six leagues to the south-east, called Behairat el Marj, or, Lake of the Meadow. Pharpar was probably one of the branches.
better.
17; 2:8,14; Jos 3:15-17; Eze 47:1-8; Zec 13:1; 14:8; Mr 1:9

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 2 Kings 5:11

    But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.

  • 2 Kings 5:12

    Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.

  • 2 Kings 5:13

    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?

Read all of 2 Kings 5

2 Kings 5:12 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Abana y Pharphar, ríos de Damasco, ¿no son mejores que todas las aguas de Israel? Si me lavare en ellos, ¿no seré también limpio? Y volvióse, y fuése enojado.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
L’Abana et le Parpar, rivières de Damas, ne sont-elles pas meilleures que toutes les eaux d’Israël? Ne puis-je pas m’y laver et être pur? Et il se tourna, et s’en alla en colère.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Sind nicht Abana und Parpar, die Flüsse von Damaskus, besser als alle Wasser von Israel? Kann ich mich nicht darin baden und rein werden? Und er wandte sich und zog weg im Grimm.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Numquid non meliores sunt Abana et Pharphar fluvii Damasci, omnibus aquis Israël, ut laver in eis, et munder? Cum ergo vertisset se, et abiret indignans,