Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

5 ¶ Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high esteem because by him the LORD had given salvation unto Syria; he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.

² And the Syrians had gone out by companies and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid, and she waited on Naaman’s wife.

³ And she said unto her mistress, If my lord would ask the prophet that is in Samaria, he would remove his leprosy.

⁴ And Naaman went in and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.

⁵ And the king of Syria said, Go, depart, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.

⁶ And he also took the letter to the king of Israel, which said, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman, my slave, to thee, that thou may remove his leprosy.

⁷ And when the king of Israel read the letter, he rent his clothes and said, Am I God, to kill and to give life, that this man sends unto me to remove the leprosy of this man? Therefore now consider and see how he seeks a quarrel against me.

⁸ And when Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, Why hast thou rent thy clothes? Let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.

⁹ ¶ So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.

¹⁰ And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall be restored, and thou shalt be clean.

¹¹ But Naaman went away angry and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD, his God, and strike his hand over the place and remove the leprosy.

¹² Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.

¹³ Then his slaves came near and spoke unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, would thou not have done it? How much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash and be clean?

¹⁴ Then went he down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

A Psalm and Song at the dedication of the house of David.

¹ ¶ I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.

² O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.

³ O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol; thou gavest me life from my descent into the grave.

⁴ Let his merciful ones sing unto the LORD, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

⁵ For his anger endures but a moment; in his will is life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

⁶ ¶ And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.

⁷ LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong; thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.

⁸ I will cry unto thee, O GOD; and unto the Lord will I make supplication.

⁹ What profit is there in my blood when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? Shall it declare thy truth?

¹⁰ Hear, O LORD and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper.

¹¹ Thou hast turned my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth and girded me with gladness;

¹² to the end that I may sing glory unto thee and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

²⁴ ¶ Know ye not that those who run in a race indeed all run, but one receives the prize? So run, that ye may obtain it.

²⁵ And every man that strives for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we, an incorruptible one.

²⁶ I therefore so run, not as unto an uncertain thing; so I fight, not as one that beats the air;

²⁷ but I keep my body under, and bring it into subjection, lest preaching to others, I myself should become reprobate.

⁴⁰ ¶ And a leper came to him, beseeching him and kneeling down to him and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

⁴¹ And Jesus, having mercy on him, put forth his hand and touched him and said unto him, I will; be thou clean.

⁴² And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was clean.

⁴³ And he straitly charged him and forthwith sent him away

⁴⁴ and said unto him, See thou say nothing to any man, but go, show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

⁴⁵ But he went out and began to publish it much and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places; and they came to him from every quarter.