¹Now Naaman, a commander of the army of the king of Aramaea, was an important man before his master, and high-ranking, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aramaea. And the man was a valiant warrior, but a leper. ²And the Aramaeans had gone out in troops, and they had taken a young girl from the land of Israel captive, and she was in the presence of Naaman's wife. ³And she said to her mistress, “If only my master was in the presence of the prophet who is in Samaria. Then he would relieve him of his leprosy.” ⁴And someone came and told his master and said, “The girl from the land of Israel said such and such.” ⁵At this the king of Aramaea said, “Get going, get moving, for I will send a communiqué to the king of Israel.” And he went away and took in his hand ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten sets of clothes. ⁶And he brought the communiqué to the king of Israel, which said, “Now when this communiqué comes to you, you will see that I have sent my servant Naaman to you for you to relieve him of his leprosy.” ⁷Then it came to pass, when the king of Israel read the communiqué, that he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, able to kill and make alive? For this man is instructing me to relieve a man of his leprosy. Well be aware then, and see how he is looking for a pretext against me.” ⁸But it came to pass, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent word to the king to say, “Why did you tear your clothes? Kindly let him come to me, and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.” ⁹So Naaman came by horse and chariot and stood at the entrance to Elisha's house. ¹⁰And Elisha sent a messenger to him, who said, “Go and wash seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored to you, and become clean.” ¹¹But Naaman became angry and went off and said, “Look, I said to myself, ‘Surely he will come out and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and he will wave his hand over the place, and he will relieve the leper. ¹²Are not the Abana and Parpar – rivers of Damascus – better than all the water of Israel? Can I not wash in them and become clean?’ ” And he turned and went off in fury. ¹³But his servants approached him and spoke to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had spoken some great thing to you, would you not have done it? So how much more should you because he said to you, ‘Wash and become clean’?” ¹⁴So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a small boy, and he became clean. ¹⁵And he went back to the man of God – he and all his entourage – and he came and stood before him and said, “Look, then, I know that there is no God in the whole world except in Israel. So now, please accept a gift from your servant.” ¹⁶But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I certainly will not accept anything.” And although he pressed him to accept it, he refused. ¹⁷Then Naaman said, “So can't just a burden's worth of soil as borne by a pair of mules be given to your servant? For your servant will no longer make a burnt offering or sacrifice to other gods – only to the Lord. ¹⁸May the Lord forgive your servant in this matter, when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to bow down there, and he leans on my arm, and I bow in the house of Rimmon. When I bow in the house of Rimmon, may the Lord please forgive your servant in this matter.” ¹⁹And Elisha said to him, “Go in peace.” Then when he had gone a short distance away from him, ²⁰Gehazi, the servant-lad of Elisha the man of God said, “Look, my master has declined that from Naaman this Aramaean we should receive from his hand what he brought. As the Lord lives, I will run after him and obtain something from him.” ²¹So Gehazi pursued Naaman, and when Naaman saw him running after him, he alighted from his chariot, so as to meet him, and he said, “Is all well?” ²²And he said, “All is well. My master has sent me to say, ‘Look, just now, two young men from Mount Ephraim came to me, from the sons of the prophets. Would you give them a talent of silver and two sets of clothes?’ ” ²³And Naaman said, “Willingly; take two talents.” So he pressed him, and Naaman bound up two talents of silver in two bags, and two sets of clothing, and he gave them to two of his servant-lads, and they carried them before him. ²⁴Then when Gehazi arrived in the Ophel, he received it all from their hand, and he laid it up in his house. Then he saw the men off, and they departed. ²⁵But when he came and stood before his master, Elisha said to him, “Where have you come from, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant did not go anywhere in particular.” ²⁶But he said to him, “Did not my heart sink when the man turned round in his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to receive money and to receive clothes, or olive groves or vineyards or sheep or cattle or menservants or maidservants? ²⁷Now Naaman's leprosy will cling to you and to your seed age-abidingly.” And he departed from his presence leprous like snow.