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.[a]
2 Now
bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from
Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. 3 She said to her
mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would
cure him of his leprosy.”
4 Naaman
went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. 5 “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[b] of silver,
six thousand shekels[c] of gold and
ten sets of clothing. 6 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.”
7 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!”
8 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.” 9 So Naaman went
with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 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.”
11 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. 12 Are
not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of
Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in
a rage.
13 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’!” 14 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.
15 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.
So please accept a gift from your servant.”
16 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.
17 “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. 18 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 have
to bow there also—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord forgive your servant for this.”
19 “Go
in peace,” Elisha said.
After
Naaman had traveled some distance, 20 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.”
21 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.
22 “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[d] of silver
and two sets of clothing.’”
23 “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. 24 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.
25 When
he went in and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, “Where have you been,
Gehazi?”
“Your
servant didn’t go anywhere,” Gehazi answered.
26 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—or
olive groves and vineyards, or flocks and herds, or male and female slaves? 27 Naaman’s
leprosy will cling to you and to your descendants forever.” Then Gehazi went
from Elisha’s presence and his skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow.
20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and,
kneeling down, asked a favor of him.
21 “What is it you want?” he asked.
She said, “Grant that one of these two
sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”
22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can
you drink the cup I am going to drink?”
“We can,” they answered.
23 Jesus said to them, “You
will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to
grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my
Father.”
24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers.25 Jesus
called them together and said, “You know that the rulers
of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority
over them.26 Not
so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your
servant,27 and
whoever wants to be first must be your slave—28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served,
but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
