2 Kings 5

Modern English Version

Naaman Healed of Leprosy

5 Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man before his master and held favor because by him the Lord had given deliverance to Aram. He was also a mighty warrior, but he had leprosy.

² The Arameans had gone out raiding and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel, and she waited on the wife of Naaman. ³ She said to her mistress, “If only my lord were before the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would take away his leprosy from him.”

⁴ So Naaman went in and told his lord, “Thus and so spoke the girl from the land of Israel.” ⁵ The king of Aram said, “Go, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he went and took with him ten talents^[a] of silver, six thousand shekels^[b] of gold, and ten sets of clothes. ⁶ He brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, “Now when this letter comes to you, know that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may take away from him his leprosy.”

⁷ When the king of Israel had read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and to give life, that this man sends a man to me to take away his leprosy? But consider, and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me.”

⁸ But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent word to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.” ⁹ So Naaman came with his horses and chariot and stood at the entrance to the house of Elisha. ¹⁰ Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be returned and cleansed.”

¹¹ But Naaman became angry and went away and said to himself, “Surely he could have come out, and stood and called on the name of the Lord his God, and waved his hand over the infected area, and taken away the leprosy. ¹² Are not Abana and Pharpar, 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 But his servants approached and spoke to him, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more when he said to you, ‘Wash and be clean’?” ¹⁴ So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh returned like the flesh of a little boy, and he was clean.

¹⁵ Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company. He came and stood before him, and he said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the land, except in Israel. Now take a gift from your servant.”

¹⁶ But he said, “As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will take no gift.” He urged him to take it, but he refused.

¹⁷ Then Naaman said, “If not, let two mule loads of dirt be given to your servant, for your servant will no longer offer a burnt offering or sacrifice to any god, except the Lord. ¹⁸ But may the Lord pardon your servant on one account: When my master enters the house of Rimmon to worship, and he leans on my hand, and I bow down in the house of Rimmon, when I do bow down in the house of Rimmon, may the Lord pardon your servant on this one account.”

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

Gehazi’s Greed

²⁰ Then Gehazi the servant of Elisha the man of God said, “My master has spared Naaman the Aramean by not taking from his hands what he brought. As the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something from him.”

²¹ So Gehazi pursued Naaman. Then Naaman saw him running after him, jumped down from the chariot to meet him, and said, “Is everything all right?”

²² And he said, “Everything is all right. My master has sent me and says, ‘Even now two servants from Ephraim, from the sons of the prophets, have come to me. Give them a talent^[c] of silver and two changes of clothes.’ ”

²³ Naaman said, “Please, take two talents.” He urged him and tied up two talents of silver in two bags with two changes of clothes and gave them to two of his servants, who carried them before Gehazi. ²⁴ When he came to Ophel, he took them from their hand and put them away in the house. Then he sent the men away, and they departed.

²⁵ Then he entered and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him, “Where have you come from, Gehazi?”

And he said, “Your servant went here and there.”

²⁶ He said to him, “Did my heart not go with you when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to take money, and to take garments, olives and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants? ²⁷ The leprosy of Naaman will cling to you and to your descendants forever.” So he went out from his presence, leprous like snow.