2 Kings 5:6

he brought the letter to the king of Israel The Syrian king would conclude that the prophet was at the king's command, and so he had only to write to the king, and all would be done that could be done.

Now[R.V. And now] when this letter This is not the commencement of the letter. The writer only extracts from it the sentence which contains the request. The insertion of the copula -And" by R.V. shews this, and so represents the Hebrew more exactly.

that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy The Syrian king speaks as though the cure were to be Jehoram's work. But of course he only required of the king that he should use his power with the mighty prophet. This however can hardly have been made plain in the body of the letter, or Jehoram's thoughts would have turned to Elisha.