2 Kings 5:19

And he said unto him,.... That is, the prophet said to Naaman: go in peace: in peace of mind; be assured that God has pardoned this and all other transgressions: so he departed from him a little way;

And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way. And he said unto him, Go in peace - i:e., God will accept of thy repentance.

Go in peace: these words may contain an answer, either, first, To his last petition, ; and so the sense may be this, Be not too solicitous about this matter; go, and the peace or blessing of God go along with thee. So the prophet both prays to God to bless and direct him in this and all other things, and intimates that God would do so. Or, secondly, To the former, ; Trouble not thyself about any of our earth, but go to thy own land, and I wish thee from God, and doubt not but God will give thee, peace, i.e. his favour and other blessings, which are oft contained in this word, if thou dost persist in this religion which thou hast now received. Or rather, this is only a farewell salutation, wherewith the prophet dismisseth him without any further answer to his requests, or instruction about his doubt; which he forbore by the motion of God’ s Spirit, which sometimes gives and sometimes denies instructions to persons or people, as he thinks fit. See ,7. And the prophet by the Spirit’ s direction might forbear to give him particular answers, partly because these matters were not of such importance as to concern the essence or foundation of religion; and partly because he was yet but a novice, and not able to bear all truths, which was for a time the condition of the apostles, , nor fit to be pressed to the practice of the hardest duties, which Christ himself thought not convenient for his disciples; . And therefore he at present accepts of his profession of the true, and his renunciation of the false religion; and of this declaration, that what he did in the temple of Rimmon should not now be (as he had formerly intended and practised it) a religious action towards the idol, but only a civil respect to his master. And what was necessary for him to know further about the lawfulness or sinfulness of that action, the prophet might take another and a more convenient time to inform him.

2 Kings 5:19 And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way.Ver. 19. Go in peace.] A friendly dismission, or as some will have it, a dilatory answer - q.d., Go thy way, trouble not thyself with points of this nature, the resolution whereof thou, being a babe as yet, art uncapable of. Content thyself with the benefit which thou hast already received. I hope the Lord will so direct thee that thou shalt not offend him in any such way. Valentinian would not attend upon Julian the emperor into the idol temple, and smote the priest that sprinkled him with holy water. So the Duke of Saxony and the other Protestant princes are much commended for this, that at the Imperial Diet, about religion, they went only to the church door with Charles V, Emperor, going to mass, but would not enter in with him.

(19) A little way.—Heb., a kibrâh of ground (Genesis 35:16). It seems to mean “a length of ground,” “a certain distance,” without defining exactly how far. Had it been a parasang, as the Syriac renders, Gehazi could not have overtaken the company so easily.

Verse 19. And he said unto him] There is a most singular and important reading in one of De Rossi's MSS., which he Numbers 191. It has in the margin לא ק that is, "read לא lo, not, instead of לו lo, to him." Now this reading supposes that Naaman did ask permission from the prophet to worship in Rimmon's temple; to which the prophet answers, No; go in peace: that is, maintain thy holy resolutions, be a consistent worshipper of the true God, and avoid all idolatrous practices. Another MS., No. 383, appears first to have written לו to him, but to have corrected it immediately by inserting an א aleph after the ו vau; and thus, instead of making it לא no, it has made it לוא lu, which is no word.

19. Go in peace] We are not to consider this answer as implying that service of God and service of Rimmon might be combined without any incongruity. The prophet appears rather to be willing to leave the good seed already sown to bear fruit in due season. Being sown of God it must fructify, and peace would be the result of its further development. a little way] The expression literally signifying ‘a length of country’ is very indefinite. It is found only here and in Genesis 35:16; Genesis 48:7. We may estimate its length roughly by considering how far Gehazi could have gone if he had to overtake a mounted cavalcade. It could not be very far.

So he departed ... - This clause should not be separated from the succeeding verse.

19. Go in peace — The prophet neither approves nor disapproves what Naaman says. He simply bids him farewell, without expressing any judgment on the sentiments he had uttered.