2 Kings 5:1-8:6

English Standard Version

Naaman Healed of Leprosy

5 ^(A)Naaman, ^(B)commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.^{[a] 2} Now the Syrians on ^(C)one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman's wife. ³ She said to her mistress, “Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” ⁴ So Naaman went in and told his lord, “Thus and so spoke the girl from the land of Israel.” ⁵ And the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.”

So he went, ^(D)taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels^[b] of gold, and ten ^(E)changes of clothing. ⁶ And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, “When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you Naaman my servant, that you may cure him of his leprosy.” ⁷ And when the king of Israel read the letter, ^(F)he tore his clothes and said, ^(G)“Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Only ^(H)consider, and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me.”

⁸ But when Elisha the ^(I)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 now to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel.” ⁹ So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha's house. ¹⁰ And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, ^(J)“Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.” ¹¹ But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that 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 cure the leper. ¹² Are not Abana^[c] and Pharpar, the rivers of ^(K)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 But his servants came near and said to him, ^(L)“My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” ¹⁴ So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, ^(M)and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, ^(N)and he was clean.

Gehazi's Greed and Punishment

¹⁵ Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him. And he said, “Behold, I know that ^(O)there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; so ^(P)accept now a present from your servant.” ¹⁶ But he said, ^(Q)“As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, ^(R)I will receive none.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused. ¹⁷ Then Naaman said, “If not, please let there be given to your servant two mule loads of earth, for from now on your servant will not offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god but the Lord. ¹⁸ In this matter may the Lord pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of ^(S)Rimmon to worship there, ^(T)leaning on my arm, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon your servant in this matter.” ¹⁹ He said to him, ^(U)“Go in peace.”

But when Naaman had gone from him a short distance, ^20 (V)Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “See, my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not accepting from his hand what he brought. ^(W)As the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something from him.” ²¹ So Gehazi followed Naaman. And when Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and said, ^(X)“Is all well?” ²² And he said, “All is well. My master has sent me to say, ‘There have just now come to me from ^(Y)the hill country of Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets. Please give them a talent of silver and ^(Z)two changes of clothing.’” ²³ And Naaman said, ^(AA)“Be pleased to accept two talents.” And he urged him and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of clothing, and laid them on two of his servants. And they carried them before Gehazi. ²⁴ And when he came to the hill, he took them from their hand and put them in the house, and he sent the men away, and they departed. ²⁵ He went in and stood before his master, and Elisha said to him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant went nowhere.” ²⁶ But he said to him, “Did not my heart go when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Was it a time to accept money and garments, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male servants and female servants? ²⁷ Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever.” So he went out from his presence ^(AB)a leper, like snow.

The Axe Head Recovered

6 Now ^(AC)the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “See, the place where we dwell under your charge is too small for us. ² Let us go to the Jordan and each of us get there a log, and let us make a place for us to dwell there.” And he answered, “Go.” ³ Then one of them said, “Be pleased to go with your servants.” And he answered, “I will go.” ⁴ So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. ⁵ But as one was felling a log, his axe head fell into the water, and he cried out, “Alas, my master! It was borrowed.” ⁶ Then the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, ^(AD)he cut off a stick and threw it in there and made the iron float. ⁷ And he said, “Take it up.” So he reached out his hand and took it.

Horses and Chariots of Fire

⁸ Once when the king of Syria was warring against Israel, he took counsel with his servants, saying, “At such and such a place shall be my camp.” ⁹ But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are going down there.” ¹⁰ And the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God told him. Thus he used to warn him, so that he saved himself there more than once or twice.

¹¹ And the mind of the king of Syria was greatly troubled because of this thing, and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me who of us is for the king of Israel?” ¹² And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” ¹³ And he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and seize him.” It was told him, “Behold, he is in ^(AE)Dothan.” ¹⁴ So he sent there horses and chariots and a great army, and they came by night and surrounded the city.

¹⁵ When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” ¹⁶ He said, “Do not be afraid, ^(AF)for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” ¹⁷ Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please ^(AG)open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of ^(AH)horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. ¹⁸ And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” ^(AI)So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha. ¹⁹ And Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he led them to Samaria.

²⁰ As soon as they entered Samaria, Elisha said, “O Lord, ^(AJ)open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” So the Lord opened their eyes and they saw, and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. ²¹ As soon as the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, ^(AK)“My father, shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down?” ²² He answered, “You shall not strike them down. Would you strike down those whom you have taken captive ^(AL)with your sword and with your bow? ^(AM)Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.” ²³ So he prepared for them a great feast, and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the Syrians did not come again ^(AN)on raids into the land of Israel.

