Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Naaman’s Problem
5 Naaman was the captain of the army of the king of Aram. He was very important to his king[a] because the Lord used him to lead Aram to victory. Naaman was a great and powerful man, but he was also sick with leprosy.
2 The Aramean army sent many groups of soldiers to fight in Israel. One time they took a little girl from the land of Israel. This girl became a servant of Naaman’s wife. 3 She said to his wife, “I wish that my master would meet the prophet who lives in Samaria. He could heal Naaman of his leprosy.”
4 Naaman went to the king and told him what the Israelite girl said.
5 Then the king of Aram said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.”
So Naaman went to Israel. He took 750 pounds[b] of silver, 6000 pieces of gold and ten changes of clothes as gifts. 6 Naaman took the letter from the king of Aram to the king of Israel. The letter said: “Now this letter is to show that I am sending my servant Naaman to you. Cure his leprosy.”
7 When the king of Israel had read the letter, he tore his clothes to show he was sad and upset. He said, “Am I God? I don’t have the power over life and death. So why did the king of Aram send a man sick with leprosy for me to heal? Think about it, and you will see that it is a trick. The king of Aram is trying to start a fight.”
8 Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes. So Elisha sent this message to the king: “Why did you tear your clothes? Let Naaman come to me. Then he will know there is a prophet in Israel.”
9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots to Elisha’s house and stood outside the door. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to Naaman who said, “Go and wash in the Jordan River seven times. Then your skin will be healed, and you will be pure and clean.”
11 Naaman became angry and left. He said, “I thought Elisha would at least come out and stand in front of me and call on the name of the Lord his God. I thought he would wave his hand over my body and heal the leprosy. 12 Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, are better than all the water in Israel. Why can’t I wash in those rivers in Damascus and become clean?” He was very angry and turned to leave.
13 But Naaman’s servants went to him and talked to him. They said, “Father,[c] if the prophet told you to do some great thing, you would do it, isn’t that right? But he said, ‘Wash, and you will be pure and clean.’”
14 So Naaman did what the man of God said. He went down and dipped himself in the Jordan River seven times, and he became pure and clean. His skin became soft like the skin of a baby.
A song of David for the dedication of the Temple.[a]
30 Lord, you lifted me out of my troubles.
You did not give my enemies a reason to laugh,
so I will praise you.
2 Lord my God, I prayed to you,
and you healed me.
3 Lord, you lifted me out of the grave.
I was falling into the place of death, but you saved my life.
4 Praise the Lord, you who are loyal to him!
Praise his holy name[b]!
5 His anger lasts for a little while,
but then his kindness brings life.
The night may be filled with tears,
but in the morning we can sing for joy!
6 When I was safe and secure,
I thought nothing could hurt me.
7 Yes, Lord, while you were kind to me,
I felt that nothing could defeat me.[c]
But when you turned away from me,
I was filled with fear.
8 So, Lord, I turned and prayed to you.
I asked you, Lord, to show me mercy.
9 I said, “What good is it if I die
and go down to the grave?
The dead just lie in the dirt.
They cannot praise you.
They cannot tell anyone how faithful you are.
10 Lord, hear my prayer, and be kind to me.
Lord, help me!”
11 You have changed my sorrow into dancing.
You have taken away my sackcloth
and clothed me with joy.
12 You wanted me to praise you and not be silent.
Lord my God, I will praise you forever!
24 You know that in a race all the runners run, but only one runner gets the prize. So run like that. Run to win! 25 All who compete in the games use strict training. They do this so that they can win a prize—one that doesn’t last. But our prize is one that will last forever. 26 So I run like someone who has a goal. I fight like a boxer who is hitting something, not just the air. 27 It is my own body I fight to make it do what I want. I do this so that I won’t miss getting the prize myself after telling others about it.
Jesus Heals a Sick Man(A)
40 A man who had leprosy came to Jesus. The man bowed on his knees and begged him, “You have the power to heal me if you want.”
41 These last words made Jesus angry.[a] But he touched him and said, “I want to heal you. Be healed!” 42 Immediately the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed.
43 Jesus told the man to go, but he gave him a strong warning: 44 “Don’t tell anyone about what I did for you. But go and let the priest look at you.[b] And offer a gift to God because you have been healed. Offer the gift that Moses commanded.[c] This will show everyone that you are healed.” 45 The man left there and told everyone he saw that Jesus had healed him. So the news about Jesus spread. And that is why he could not enter a town if people saw him. He stayed in places where people did not live. But people came from all the towns to the places where he was.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International