2 Kings 5-8

American Standard Version

5 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man ^[a]with his master, and honorable, because by him Jehovah had given ^[b]victory unto Syria: he was also a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. ² And the Syrians had gone out in bands, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maiden; and she ^[c]waited on Naaman’s wife. ³ And she said unto her mistress, Would that my lord were ^[d]with the prophet that is in Samaria! then would he recover him of his leprosy. ⁴ And ^[e]one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maiden that is of the land of Israel. ⁵ And the king of Syria said, Go now, 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 ^[f]pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. ⁶ And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, And now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy. ⁷ And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? but consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh ^[g]a quarrel against me.

⁸ And it was so, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore 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 chariots, 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 come again to thee, and ^[h]thou shalt be clean. ¹¹ But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of Jehovah his God, and wave his hand over the place, and recover the leper. ¹² Are not ^[i]Abanah and Pharpar, the 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 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest 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 saying of the man of God; and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

¹⁵ And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him; and he said, Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a ^[j]present of thy servant. ¹⁶ But he said, As Jehovah liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused. ¹⁷ And Naaman said, If not, yet, I pray thee, let there be given to thy servant two mules’ burden of earth; for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt-offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto Jehovah. ¹⁸ In this thing Jehovah pardon thy servant: when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, Jehovah pardon thy servant in this thing. ¹⁹ And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him ^[k]a little way.

²⁰ But Gehazi the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master hath spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: as Jehovah liveth, I will run after him, and take somewhat of him. ²¹ So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw one running after him, he alighted from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well? ²² And he said, All is well. My master hath sent me, saying, Behold, even now there are come to me from the hill-country of Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets; give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of raiment. ²³ And Naaman said, Be pleased to take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of raiment, and laid them upon two of his servants; and they bare them before him. ²⁴ And when he came to the ^[l]hill, he took them from their hand, and bestowed them in the house; and he let the men go, and they departed. ²⁵ But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither. ²⁶ And he said unto him, ^[m]Went not my heart with thee, when the man turned from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards and vineyards, and sheep and oxen, and men-servants and maid-servants? ²⁷ The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.

6 And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell before thee is too strait for us. ² Let us go, we pray thee, unto the Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye. ³ And one said, Be pleased, I pray thee, to go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go. ⁴ So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down wood. ⁵ But as one was felling a beam, the axe-head fell into the water; and he cried, and said, Alas, my master! for it was borrowed. ⁶ And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he showed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither, and ^[n]made the iron to swim. ⁷ And he said, Take it up to thee. So he put out his hand, and took it.

⁸ Now the king of Syria was warring against Israel; and he took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my ^[o]camp. ⁹ And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are coming down. ¹⁰ And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of; and he saved himself there, not once nor twice. ¹¹ And the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not show me which of us is for the king of Israel? ¹² And one of his servants said, Nay, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber. ¹³ And he said, Go and see where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.

¹⁴ Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about. ¹⁵ And when the ^[p]servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, a host with horses and chariots was round about the city. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? ¹⁶ And he answered, Fear not; for they that are with us are more than they that are with them. ¹⁷ And Elisha prayed, and said, Jehovah, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And Jehovah opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. ¹⁸ And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto Jehovah, and said, Smite this ^[q]people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. ¹⁹ And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. And he led them to Samaria.

²⁰ And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, Jehovah, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And Jehovah opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. ²¹ And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them? ²² And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master. ²³ And he prepared great provision for them; and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.

²⁴ And it came to pass after this, that Ben-hadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria. ²⁵ And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass’s head was sold for fourscore ^[r]pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a kab of dove’s dung for five ^[s]pieces of silver. ²⁶ And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king. ²⁷ And he said, ^[t]If Jehovah do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the threshing-floor, or out of the winepress? ²⁸ And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to-day, and we will eat my son to-morrow. ²⁹ So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him; and she hath hid her son. ³⁰ And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes (now he was passing by upon the wall); and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh. ³¹ Then he said, God do so to me, and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day.