Ben-hadad's Siege of Samaria

²⁴ Afterward ^(AO)Ben-hadad king of Syria mustered his entire army and went up and besieged Samaria. ²⁵ And there was a great famine in Samaria, as they besieged it, until a donkey's head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and the fourth part of a kab^[d] of dove's dung for five shekels of silver. ²⁶ Now as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, “Help, my lord, O king!” ²⁷ And he said, “If the Lord will not help you, how shall I help you? From the threshing floor, or from the winepress?” ²⁸ And the king asked her, “What is your trouble?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’ ^29 (AP)So we boiled my son and ate him. And on the next day I said to her, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him.’ But she has hidden her son.” ³⁰ When the king heard the words of the woman, ^(AQ)he tore his clothes—now he was passing by on the wall—and the people looked, and behold, ^(AR)he had sackcloth beneath on his body— ³¹ and he said, ^(AS)“May God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today.”

³² Elisha was sitting in his house, ^(AT)and the elders were sitting with him. Now the king had dispatched a man from his presence, but before the messenger arrived Elisha said to the elders, “Do you see how this ^(AU)murderer has sent to take off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold the door fast against him. Is not the sound of his master's feet behind him?” ³³ And while he was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him and said, “This trouble is from the Lord! ^(AV)Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”

Elisha Promises Food

7 But Elisha said, “Hear the word of the Lord: thus says the Lord, ^(AW)Tomorrow about this time a seah^[e] of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel,^[f] and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.” ² Then ^(AX)the captain on whose hand the king leaned said to the man of God, ^(AY)“If the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” But he said, “You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”

The Syrians Flee

³ Now there were four men who were lepers^{[g] (AZ)}at the entrance to the gate. And they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die? ⁴ If we say, ‘Let us enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. So now come, let us go over to the camp of the Syrians. If they spare our lives we shall live, and if they kill us we shall but die.” ⁵ So they arose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians. But when they came to the edge of the camp of the Syrians, behold, there was no one there. ⁶ For the Lord had made the army of the Syrians ^(BA)hear the sound of chariots and of horses, the sound of a great army, so that they said to one another, “Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us ^(BB)the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to come against us.” ^7 (BC)So they fled away in the twilight and abandoned their tents, their horses, and their donkeys, leaving the camp as it was, and fled for their lives. ⁸ And when these lepers came to the edge of the camp, they went into a tent and ate and drank, and they carried off silver and gold and clothing and went and hid them. Then they came back and entered another tent and carried off things from it and went and hid them.

⁹ Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come; let us go and tell the king's household.” ¹⁰ So they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city and told them, “We came to the camp of the Syrians, and behold, there was no one to be seen or heard there, nothing but the horses tied and the donkeys tied and the tents as they were.” ¹¹ Then the gatekeepers called out, and it was told within the king's household. ¹² And the king rose in the night and said to his servants, “I will tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry. Therefore they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the open country, thinking, ‘When they come out of the city, we shall take them alive and get into the city.’” ¹³ And one of his servants said, “Let some men take five of the remaining horses, seeing that those who are left here will fare like the whole multitude of Israel who have already perished. Let us send and see.” ¹⁴ So they took two horsemen, and the king sent them after the army of the Syrians, saying, “Go and see.” ¹⁵ So they went after them as far as the Jordan, and behold, all the way was littered with garments and equipment that the Syrians had thrown away in their haste. And the messengers returned and told the king.

¹⁶ Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Syrians. So a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, ^(BD)according to the word of the Lord. ¹⁷ Now the king had appointed ^(BE)the captain on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate. And the people trampled him in the gate, so that he died, as the man of God had said ^(BF)when the king came down to him. ¹⁸ For when the man of God had said to the king, “Two seahs of barley shall be sold for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour for a shekel, about this time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria,” ^19 (BG)the captain had answered the man of God, “If the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?” And he had said, ^(BH)“You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.” ²⁰ And so it happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gate and he died.

The Shunammite's Land Restored

8 Now Elisha had said to the woman ^(BI)whose son he had restored to life, “Arise, and depart with your household, and sojourn wherever you can, for the Lord ^(BJ)has called for a famine, and it will come upon the land for ^(BK)seven years.” ² So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God. She went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. ³ And at the end of the seven years, when the woman returned from the land of the Philistines, she went to appeal to the king for her house and her land. ⁴ Now the king was talking with ^(BL)Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, “Tell me all the great things that Elisha has done.” ⁵ And while he was telling the king how ^(BM)Elisha had restored the dead to life, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and her land. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, here is the woman, and here is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” ⁶ And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed an official for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, together with all the produce of the fields from the day that she left the land until now.”