2Ki 5:26 | NETfull | STEP | Elisha replied, “I was there in spirit when a man turned and got down from his chariot to meet you. This is not the proper time to accept silver or to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, sheep, cattle, and male and female servants.

2 Kings 5:26

26 Elisha ^{▼▼ Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.} replied, “I was there in spirit when a man turned and got down from his chariot to meet you. ^{▼▼ 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.} This is not the proper time to accept silver or to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, sheep, cattle, and male and female servants. ^{▼▼ In the MT the statement is phrased as a rhetorical question, “Is this the time…?” It expects an emphatic negative response.}