The Healing of Naaman the Syrian

5 Now Naaman was the commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man before his master and highly regarded,^[a] for by him Yahweh had given victory to Aram. Now the man was a mighty warrior, but he was afflicted with a skin disease. ² When the Arameans went on a raid, they brought back a young girl from the land of Israel, and she came into the service of^[b] the wife of Naaman. ³ She said to her mistress, “If only my lord would come before the prophet who is in Samaria; then he would cure his skin disease.”^{[c] 4} He came and told his master, saying, “Thus and so the girl who is from the land of Israel said.” ⁵ So the king of Aram said, “Go, I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” He went and took with him^[d] ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of clothing.

⁶ So he brought the letter of the king to Israel, saying, “Now, when this letter comes to you, I have just sent Naaman my servant to you that you may cure him from his skin disease.” ⁷ It happened that when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God to cause death or to give life? This man is sending a man to me to cure his disease. Indeed! But know and see that he seeks an opportunity against me.”

⁸ It happened that as soon as Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, “Why did you tear your clothes? Please may he come to me, that he might know that there is a prophet in Israel.” ⁹ Then Naaman came with his horses and his chariots, and he stopped at the doorway of the house of Elisha. ¹⁰ Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go, you must wash seven times in the Jordan, then your flesh shall return to you, and you shall be clean.” ¹¹ But Naaman became angry and he went and said, “Look, I said to myself, ‘Surely he will come out, stand, call upon the name of Yahweh his God, and wave his hands over the spot; then he would take away the skin disease.’ ¹² Are not the Abana and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all of the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them that I may be clean?” Then he turned and left in anger. ¹³ But his servants came near and spoke to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had spoken a difficult thing to you to do, would you not have done it? Why not even when he says to you, ‘Wash and you shall be clean’?” ¹⁴ So he went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh returned as the flesh of a small boy, and he was clean.

Elisha’s Greedy Servant Gehazi

¹⁵ When he returned to the man of God, he and all of his army, he came and stood before him and said, “Please now, I know that there is no God in all of the world except in Israel. So then, please take a gift from your servant.” ¹⁶ And he said, “As Yahweh lives,^[e] before whom I stand, I surely will not take it.” Still he urged him to take it, but he refused. ¹⁷ Then Naaman said, “If not, then please let a load of soil on a pair of mules be given to your servants, for your servant will never again bring a burnt offering and sacrifice to other gods, but only to Yahweh. ¹⁸ As far as this matter, may Yahweh pardon your servant when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he is leaning himself on my arm, that I also bow down in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down in the house of Rimmon, may Yahweh please pardon your servant in this matter.” ¹⁹ He said to him, “Go in peace,” so he went from him a short distance.^[f]