2 Kings
5
- Now Naaman was commander of the army of
the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly
regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a
valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.
- Now bands from Aram had gone out and had
taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman's wife.
- She said to her mistress, "If only
my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his
leprosy."
- Naaman went to his master and told him what
the girl from Israel had said.
- "By all means, go," the king of
Aram replied. "I will send a letter to the king of Israel." So Naaman
left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold
and ten sets of clothing.
- The letter that he took to the king of Israel
read: "With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that
you may cure him of his leprosy."
- As soon as the king of Israel read the letter,
he tore his robes and said, "Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life?
Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how
he is trying to pick a quarrel with me !"
- When Elisha the man of God heard that the
king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: "Why have
you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is
a prophet in Israel."
- So Naaman went with his horses and chariots
and stopped at the door of Elisha's house.
- Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, "Go,
wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and
you will be cleansed."
- But Naaman went away angry and said, "I
thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name
of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy.
- Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of
Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them
and be cleansed?" So he turned and went off in a rage.
- Naaman's servants went to him and said,
"My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would
you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be
cleansed' !"
- So he went down and dipped himself in the
Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored
and became clean like that of a young boy.
- Then Naaman and all his attendants went
back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, "Now I know that
there is no God in all the world except in Israel. Please accept now a gift
from your servant."
- The prophet answered, "As surely as
the LORD lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing." And even though
Naaman urged him, he refused.
- "If you will not," said Naaman,
"please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules
can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices
to any other god but the LORD.
- But may the LORD forgive your servant for
this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and
he is leaning on my arm and I bow there also--when I bow down in the temple
of Rimmon, may the LORD forgive your servant for this."
- "Go in peace," Elisha said. After
Naaman had traveled some distance,
- Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of
God, said to himself, "My master was too easy on Naaman, this Aramean,
by not accepting from him what he brought. As surely as the LORD lives, I
will run after him and get something from him."
- So Gehazi hurried after Naaman. When Naaman
saw him running toward him, he got down from the chariot to meet him. "Is
everything all right?" he asked.
- "Everything is all right," Gehazi
answered. "My master sent me to say, 'Two young men from the company
of the prophets have just come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please
give them a talent of silver and two sets of clothing.'"
- "By all means, take two talents,"
said Naaman. He urged Gehazi to accept them, and then tied up the two talents
of silver in two bags, with two sets of clothing. He gave them to two of his
servants, and they carried them ahead of Gehazi.
- When Gehazi came to the hill, he took the
things from the servants and put them away in the house. He sent the men away
and they left.
- Then he went in and stood before his master
Elisha. "Where have you been, Gehazi?" Elisha asked. "Your
servant didn't go anywhere," Gehazi answered.
- But Elisha said to him, "Was not my
spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this
the time to take money, or to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, flocks,
herds, or menservants and maidservants ?
- Naaman's leprosy will cling to you and to
your descendants forever." Then Gehazi went from Elisha's presence and
he was leprous, as white as snow.
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