Naaman Is Healed

5 Now ^(A)Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man ^[a]in the view of his master, and eminent, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man was also a valiant warrior, but afflicted with leprosy. ² Now the Arameans had gone out ^(B)in bands and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel; and she ^[b]waited on Naaman’s wife. ³ And she said to her mistress, “If only my master were ^[c]with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy.” ⁴ And ^[d]Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “The girl who is from the land of Israel spoke such and such.” ⁵ Then the king of Aram said, “Go ^[e]now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he departed and ^(C)took with him ten ^[f]talents of silver, six thousand ^[g]shekels of gold, and ten ^(D)changes of clothes.

⁶ And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, ^[h]which said, “And now as this letter comes to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, so that you may cure him of his leprosy.” ⁷ But when the king of Israel read the letter, ^(E)he tore his clothes and said, “^(F)Am I God, to kill and to keep alive, that this man is sending word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? But ^(G)consider now, and see how he is seeking ^[i]a quarrel against me.”

⁸ Now it happened, when Elisha ^(H)the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent word to the king, saying, “Why did you tear your clothes? Just have him come to me, and he shall learn that there is a prophet in Israel.” ⁹ So Naaman came with his horses and his chariots, and stood at the doorway of Elisha’s house. ¹⁰ And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “^(I)Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean.” ¹¹ But Naaman was furious and went away, and he said, “Behold, I ^[j]thought, ‘He will certainly come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the site and cure the ^[k]leprosy.’ ¹² Are ^[l]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 ^(J)went away in a rage. ^13 (K)Then his servants approached and spoke to him, ^[m]saying, “^(L)My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” ¹⁴ So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, in accordance with the word of the man of God; and ^(M)his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and ^(N)he was clean.

Gehazi’s Greed

¹⁵ Then he returned to the man of God ^[n]with all his company, and came and stood before him. And he said, “Behold now, ^(O)I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; so please ^(P)accept a ^[o]gift from your servant now.” ¹⁶ But he said, “^(Q)As surely as the Lord lives, before whom I stand, ^(R)I will accept nothing.” And he urged him to accept it, but he refused. ¹⁷ Then Naaman said, “If not, please let your servant be given two mules’ load of ^(S)earth; for your servant will no longer offer a burnt offering nor a sacrifice to other gods, but to the Lord. ¹⁸ Regarding this matter may the Lord forgive your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and ^(T)he leans on my hand and I bow down in the house of Rimmon, when I bow down in the house of Rimmon, may the Lord please forgive your servant in this matter.” ¹⁹ He said to him, “^(U)Go in peace.” So he went some distance from him.

²⁰ But ^(V)Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, ^[p]thought, “Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Aramean, ^[q]by not accepting from his hand what he brought. ^(W)As the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something from him.” ²¹ So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw someone running after him, he came down from the chariot to meet him and said, “Is everything well?” ²² And he said, “^(X)Everything is well. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Behold, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from ^(Y)the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and ^(Z)two changes of clothes.’” ²³ Naaman said, “^(AA)Be sure to take two talents.” And he urged him, and tied up two talents of silver in two bags with two changes of clothes, and gave them to two of his servants; and they carried them before him. ²⁴ When he came to the ^[r]hill, he took them from their hand and ^(AB)deposited them in the house, and he sent the men away, and they departed. ²⁵ But he went in and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” And he said, “^(AC)Your servant went nowhere.”

²⁶ Then he said to him, “Did my heart not go with you, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? ^(AD)Is it a time to accept money and to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, sheep, oxen, and male and female slaves? ²⁷ Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your ^[s]descendants forever.” So he went out from his presence ^(AE)afflicted with leprosy, as white as snow.

A Call to Prayer

2 First of all, then, I urge that ^(A)requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made in behalf of all people, ^2 (B)for kings and all who are in ^[a]authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and ^[b]dignity. ³ This is good and acceptable in the sight of ^(C)God our Savior, ^4 (D)who wants all people to be ^(E)saved and to ^(F)come to the ^[c]knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For there is ^(G)one God, and ^(H)one mediator also between God and mankind, the ^(I)man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who ^(J)gave Himself as a ransom for all, the ^(K)testimony ^[d]given at ^[e](L)the proper time. ^7 (M)For this I was appointed as a ^[f]preacher and ^(N)an apostle (^(O)I am telling the truth, I am not lying), as a teacher of ^(P)the Gentiles in faith and truth.