³² But Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him; and the king sent a man from before him: but ere the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away my head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and ^[u]hold the door fast against him: is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him? ³³ And while he was yet talking with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of Jehovah; why should I wait for Jehovah any longer? 7 ¹ And Elisha said, Hear ye the word of Jehovah: thus saith Jehovah, To-morrow about this time shall a ^[v]measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria. ² Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if Jehovah should make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.

³ Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die? ⁴ If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there; and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die. ⁵ And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians; and when they were come to the outermost part of the camp of the Syrians, behold, there was no man there. ⁶ For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us. ⁷ Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life. ⁸ And when these lepers came to the outermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and they came back, and entered into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid it.

⁹ Then they said one to another, We do not well; this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, ^[w]punishment will overtake us; now therefore come, let us go and tell the king’s household. ¹⁰ So they came and called unto the ^[x]porter of the city; and they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but the horses tied, and the asses tied, and the tents as they were. ¹¹ And ^[y]he called the porters; and they told it to the king’s household within. ¹² And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I will now show you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry; therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall take them alive, and get into the city. ¹³ And one of his servants answered and said, Let some take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left ^[z]in the city (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it; behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are consumed); and let us send and see. ¹⁴ They took therefore two chariots with horses; and the king sent after the host of the Syrians, saying, Go and see. ¹⁵ And they went after them unto the Jordan: and, lo, all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned, and told the king.

¹⁶ And the people went out, and plundered the camp of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of Jehovah. ¹⁷ And the king appointed the captain on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate: and the people trod upon him in the gate, and he died as the man of God had said, who spake when the king came down to him. ¹⁸ And it came to pass, as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be to-morrow about this time in the gate of Samaria; ¹⁹ and that captain answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if Jehovah should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? and he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof: ²⁰ it came to pass even so unto him; for the people trod upon him in the gate, and he died.

8 Now Elisha had spoken unto the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thy household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn: for Jehovah hath called for a famine; and it shall also come upon the land seven years. ² And the woman arose, and did according to the word of the man of God; and she went with her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. ³ And it came to pass at the seven years’ end, that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines: and she went forth to cry unto the king for her house and for her land. ⁴ Now the king was talking with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done. ⁵ And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored to life him that was dead, that, behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life. ⁶ And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed unto her a certain ^[aa]officer, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now.

⁷ And Elisha came to Damascus; and Ben-hadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither. ⁸ And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thy hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of Jehovah by him, saying, Shall I recover of this sickness? ⁹ So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present ^[ab]with him, ^[ac]even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Ben-hadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this sickness? ¹⁰ And Elisha said unto him, Go, ^[ad]say unto him, Thou shalt surely recover; howbeit Jehovah hath showed me that he shall surely die. ¹¹ And he settled his countenance stedfastly upon him, until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept. ¹² And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their strongholds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash in pieces their little ones, and rip up their women with child. ¹³ And Hazael said, But what is thy servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, Jehovah hath showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria. ¹⁴ Then he departed from Elisha, and came to his master; who said to him, What said Elisha to thee? And he answered, He told me that thou wouldest surely recover. ¹⁵ And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took the coverlet, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead.

¹⁶ And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign. ¹⁷ Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. ¹⁸ And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife; and he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah. ¹⁹ Howbeit Jehovah would not destroy Judah, for David his servant’s sake, as he promised him to give unto him a lamp ^[ae]for his children alway.

²⁰ In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves. ²¹ Then Joram passed over to Zair, and all his chariots with him: and he rose up by night, and smote the Edomites that compassed him about, and the captains of the chariots; and the people fled to their tents. ²² So Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. Then did Libnah revolt at the same time. ²³ And the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? ²⁴ And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.

²⁵ In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel did Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah begin to reign. ²⁶ Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah the ^[af]daughter of Omri king of Israel. ²⁷ And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, as did the house of Ahab; for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab. ²⁸ And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth-gilead: and the Syrians wounded Joram. ²⁹ And king Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.