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2 Kings 5
New English Translation

Elisha Heals a Syrian General

5 Now Naaman, the commander of the king of Syria’s army, was esteemed and respected by his master,[a] for through him the Lord had given Syria military victories. But this great warrior had a skin disease.[b] 2 Raiding parties went out from Syria and took captive from the land of Israel a young girl, who became a servant to Naaman’s wife. 3 She told her mistress, “If only my master were in the presence of the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his skin disease.”

4 Naaman[c] went and told his master what the girl from the land of Israel had said. 5 The king of Syria said, “Go! I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman[d] went, taking with him 10 talents[e] of silver, 6,000 shekels of gold,[f] and 10 suits of clothes. 6 He brought the letter to the king of Israel. It read: “This is a letter of introduction for my servant Naaman,[g] whom I have sent to be cured of his skin disease.” 7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill or restore life? Why does he ask me to cure a man of his skin disease?[h] Certainly you must see that he is looking for an excuse to fight me!”[i]

8 When Elisha the prophet[j] heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent this message to the king, “Why did you tear your clothes? Send him[k] to me so he may know there is a prophet in Israel.” 9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood in the doorway of Elisha’s house. 10 Elisha sent out a messenger who told him, “Go and wash seven times in the Jordan; your skin will be restored[l] and you will be healed.” 11 Naaman went away angry. He said, “Look, I thought for sure he would come out, stand there, invoke the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the area, and cure the skin disease. 12 The rivers of Damascus, the Abana and Pharpar, are better than any of the waters of Israel![m] Could I not wash in them and be healed?” So he turned around and went away angry. 13 His servants approached and said to him,[n] “O master,[o] if the prophet had told you to do some difficult task,[p] you would have been willing to do it.[q] It seems you should be happy that he simply said, ‘Wash and you will be healed.’[r] 14 So he went down and dipped in the Jordan seven times, as the prophet had instructed.[s] His skin became as smooth as a young child’s[t] and he was healed.

15 He and his entire entourage returned to the prophet. Naaman[u] came and stood before him. He said, “For sure[v] I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel! Now, please accept a gift from your servant.” 16 But Elisha[w] replied, “As certainly as the Lord lives (whom I serve),[x] I will take nothing from you.” Naaman[y] insisted that he take it, but he refused. 17 Naaman said, “If not, then please give your servant a load of dirt, enough for a pair of mules to carry,[z] for your servant will never again offer a burnt offering or sacrifice to a god other than the Lord.[aa] 18 May the Lord forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to worship, and he leans on my arm and I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord forgive your servant for this.”[ab] 19 Elisha[ac] said to him, “Go in peace.”

When he had gone a short distance,[ad] 20 Gehazi, the prophet Elisha’s servant, thought,[ae] “Look, my master did not accept what this Syrian Naaman offered him.[af] As certainly as the Lord lives, I will run after him and accept something from him.” 21 So Gehazi ran after Naaman. When Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from his chariot to meet him and asked, “Is everything all right?”[ag] 22 He answered, “Everything is fine.[ah] My master sent me with this message, ‘Look, two servants of the prophets just arrived from the Ephraimite hill country.[ai] Please give them a talent[aj] of silver and two suits of clothes.’” 23 Naaman said, “Please accept two talents of silver.”[ak] He insisted, and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, along with two suits of clothes. He gave them to two of his servants and they carried them for Gehazi.[al] 24 When he arrived at the hill, he took them from the servants[am] and put them in the house. Then he sent the men on their way.[an]

25 When he came and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” He answered, “Your servant hasn’t been anywhere.” 26 Elisha[ao] replied, “I was there in spirit when a man turned and got down from his chariot to meet you.[ap] This is not the proper time to accept silver or to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, sheep, cattle, and male and female servants.[aq] 27 Therefore Naaman’s skin disease will afflict[ar] you and your descendants forever!” When Gehazi[as] went out from his presence, his skin was as white as snow.[at]