Instructions for Believers

⁸ Therefore ^(Q)I want the men ^(R)in every place to pray, ^(S)lifting up ^(T)holy hands, without anger and dispute. ⁹ Likewise, I want ^(U)women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, ^[g]modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or expensive apparel, ¹⁰ but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness. ^11 (V)A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. ^12 (W)But I do not allow a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. ^13 (X)For it was Adam who was first ^[h]created, and then Eve. ¹⁴ And it was not Adam who was deceived, but ^(Y)the woman was ^[i]deceived and ^[j]became a wrongdoer. ¹⁵ But ^[k]women will be ^[l]preserved through ^[m]childbirth—if they continue in ^(Z)faith, love, and sanctity, with moderation.

Daniel’s Prayer for His People

9 In the first year of ^(A)Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans— ² in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the Lord to ^(B)Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, ^(C)seventy years. ³ So I gave my ^[a]attention to the Lord God, to seek Him by prayer and pleading, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. ⁴ I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed, and said, “Oh, Lord, the ^(D)great and awesome God, who ^(E)keeps His covenant and faithfulness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, ^5 (F)we have sinned, we have done wrong, and ^[b]acted wickedly and ^(G)rebelled, even ^(H)turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. ⁶ Moreover, we have not ^(I)listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our leaders, our fathers, and all the people of the land.

⁷ “^(J)Righteousness belongs to You, Lord, but to us ^[c](K)open shame, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in ^(L)all the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You. ^8 [d]Open shame belongs to us, Lord, to our kings, our leaders, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. ⁹ To the Lord our God belong ^(M)compassion and forgiveness, ^[e]because we have ^(N)rebelled against Him; ¹⁰ and we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His ^[f]teachings which He ^(O)set before us through His servants the prophets. ¹¹ Indeed, ^(P)all Israel has violated Your Law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the ^(Q)curse has gushed forth on us, along with the oath which is written in the Law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against Him. ¹² So He has ^(R)confirmed His words which He had spoken against us and against our ^[g](S)rulers who ruled us, to bring on us great disaster; for under the entire heaven there has ^(T)not been done anything like what was done in Jerusalem. ¹³ Just as it is written in the ^(U)Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us; yet we have ^(V)not ^[h]sought the favor of the Lord our God by ^(W)turning from our wrongdoing and ^[i]giving attention to Your truth. ¹⁴ So the Lord has ^[j](X)kept the disaster in store and brought it on us; for the Lord our God is ^(Y)righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice.

¹⁵ “And now, Lord, our God, You who ^(Z)brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and ^(AA)made a name for Yourself, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have been wicked. ¹⁶ Lord, in accordance with all Your ^[k]righteous acts, let now Your ^(AB)anger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your ^(AC)holy mountain; for because of our sins and the wrongdoings of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become an ^(AD)object of taunting to all those around us. ¹⁷ So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his pleas, and for ^[l]Your sake, Lord, ^(AE)let Your face shine on Your ^(AF)desolate sanctuary. ¹⁸ My God, ^(AG)incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and ^(AH)see our desolations and the city which is ^(AI)called by Your name; for we are not ^[m](AJ)presenting our pleas before You based on ^[n]any merits of our own, but based on Your great compassion. ¹⁹ Lord, hear! Lord, forgive! Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, my God, ^(AK)do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”

Gabriel Brings an Answer

²⁰ While I was still ^(AL)speaking and praying, and ^(AM)confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and ^[o]presenting my plea before the Lord my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God, ²¹ while I was still speaking in prayer, the man ^(AN)Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision ^[p]previously, ^[q]came to me ^[r]in my extreme weariness about the time of the ^(AO)evening offering. ²² And he instructed me and talked with me and said, “Daniel, I have come now to give you insight with ^(AP)understanding. ²³ At the ^(AQ)beginning of your pleas the ^[s]command was issued, and I have come to tell you, because you are ^[t](AR)highly esteemed; so pay attention to the message and gain ^(AS)understanding of the vision.

Seventy Weeks and the Messiah

²⁴ “Seventy ^[u](AT)weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to ^[v]finish the wrongdoing, to ^[w]make an end of sin, to ^(AU)make atonement for guilt, to bring in ^(AV)everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and ^[x]prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. ²⁵ So you are to know and understand that from the issuing of a ^[y](AW)decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until ^[z](AX)Messiah the ^(AY)Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with ^[aa]streets and moat, even in times of distress. ²⁶ Then after the sixty-two weeks, the ^[ab]Messiah will be ^(AZ)cut off and have ^[ac]nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will ^(BA)destroy the city and the sanctuary. And ^[ad]its end will come with a ^(BB)flood; even to the end ^[ae]there will be war; desolations are determined. ²⁷ And he will confirm a covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of ^[af](BC)abominations will come the one who ^[ag]makes desolate, until a ^(BD)complete destruction, one that is ^[ah]decreed, gushes forth on the one who ^[ai]makes desolate.”

A Psalm of Praise.

Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Saving Goodness.