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2 Kings 5

Darby Translation · 27 verses

1And Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man before his master, and honourable, for by him Jehovah had given deliverance to Syria; and he was a mighty man of valour, [but] a leper. 2And the Syrians had gone out in bands, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife. 3And she said to her mistress, Oh, would that my lord were before the prophet that is in Samaria! then he would cure him of his leprosy. 4And he went and told his lord saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel. 5And the king of Syria said, Well! go, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand [shekels] of gold, and ten changes of raiment. 6And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, And now, when this letter comes to thee, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest cure him of his leprosy. 7And it came to pass when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his garments, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeks an occasion against me. 8And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his garments, that he sent to the king, saying, Why hast thou rent thy garments? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. 9And Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the doorway of the house of Elisha. 10And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. 11And Naaman was wroth, and went away and said, Behold, I thought, He will certainly come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of Jehovah his God, and wave his hand over the place, and cure the leper. 12Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them and be clean? And he turned and went away in a rage. 13And his servants drew near, and spoke to him and said, My father, [if] the prophet had bidden thee [do some] great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he says to thee, Wash and be clean? 14Then he went down, and plunged himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God. And his flesh became again like 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, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; and now, I pray thee, take a present of thy servant. 16But he said, As Jehovah liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none! And he urged him to take it; but he refused. 17And Naaman said, If not, then let there, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules' burden of [this] earth; for thy servant will no more offer burnt-offering and sacrifice to other gods, but to Jehovah. 18In this thing Jehovah pardon thy servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to bow down there, and he leans on my hand, and I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon — when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, Jehovah pardon thy servant, I pray thee, in this thing. 19And he said to him, Go in peace. And he departed from him a little way. 20And Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master has spared Naaman, this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought; but as Jehovah liveth, I will run after him and take somewhat of him. 21And Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he sprang down from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well? 22And he said, All is well. My master has sent me saying, Behold, even now there are come to me from mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets; give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of raiment. 23And Naaman said, Consent to take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of raiment, and laid them upon two of his young men; and they bore them before him. 24And when he came to the hill, he took them from their hand, and stowed them in the house; and he let the men go, and they departed. 25And he entered in and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him, Whence [comest thou], Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither. 26And he said to him, Did not my heart go, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and bondmen, and bondwomen? 27But the leprosy of Naaman shall fasten upon thee, and upon thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence leprous, as snow.

Darby's Synopsis

Elisha goes also beyond the borders of Israel in dispensing the blessing of which he is the instrument; and, when the king of Israel is troubled at Naaman's coming, Elisha heals the leprosy of this Gentile, who is brought to acknowledge Jehovah, the God of Israel, as the only true God. The Lord Jesus points out the sovereign grace of God on this occasion, which, overstepping the narrow limits of Israel, and, owning no longer their rights, acts towards the Gentiles in the way of election.

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Text: J. N. Darby, The Holy Scriptures: A New Translation from the Original Languages, public domain. Emphasized words are Darby's own. Provenance on the sources page.