Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Chapter 5

Cure of Naaman.^{[a] 1} There was a certain Naaman, who was the commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was an honorable man, highly esteemed by his master, because it was through him that the Lord had delivered Aram. He was a brave soldier, but he had leprosy.

² Aramean raiders had gone out into the land of Israel and had taken a young girl captive who served Naaman’s wife. ³ She said to her mistress, “If only my lord would present himself to the prophet who is in Samaria. He would cure him of his leprosy.”

⁷ When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, with the power to kill and give life, that he sends me a man to heal him of his leprosy? Think of it, see how he is seeking a quarrel with me.”

⁸ When Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me so that he might know that there is a prophet in Israel.”

⁹ So Naaman went with his horses and his chariot, and he stood at the door to Elisha’s house. ¹⁰ Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go, wash seven times in the Jordan, and your skin will be restored, and you will be clean.”

¹¹ But Naaman went away angry and said, “Behold, I thought he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord, his God, and wave his hand over the place and heal the leprosy. ¹² Are not the Abana and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all of the rivers of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be made clean?”

So he turned away and left in a rage. ¹³ His servants approached him and spoke to him saying, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more should you do it when he said, ‘Wash and be made clean.’ ”

¹⁴ He went down and he bathed himself in the Jordan seven times as the man of God had instructed him to do. His skin became like the skin of a little child, and he was clean.

¹⁵ He and all of his attendants returned to the man of God. He came and he stood before him and said, “Behold, I now know that there is no God upon the earth except in Israel. Please accept a gift from your servant.”

Psalm 111^[a]

Praise of God for His Wondrous Works

¹ Alleluia.

Remember That Jesus Christ Is Risen.^{[a] 8} Remember the gospel that I preach: Jesus Christ, a descendant of David, was raised from the dead. ⁹ It is because of this that I have endured great suffering, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained. ¹⁰ Therefore, I endure everything for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

¹¹ This saying can be trusted:

¹⁴ A True Servant of the Lord.^[b] Remind people of these things, and warn them before God^[c] that they must stop arguing over words. This does no good and only causes harm to those who are listening. ¹⁵ Make every effort to present yourself before God as one who is worthy of his approval, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, but who imparts the word of truth without any alteration.

¹¹ Jesus Heals Ten Men with Leprosy.^[a] As he continued on his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. ¹² When he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Standing some distance away, ¹³ they called out to him, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us.” ¹⁴ When he saw them, he said, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.

¹⁵ One of them, when he realized that he had been cured, came back, praising God in a loud voice. ¹⁶ He prostrated himself at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. This man was a Samaritan.

¹⁷ Jesus asked, “Were not all ten made clean? Where are the other nine? ¹⁸ Has no one except this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” ¹⁹ Then he said to him, “Stand up and go on your way. Your faith has made you well.”