2 Kings 4:18-5:27

New King James Version

¹⁸ And the child grew. Now it happened one day that he went out to his father, to the reapers. ¹⁹ And he said to his father, “My head, my head!”

So he said to a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” ²⁰ When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. ²¹ And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut the door upon him, and went out. ²² Then she called to her husband, and said, “Please send me one of the young men and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God and come back.”

²³ So he said, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither the ^(A)New Moon nor the Sabbath.”

And she said, ^[a]“It is well.” ²⁴ Then she saddled a donkey, and said to her servant, “Drive, and go forward; do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you.” ²⁵ And so she departed, and went to the man of God ^(B)at Mount Carmel.

So it was, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to his servant Gehazi, “Look, the Shunammite woman! ²⁶ Please run now to meet her, and say to her, ‘Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?’ ”

And she answered, “It is well.” ²⁷ Now when she came to the man of God at the hill, she caught him by the feet, but Gehazi came near to push her away. But the man of God said, “Let her alone; for her soul is in deep distress, and the Lord has hidden it from me, and has not told me.”

²⁸ So she said, “Did I ask a son of my lord? ^(C)Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me’?”

²⁹ Then he said to Gehazi, ^(D)“Get^[b] yourself ready, and take my staff in your hand, and be on your way. If you meet anyone, ^(E)do not greet him; and if anyone greets you, do not answer him; but ^(F)lay my staff on the face of the child.”

³⁰ And the mother of the child said, ^(G)“As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not ^(H)leave you.” So he arose and followed her. ³¹ Now Gehazi went on ahead of them, and laid the staff on the face of the child; but there was neither voice nor hearing. Therefore he went back to meet him, and told him, saying, “The child has ^(I)not awakened.”

³² When Elisha came into the house, there was the child, lying dead on his bed. ³³ He ^(J)went in therefore, shut the door behind the two of them, ^(K)and prayed to the Lord. ³⁴ And he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands; and ^(L)he stretched himself out on the child, and the flesh of the child became warm. ³⁵ He returned and walked back and forth in the house, and again went up ^(M)and stretched himself out on him; then ^(N)the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. ³⁶ And he called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite woman.” So he called her. And when she came in to him, he said, “Pick up your son.” ³⁷ So she went in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground; then she ^(O)picked up her son and went out.

Elisha Purifies the Pot of Stew

³⁸ And Elisha returned to ^(P)Gilgal, and there was a ^(Q)famine in the land. Now the sons of the prophets were ^(R)sitting before him; and he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” ³⁹ So one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered from it a lapful of wild gourds, and came and sliced them into the pot of stew, though they did not know what they were. ⁴⁰ Then they served it to the men to eat. Now it happened, as they were eating the stew, that they cried out and said, “Man of God, there is ^(S)death in the pot!” And they could not eat it.

⁴¹ So he said, “Then bring some flour.” And ^(T)he put it into the pot, and said, “Serve it to the people, that they may eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot.

Elisha Feeds One Hundred Men^(U)

⁴² Then a man came from ^(V)Baal Shalisha, ^(W)and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley bread, and newly ripened grain in his knapsack. And he said, “Give it to the people, that they may eat.”

⁴³ But his servant said, ^(X)“What? Shall I set this before one hundred men?”

He said again, “Give it to the people, that they may eat; for thus says the Lord: ^(Y)‘They shall eat and have some left over.’ ” ⁴⁴ So he set it before them; and they ate ^(Z)and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.

Naaman’s Leprosy Healed

5 Now ^(AA)Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was ^(AB)a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper. ² And the Syrians had gone out ^(AC)on^[c] raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She ^[d]waited on Naaman’s wife. ³ Then she said to her mistress, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy.” ⁴ And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “Thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel.”

⁵ Then the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.”

So he departed and ^(AD)took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. ⁶ Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said,

⁷ And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, “Am I ^(AE)God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me.”

⁸ So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.”

⁹ Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house. ¹⁰ And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and ^(AF)wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” ¹¹ But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’ ¹² Are not the ^[e]Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. ¹³ And his ^(AG)servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” ¹⁴ So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his ^(AH)flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and ^(AI)he was clean.

¹⁵ And he returned to the man of God, he and all his aides, and came and stood before him; and he said, “Indeed, now I know that there is ^(AJ)no God in all the earth, except in Israel; now therefore, please take ^(AK)a gift from your servant.”

¹⁶ But he said, ^(AL)“As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, ^(AM)I will receive nothing.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused.

¹⁷ So Naaman said, “Then, if not, please let your servant be given two mule-loads of earth; for your servant will no longer offer either burnt offering or sacrifice to other gods, but to the Lord. ¹⁸ Yet in this thing may the Lord pardon your servant: when my master goes into the temple of Rimmon to worship there, and ^(AN)he leans on my hand, and I bow down in the temple of Rimmon—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord please pardon your servant in this thing.”

¹⁹ Then he said to him, “Go in peace.” So he departed from him a short distance.

Gehazi’s Greed

²⁰ But ^(AO)Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “Look, my master has spared Naaman this Syrian, while not receiving from his hands what he brought; but as the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something from him.” ²¹ So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw him running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him, and said, “Is all well?”

²² And he said, “All is ^(AP)well. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Indeed, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the mountains of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of garments.’ ”

²³ So Naaman said, “Please, take two talents.” And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and handed them to two of his servants; and they carried them on ahead of him. ²⁴ When he came to ^[f]the citadel, he took them from their hand, and stored them away in the house; then he let the men go, and they departed. ²⁵ Now he went in and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, “Where did you go, Gehazi?”

And he said, “Your servant did not go anywhere.”

²⁶ Then he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is it ^(AQ)time to receive money and to receive clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants? ²⁷ Therefore the leprosy of Naaman ^(AR)shall cling to you and your descendants forever.” And he went out from his presence ^(AS)leprous, as white as snow.