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2 Kings 5
New American Standard Bible

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.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 5:1 Lit before
  2. 2 Kings 5:2 Lit was before
  3. 2 Kings 5:3 Lit before
  4. 2 Kings 5:4 Lit he
  5. 2 Kings 5:5 Lit enter
  6. 2 Kings 5:5 A talent was about 75 lb. or 34 kg
  7. 2 Kings 5:5 A shekel was about 0.5 oz. or 14 gm
  8. 2 Kings 5:6 Lit saying
  9. 2 Kings 5:7 Lit an opportunity
  10. 2 Kings 5:11 Lit said
  11. 2 Kings 5:11 Lit one with leprosy
  12. 2 Kings 5:12 Another reading is Amanah
  13. 2 Kings 5:13 Lit and said
  14. 2 Kings 5:15 Lit he and
  15. 2 Kings 5:15 Lit blessing
  16. 2 Kings 5:20 Lit said
  17. 2 Kings 5:20 Lit from
  18. 2 Kings 5:24 Lit Ophel
  19. 2 Kings 5:27 Lit seed
Close ISV

2 Kings 5
International Standard Version

The Healing of Naaman

5 Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram,[a] was a great man in the opinion[b] of his master. He was highly favored, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. Though he was a mighty and valiant man, he was suffering from leprosy. 2 On one of their raids to the territory of Israel, Aram had taken captive a young girl when she was an infant,[c] who had eventually become an attendant to[d] Naaman’s wife. 3 She mentioned to her mistress, “If only my master were to visit the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”

4 Later, Naaman[e] went to inform his master and told him something like this: “Thus and so spoke the young woman from the territory of Israel.”

5 The king of Aram replied, “Go now, and I’ll send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he left and took with him ten talents[f] of silver and 6,000 units[g] of gold, along with ten sets[h] of clothing. 6 He also brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read as follows: “…and now as this letter finds its way to you, look! I’ve sent my servant Naaman to you so you may heal him of his leprosy.”

7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he ripped his clothes and cried out, “Am I God? Can I kill and give life? Is this man sending me a request[i] to heal a man’s leprosy? Let’s think about this—he’s looking for a reason to start a fight[j] with me!”

8 When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message[k] to the king and asked, “Why did you tear your clothes? Please, let the man come visit me and he will learn that there is a prophet in Israel!”

9 So Naaman arrived with his horses and chariots and stood in front of the door to Elisha’s house. 10 Elisha sent a messenger out to him, who told him, “Go bathe in the Jordan River[l] seven times. Your flesh will be restored for you. Now stay clean!”

11 But Naaman flew into a rage and left, telling himself, “Look! I thought ‘He’s surely going to come out to me, stand still, call out in the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the infection,[m] and cure the leprosy!’ 12 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.

13 But then his servants approached him and spoke with him. They said, “My father, had the prophet only asked of you something great, you would have done it, wouldn’t you? Yet he told you, ‘Bathe, and be clean…!’” 14 So he went down and plunged himself into the Jordan River[n] seven times, just as the man of God had said, and his flesh rejuvenated like the flesh of a newborn child. And he was clean.

Gehazi’s Greed is Punished

15 Naaman[o] went back to the man of God, along with his entire entourage, and stood before him. “Please look!” he said. “I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel! So please, take a present from your servant.”

16 But Elisha[p] replied, “As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will not receive anything from you.” Though Naaman[q] urged him to take it, Elisha[r] declined.

17 So Naaman asked, “No? Then please let your servant load two mules with dirt from Israel,[s] because your servant will no longer offer any burnt offering or sacrifice to any other god but the Lord. 18 In this one area may the Lord pardon your servant: Whenever my master enters the temple of Rimmon to worship there, he will lean on my hand while I bow down in the temple of Rimmon. So may the Lord pardon your servant in this one area.”

19 “Go in peace,” he said. So Naaman[t] left.

After Naaman had gone only a short distance, 20 Gehazi, the attendant to Elisha, the man of God, told himself, “Look how my master has spared this Aramean, Naaman! He declined to take from him what he brought. As the Lord lives, I’m going to run after him and get something from him.” 21 So Gehazi ran after Naaman.

When Naaman noticed someone running after him, he came down from his chariot, greeted him and asked, “Is everything all right?”[u]

22 Gehazi said, “Everything’s all right. My master sent me to tell you, ‘Just now two men from the Guild of Prophets have arrived from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them each a talent[v] of silver bullion and two sets[w] of clothes.’”

23 But Naaman said, “Please accept my invitation to take two talents[x] of silver.” He urged him, binding two talents[y] of silver in two bags, along with two sets of clothes. He placed them in the care of two of his young men, and they went on ahead of Gehazi.[z] 24 When he arrived at the stronghold, Gehazi[aa] took the bags from their custody and hid them away in the house. Then he sent the men away and they left.

25 Later he went to address[ab] his master. Elisha asked him, “Where did you go, Gehazi?”

“Your servant went nowhere in particular,” he said.

26 But Elisha[ac] responded, “Didn’t my heart break[ad] as the man was turning from his chariot to greet you? Is now the time to receive money? To receive clothes? And olive groves, vineyards, sheep, oxen, servants, or female attendants? 27 Naaman’s leprosy will plague you and your descendants forever!” As he left Elisha’s presence, he was infected with leprosy that looked like white snow.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 5:1 I.e., ancient Assyria, and so throughout the book
  2. 2 Kings 5:1 Lit. eyes
  3. 2 Kings 5:2 Or young little girl; cf. v. 14; i.e., a young girl of small size
  4. 2 Kings 5:2 Lit. girl, and she was in the presence of
  5. 2 Kings 5:4 Lit. he
  6. 2 Kings 5:5 I.e. about 750 pounds; a talent weighed about 75 pounds
  7. 2 Kings 5:5 The unit of weight is unspecified.
  8. 2 Kings 5:5 So MT; LXX reads changes
  9. 2 Kings 5:7 The Heb. lacks a request
  10. 2 Kings 5:7 The Heb. lacks to start a fight
  11. 2 Kings 5:8 The Heb. lacks a message
  12. 2 Kings 5:10 The Heb. lacks River
  13. 2 Kings 5:11 Lit. place
  14. 2 Kings 5:14 The Heb. lacks River
  15. 2 Kings 5:15 Lit. He
  16. 2 Kings 5:16 Lit. he
  17. 2 Kings 5:16 Lit. he
  18. 2 Kings 5:16 Lit. he
  19. 2 Kings 5:17 The Heb. lacks from Israel
  20. 2 Kings 5:19 Lit. he
  21. 2 Kings 5:21 Lit. Peace; i.e. a general statement of good will; and so through v. 26
  22. 2 Kings 5:22 I.e. about 75 pounds; a talent weighed about 75 pounds
  23. 2 Kings 5:22 So MT; LXX reads changes
  24. 2 Kings 5:23 The Heb. is dual; i.e. about 150 pounds; a talent weighed about 75 pounds
  25. 2 Kings 5:23 The Heb. is dual; i.e. about 150 pounds; a talent weighed about 75 pounds
  26. 2 Kings 5:23 Lit. him
  27. 2 Kings 5:24 Lit. he
  28. 2 Kings 5:25 Or to stand before
  29. 2 Kings 5:26 Lit. he
  30. 2 Kings 5:26 Lit. go
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2 Kings 4
2 Kings 6
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