2 Kings 5:1

Elisha Heals a Syrian General

5:1 Now Naaman, the commander of the king of Syria’s army, was esteemed and respected by his master, ¹  for through him the Lord had given Syria military victories. But this great warrior had a skin disease. ² 

2 Kings 13:5

13:5 The Lord provided a deliverer ³  for Israel and they were freed from Syria’s power. ⁴  The Israelites once more lived in security. ⁵ 

Hosea 1:7

1:7 But I will have pity on the nation ⁶  of Judah. ⁷  I will deliver them by the Lord their God; I will not deliver them by the warrior’s bow, by sword, by military victory, ⁸  by chariot horses, or by chariots.” ⁹ 

Titus 3:4-6

3:4 ¹⁰  But “when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, 3:5 he saved us not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of his mercy, through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, 3:6 whom he poured out on us in full measure ¹¹  through Jesus Christ our Savior.

¹ tn Heb “was a great man before his master and lifted up with respect to the face.”

² tn For a discussion of מְצֹרָע (mÿtsora’), traditionally translated “leprous,” see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 63. Naaman probably had a skin disorder of some type, not leprosy/Hansen’s disease.

³ sn The identity of this unnamed “deliverer” is debated. For options see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 143.

⁴ tn Heb “and they went from under the hand of Syria.”

⁵ tn Heb “and the sons of Israel lived in their tents as before.”

⁶ tn Heb “house”; cf. NCV, TEV, NLT “the people of Judah.”

⁷ tn The word order in this line is rhetorical, emphasizing the divine decision to withhold pity from Israel but to bestow it on Judah. The accusative direct object, which is introduced by a disjunctive vav (to denote contrast), appears before the verb: וְאֶת־בֵּית יְהוּדָה אֲרַחֵם (vé’et-bet yéhudah ’arakhem, “but upon the house of Judah I will show pity”).

⁸ tn Heb “by war” (so NAB, NRSV, TEV); KJV, NASB, NIV “battle.”

⁹ sn These military weapons are examples of the metonymy of adjunct (the specific weapons named) for subject (warfare).

¹⁰ tn Verses 4-7 are set as poetry in NA²⁶/NA²⁷. These verses probably constitute the referent of the expression “this saying” in v. 8.

¹¹ tn Or “on us richly.”