1 Naaman, the army commander of the king of Syria, was a great man in his master's eyes and held in high esteem, for through him the LORD had given Syria victory. He was a valiant warrior, but he was leprous.
2 Syrian raiding parties had gone out and taken captive a young girl from the land of Israel, and she waited on Naaman's wife.
3 She told her mistress, "If only my master could go to the prophet in Samaria! He would rid him of his leprosy."
4 Naaman went and reported to his master, "This is what the girl from the land of Israel said."
5 "Go, by all means," said the king of Syria, "and I will send a letter to the king of Israel." He set off, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing.
6 He delivered the letter to the king of Israel. It read: "With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you, so that you may rid him of his leprosy."
7 As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, able to kill and make alive, that this man sends me someone to rid of his leprosy? You can see plainly that he is picking a quarrel with me!"
8 When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent word to the king: "Why have you torn your clothes? Let the man come to me, and he will learn that there is a prophet in Israel."
9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariot and stopped at the door of Elisha's house.
10 Elisha sent a messenger out to tell him, "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored and you will be clean."
11 Naaman went off angry. "I thought," he said, "that he would surely come out to me, stand there, call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and rid me of the leprosy.
12 Are not Amana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?" He turned and went off in a fury.
13 His servants came up 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 simply tells you, 'Wash and be clean'!"
14 So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had said, and his flesh was restored and became like the flesh of a little boy, and he was clean.
15 Then he went back to the man of God with all his attendants. He stood before him and said, "Now I know that there is no God anywhere in the world except in Israel. Please accept a gift from your servant."
16 He answered, "As the LORD lives, in whose presence I stand, I will accept nothing." Naaman pressed him to take it, but he refused.
17 Naaman said, "If not, then please let your servant be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry. For your servant will never again offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god but the LORD.
18 But may the LORD forgive your servant for this one thing: when my master goes into the temple of Rimmon to bow down there, leaning on my arm, and I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD forgive your servant for this."
19 "Go in peace," Elisha told him. And he had gone some distance from him
20 when Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said to himself, "My master has let this Syrian Naaman off without accepting what he brought. As the LORD lives, I will run after him and get something from him."
21 So Gehazi hurried after Naaman. When Naaman saw a man running after him, he climbed down from his chariot to meet him and asked, "Is everything all right?"
22 "Everything is all right," he said. "My master sent me to say, 'Two young men from the sons 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.'"
23 "Please, take two talents," said Naaman. He insisted, and he tied up two talents of silver in two bags, with two sets of clothing, and handed them to two of his servants, who carried them in front of Gehazi.
24 When he came to the hill, he took them from them and put them away in the house. Then he sent the men off, and they left.
25 He went in and stood before his master. Elisha asked him, "Where have you been, Gehazi?" "Your servant has not been anywhere," he answered.
26 But Elisha said to him, "Was my heart not there when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to take silver and to take clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and cattle, male and female servants?
27 Naaman's leprosy will cling to you and your descendants forever." And he went out from his presence leprous, white as snow.