2 Kings 5:12
New International Version
Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.

New Living Translation
Aren’t the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than any of the rivers of Israel? Why shouldn’t I wash in them and be healed?” So Naaman turned and went away in a rage.

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

Berean Standard Bible
Are 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.

King James Bible
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.

New King James Version
Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.

New American Standard Bible
Are Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, not better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.

NASB 1995
“Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.

NASB 1977
“Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.

Legacy Standard Bible
Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in wrath.

Amplified Bible
Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus [in Aram], better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.

Christian Standard Bible
Aren’t Abana 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 left in a rage.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Aren’t Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and left in a rage.

American Standard Version
Are 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.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Are not Amnan and Pharpar, rivers of Darmsuq, better than all the waters of Israel? I would go wash in them and I am cleansed!” And he turned and he went on in anger.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Are not the Abana and Pharphar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not go and wash in them, and be cleansed? and he turned and went away in a rage.

Contemporary English Version
What about the Abana River or the Pharpar River? Those rivers in Damascus are just as good as any river in Israel. I could have washed in them and been cured."

Douay-Rheims Bible
Are not the Abana, and the Pharphar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel, that I may wash in them, and be made clean? So as he turned, and was going away with indignation,

English Revised Version
Are 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.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The Abana and Pharpar Rivers in Damascus have better water than any of the rivers in Israel. Couldn't I wash in them and be clean?" So he turned around and left in anger.

Good News Translation
Besides, aren't the rivers Abana and Pharpar, back in Damascus, better than any river in Israel? I could have washed in them and been cured!"

International Standard Version
Aren't the Abana and Pharpar rivers in Damascus better than all of the water in Israel? Couldn't I just bathe in them and become clean?" So he turned away and left, filled with anger.

JPS Tanakh 1917
Are not Amanah 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.

Literal Standard Version
Are 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 turns and goes on in fury.

Majority Standard Bible
Are 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.

New American Bible
Are not the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be cleansed?” With this, he turned about in anger and left.

NET Bible
The rivers of Damascus, the Abana and Pharpar, are better than any of the waters of Israel! Could I not wash in them and be healed?" So he turned around and went away angry.

New Revised Standard Version
Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?” He turned and went away in a rage.

New Heart English Bible
Aren't Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn't I go wash in them, and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage.

Webster's Bible Translation
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.

World English Bible
Aren’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.

Young's Literal Translation
Are 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.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Naaman Cured of Leprosy
11But Naaman went away angry, saying, “I thought that he would surely come out, stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the spot to cure my leprosy. 12Are 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. 13Naaman’s servants, however, approached him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’?”…

Cross References
2 Kings 5:11
But Naaman went away angry, saying, "I thought that he would surely come out, stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the spot to cure my leprosy.

Proverbs 14:17
A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, and a devious man is hated.

Proverbs 16:32
He who is slow to anger is better than a warrior, and he who controls his temper is greater than one who captures a city.

Proverbs 19:11
A man's insight gives him patience, and his virtue is to overlook an offense.

Song of Solomon 4:8
Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, come with me from Lebanon! Descend from the peak of Amana, from the summits of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of the lions, from the mountains of the leopards.

Jeremiah 49:23
Concerning Damascus: "Hamath and Arpad are put to shame, for they have heard a bad report; they are agitated like the sea; their anxiety cannot be calmed.


Treasury of Scripture

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.

Abana and Pharpar.

better

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.

2 Kings 2:8,14
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…

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,) …

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Better Clean Cleansed Couldn't Damascus Fury Israel Rage Rivers Turned Turneth Turning Wash Washed Waters Wrath
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Better Clean Cleansed Couldn't Damascus Fury Israel Rage Rivers Turned Turneth Turning Wash Washed Waters Wrath
2 Kings 5
1. Naaman, by the report of a captive maid, is sent to Samaria to be cured of leprosy
8. Elisha, sending him to Jordan cures him
15. He refusing Naaman's gifts grants him some of the earth
20. Gehazi, abusing his master's name unto Naaman, is smitten with leprosy














(12) Abana.--So Hebrew text; Hebrew margin, Amana; and so many MSS., Complut., LXX., Targum, Syriac. (Comp. Amana, Song of Solomon 4:8, as name of a peak of the Lebanon, which is common in the Assyrian inscriptions also.) The river is identified with the present Burada, or Barady ("the cold"), which descends from the Anti-Lebanon, and flows through Damascus in seven streams. (The Arabic version has Barda.)

