2 Kings 5:20

5:20 Gehazi, the prophet Elisha’s servant, thought, ¹  “Look, my master did not accept what this Syrian Naaman offered him. ²  As certainly as the Lord lives, I will run after him and accept something from him.”

2 Kings 5:26

5:26 Elisha ³  replied, “I was there in spirit when a man turned and got down from his chariot to meet you. ⁴  This is not the proper time to accept silver or to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, sheep, cattle, and male and female servants. ⁵ 

[5:20]  ¹ tn Heb “said” (i.e., to himself).

[5:20]  ² tn Heb “Look, my master spared this Syrian Naaman by not taking from his hand what he brought.”

[5:26]  ³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:26]  ⁴ tn Heb “Did not my heart go as a man turned from his chariot to meet you?” The rhetorical question emphasizes that he was indeed present in “heart” (or “spirit”) and was very much aware of what Gehazi had done. In the MT the interrogative particle has been accidentally omitted before the negative particle.

[5:26]  ⁵ tn In the MT the statement is phrased as a rhetorical question, “Is this the time…?” It expects an emphatic negative response.