2 Kings 5:5-19 (NIV) (2024)

Read full chapter

⁵And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, 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 pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.

⁶And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.

⁷And 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? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.

⁸And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had 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.

⁹So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.

¹⁰And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.

¹¹But 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 the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.

¹²Are not Abana and Pharpar, 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.

¹³And 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?

¹⁴Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in 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.

¹⁵And 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 blessing of thy servant.

¹⁶But he said, As the Lord liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused.

¹⁷And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, 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 the Lord.

¹⁸In this thing the Lord pardon thy servant, that 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 down myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon thy servant in this thing.

¹⁹And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way.

Read full chapter

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

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

Now be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy.

⁷And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, “Am I ^(B)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.”

⁸So 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.”

⁹Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house. ¹⁰And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and ^(C)wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” ¹¹But 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.’ ¹²Are not the ^[a]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. ¹³And his ^(D)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’?” ¹⁴So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his ^(E)flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and ^(F)he was clean.

¹⁵And 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 ^(G)no God in all the earth, except in Israel; now therefore, please take ^(H)a gift from your servant.”

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

¹⁷So 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. ¹⁸Yet in this thing may the Lord pardon your servant: when my master goes into the temple of Rimmon to worship there, and ^(K)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.”

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

Read full chapter

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

So he went, ^(A)taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels^[a] of gold, and ten ^(B)changes of clothing. ⁶And 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.” ⁷And when the king of Israel read the letter, ^(C)he tore his clothes and said, ^(D)“Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Only ^(E)consider, and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me.”

⁸But when Elisha the ^(F)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.” ⁹So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha's house. ¹⁰And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, ^(G)“Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.” ¹¹But 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. ¹²Are not Abana^[b] and Pharpar, the rivers of ^(H)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. ¹³But his servants came near and said to him, ^(I)“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’?” ¹⁴So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, ^(J)and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, ^(K)and he was clean.

Gehazi's Greed and Punishment

¹⁵Then 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 ^(L)there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; so ^(M)accept now a present from your servant.” ¹⁶But he said, ^(N)“As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, ^(O)I will receive none.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused. ¹⁷Then 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. ¹⁸In this matter may the Lord pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of ^(P)Rimmon to worship there, ^(Q)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.” ¹⁹He said to him, ^(R)“Go in peace.”

But when Naaman had gone from him a short distance,

Read full chapter

• Unleash God's Word!