Pharpar.--Parpar ("the swift"), the present Nahr el-Awaj, which comes down from the great Hermon, and flows by Damascus on the south. Both rivers have clear water, as being mountain streams, whereas the Jordan is turbid and discoloured.

Rivers of Damascus.--Add the. Damascus is still famous for its wholesome water.

May I not wash in them, and be clean?--If mere washing in a river be enough, it were easy to do that at home, and to much better advantage.

Verse 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? The "rivers of Damascus" are streams of great freshness and beauty. The principal one is the Barada, probably the Abaua of the present passage, which, rising in the Antilibanus range, and flowing through a series of romantic glens, bursts finally from the mountains through a deep gorge and scatters itself over the plain. One branch passes right through the city of Damascus, cutting it in half. Others flow past the city both on the north and on the south, irrigating the gardens and orchards, and spreading fertility far and wide over the Merj. A small stream, the Fidjeh, flows into the Barada from the north. Another quite independent river, the Awaaj. waters the southern portion of the Damascene plain, but does not approach within several miles of the city. Most geographers regard this as the "Pharpar;" but the identification is uncertain, since the name may very possibly have attached to one of the branches of the Barada. The Barada is limpid, cool, gushing, the perfection of a river: It was known to the Greeks and Romans as the Chrysorrhoas, or "river of gold." We can well understand that Naaman would esteem the streams of his own city as infinitely superior to the turbid, often sluggish, sometimes "clay-colored" (Robinson, ' Researches,' ver. 2. p. 256) Jordan. If leprosy was to be trashed away, it might naturally have appeared to him that the pure Barada would have more cleansing power than the muddy river recommended to him by the prophet. So he turned and went away in a rage.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
[Are] not
הֲלֹ֡א (hă·lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

Abanah
אֲמָנָ֨ה (’ă·mā·nāh)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 71: Abanah -- a river near Damascus

and Pharpar,
וּפַרְפַּ֜ר (ū·p̄ar·par)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 6554: Pharpar -- a river near Damascus

the rivers
נַהֲר֣וֹת (na·hă·rō·wṯ)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 5104: A stream, prosperity

of Damascus,
דַּמֶּ֗שֶׂק (dam·me·śeq)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 1834: Damascus -- a city in Aram (Syria)

better
טוֹב֩ (ṭō·wḇ)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 2896: Pleasant, agreeable, good

than all
מִכֹּל֙ (mik·kōl)
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

the waters
מֵימֵ֣י (mê·mê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 4325: Water, juice, urine, semen

of Israel?
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל (yiś·rā·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc

Could I not
הֲלֹֽא־ (hă·lō-)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

have washed
אֶרְחַ֥ץ (’er·ḥaṣ)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 7364: To wash, wash off or away, bathe

in them
בָּהֶ֖ם (bā·hem)
Preposition | third person masculine plural
Strong's Hebrew

and been cleansed?”
וְטָהָ֑רְתִּי (wə·ṭā·hā·rə·tî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 2891: To be clean or pure

So he turned
וַיִּ֖פֶן (way·yi·p̄en)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6437: To turn, to face, appear, look

and went away
וַיֵּ֥לֶךְ (way·yê·leḵ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1980: To go, come, walk

in a rage.
בְּחֵמָֽה׃ (bə·ḥê·māh)
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 2534: Heat, anger, poison


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OT History: 2 Kings 5:12 Aren't Abanah and Pharpar the rivers (2Ki iiKi ii ki 2 kg 2kg)
2 Kings 5:11
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