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 5:1 tn Heb “was a great man before his master and lifted up with respect to the face.”
  2. 2 Kings 5:1 tn For a discussion of מְצֹרָע (metsoraʿ), traditionally translated “leprous,” see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 63. Naaman probably had a skin disorder of some type, not leprosy/Hansen’s disease.
  3. 2 Kings 5:4 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Naaman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  4. 2 Kings 5:5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Naaman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  5. 2 Kings 5:5 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 750 pounds of silver (cf. NCV, NLT, CEV).
  6. 2 Kings 5:5 tn Heb “six thousand gold […].” The unit of measure is not given in the Hebrew text. A number of English versions supply “pieces” (e.g., KJV, ASV, NAB, TEV) or “shekels” (e.g., NASB, NIV, NRSV).
  7. 2 Kings 5:6 tn Heb “and now when this letter comes to you, look, I have sent to you Naaman my servant.”
  8. 2 Kings 5:7 tn Heb “Am I God, killing and restoring life, that this one sends to me to cure a man from his skin disease?” In the Hebrew text this is one lengthy rhetorical question, which has been divided up in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  9. 2 Kings 5:7 tn Heb “Indeed, know and see that he is seeking an occasion with respect to me.”
  10. 2 Kings 5:8 tn Heb “man of God” (also in vv. 15, 20).
  11. 2 Kings 5:8 tn Heb “Let him come.”
  12. 2 Kings 5:10 tn Heb “will return to you.”
  13. 2 Kings 5:12 tn Heb “Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all of the waters of Israel?” The rhetorical question expects an emphatic “yes” as an answer.
  14. 2 Kings 5:13 tn Heb “They spoke to him. They said.”
  15. 2 Kings 5:13 tn Heb “my father,” reflecting the perspective of each individual servant. To address their master as “father” would emphasize his authority and express their respect. See BDB 3 s.v. אָב and the similar idiomatic use of “father” in 2 Kgs 2:12.
  16. 2 Kings 5:13 tn Heb “a great thing.”
  17. 2 Kings 5:13 tn Heb “would you not do [it]?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course you would.”
  18. 2 Kings 5:13 tn Heb “How much more [when] he said, “Wash and be healed.” The second imperative (“be healed”) states the expected result of obeying the first (‘wash”).
  19. 2 Kings 5:14 tn Heb “according to the word of the man of God.”
  20. 2 Kings 5:14 tn Heb “and his skin was restored, like the skin of a small child.”
  21. 2 Kings 5:15 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Naaman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  22. 2 Kings 5:15 tn Heb “look.”
  23. 2 Kings 5:16 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  24. 2 Kings 5:16 tn Heb “before whom I stand.”
  25. 2 Kings 5:16 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Naaman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  26. 2 Kings 5:17 tn Heb “and [if] not, may there be given to your servant a load [for] a pair of mules, earth.”
  27. 2 Kings 5:17 tn Heb “for your servant will not again make a burnt offering and sacrifice to other gods, only to the Lord.”
  28. 2 Kings 5:18 tn Heb “When my master enters the house of Rimmon to bow down there, and 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 forgive your servant for this thing.”sn Rimmon was the Syrian storm god. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 65.
  29. 2 Kings 5:19 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  30. 2 Kings 5:19 tn Heb “and he went from him a distance of land.” The precise meaning of כִּבְרַה (kivrah) “distance,” is uncertain. See BDB 460 s.v. כִּבְרַה, and HALOT 459-60 s.v. II *כְּבָרַה, and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 65.
  31. 2 Kings 5:20 tn Heb “said” (i.e., to himself).
  32. 2 Kings 5:20 tn Heb “Look, my master spared this Syrian Naaman by not taking from his hand what he brought.”
  33. 2 Kings 5:21 tn Heb “Is there peace?”
  34. 2 Kings 5:22 tn Heb “peace.”
  35. 2 Kings 5:22 tn Heb “Look now, here, two servants came to me from the Ephraimite hill country, from the sons of the prophets.”
  36. 2 Kings 5:22 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 75 pounds of silver (cf. NCV, NLT, CEV).
  37. 2 Kings 5:23 tn Heb “Be resolved and accept two talents.”
  38. 2 Kings 5:23 tn Heb “before him.”
  39. 2 Kings 5:24 tn Heb “from their hand.”
  40. 2 Kings 5:24 tn Heb “and he sent the men away and they went.”
  41. 2 Kings 5:26 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  42. 2 Kings 5:26 tn 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.
  43. 2 Kings 5:26 tn In the MT the statement is phrased as a rhetorical question, “Is this the time…?” It expects an emphatic negative response.
  44. 2 Kings 5:27 tn Heb “cling to.”
  45. 2 Kings 5:27 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gehazi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  46. 2 Kings 5:27 tn Traditionally, “he went from before him, leprous like snow.” But see the note at 5:1, as well as M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 66.
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列王纪下 5
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)

以利沙医治乃缦

5 乃缦是亚兰王的元帅，甚得亚兰王器重，因为耶和华借他使亚兰人打了许多胜仗。他是英勇的战士，只是患了麻风病。 2 亚兰人袭击以色列时，曾掳回一个以色列少女，这少女做了乃缦妻子的婢女。 3 有一天，她对主母说：“要是我主人去见撒玛利亚的那位先知就好了！他一定能治好我主人的麻风病。” 4 乃缦把这以色列少女的话告诉亚兰王。 5 亚兰王说：“你去吧。我会写信给以色列王的。”于是，乃缦带了三百四十公斤银子、七十公斤金子和十套衣服，启程前往以色列。 6 他带给以色列王的信上写着：“谨以此信介绍我的臣仆乃缦到你那里，你要医好他的麻风病。” 7 以色列王读完信后，就撕裂衣服说：“难道我是上帝吗？我能操纵人的生死吗？这人竟叫我医好一个人的麻风病！他只是想找借口攻打我。”

8 上帝的仆人以利沙听说以色列王撕裂了衣服，便派人去对王说：“你为什么撕裂衣服呢？让那人到我这里来，我要让他知道以色列有先知。” 9 乃缦带领车辆和马匹到了以利沙的家，站在门口。 10 以利沙派使者出去对乃缦说：“你到约旦河里洗七次，你的皮肤就会复原，并得到洁净。” 11 乃缦却怒冲冲地走了。他说：“我以为他一定会出来见我，为我站着求告他的上帝耶和华，用手在我的患处晃一晃，医好我的麻风病。 12 大马士革的亚波纳河和法尔法河不比以色列所有的河都好吗？难道我在那里洗就不能得到洁净吗？”于是，他怒冲冲地转身走了。 13 他的仆人上前对他说：“我父啊，先知若吩咐你做一件大事，难道你会不去做吗？何况他只是说你去洗洗就可以洁净！” 14 乃缦就去约旦河，照上帝仆人的话在河里洗了七次，便洁净了，皮肤变得像小孩子的一样。

15 乃缦率领全体随从回到上帝的仆人那里，站在他面前说：“如今我才知道，除了以色列，普天下没有上帝。请你收下仆人的礼物。” 16 以利沙说：“我凭我事奉的永活上帝起誓，我决不接受。”乃缦再三请求，他仍不肯接受。 17 乃缦说：“如果你不肯接受礼物，请你容许仆人用两头骡子驮些泥土回去。从此以后，我不再献燔祭或平安祭给其他神明，只献给耶和华。 18 但有一件事，愿耶和华饶恕仆人。我主人进入临门庙祭拜时，他会扶着我的手，这样我也得随着他弯腰。若我在临门庙里弯腰，愿耶和华饶恕我。” 19 以利沙对他说：“你安心地走吧。”

20 乃缦刚走不远，上帝仆人以利沙的仆人基哈西心想：“我主人没有收亚兰人乃缦带来的礼物就让他走了。我凭永活的耶和华起誓，我一定要追上去，向他要点东西。” 21 他便去追赶乃缦。乃缦见后面有人赶来，就下车迎接他，问他：“一切都好吗？” 22 基哈西答道：“一切都好。我主人派我来告诉你，刚才有两位年轻的先知从以法莲山区来见他，请你赐给他们三十四公斤银子和两套衣服。” 23 乃缦说：“请你拿走六十八公斤银子吧！”并再三请他接受，然后把六十八公斤银子装进两个袋子，连同两套衣服，交给他的两个仆人抬走，基哈西跟在他们后面。 24 到了山冈，基哈西接过银子和衣服，放进屋里，便让他们回去了。 25 基哈西进去侍立在以利沙面前，以利沙问他：“基哈西，你刚才去哪里了？”基哈西答道：“仆人哪里也没有去。” 26 以利沙对他说：“那人下车回头迎接你的时候，我的心不也在那里吗？现在岂是接受人家银子、衣服、橄榄园、葡萄园、牛羊和仆婢的时候？ 27 因此，你和你的后代会永远沾染乃缦的麻风病。”基哈西离开以利沙时，患了麻风病，皮肤像雪一样白。

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