5The king of Aram had great admiration for Naaman, the commander of his army, because through him the LORD had given Aram great victories. But though Naaman was a mighty warrior, he suffered from leprosy.H5283H8269H6635H4428H758H1419H376H6440H113H5375H3068H5414H8668H758H1368H376H2428H6879 2At this time Aramean raiders had invaded the land of Israel, and among their captives was a young girl who had been given to Naaman's wife as a maid.H758H3318H1416H7617H776H3478H6996H5291H6440H5283H802 3One day the girl said to her mistress, "I wish my master would go to see the prophet in Samaria. He would heal him of his leprosy."H559H1404H305H113H6440H5030H8111H227H622H6883 4So Naaman told the king what the young girl from Israel had said.H935H5046H113H559H1696H5291H776H3478 5"Go and visit the prophet," the king of Aram told him. "I will send a letter of introduction for you to take to the king of Israel." So Naaman started out, carrying as gifts 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold, and ten sets of clothing.H4428H758H559H3212H935H7971H5612H4428H3478H3212H3947H3027H6235H3603H3701H8337H505H2091H6235H2487H899 6The letter to the king of Israel said: "With this letter I present my servant Naaman. I want you to heal him of his leprosy."H935H5612H4428H3478H559H5612H935H7971H5283H5650H622H6883 7When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes in dismay and said, "This man sends me a leper to heal! Am I God, that I can give life and take it away? I can see that he's just trying to pick a fight with me."H4428H3478H7121H5612H7167H899H559H430H4191H2421H2088H7971H622H376H6883H389H3045H7200H579 8But when Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes in dismay, he sent this message to him: "Why are you so upset? Send Naaman to me, and he will learn that there is a true prophet here in Israel."H477H376H430H8085H4428H3478H7167H899H7971H4428H559H7167H899H935H3045H3426H5030H3478 9So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and waited at the door of Elisha's house.H5283H935H5483H7393H5975H6607H1004H477 10But Elisha sent a messenger out to him with this message: "Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River. Then your skin will be restored, and you will be healed of your leprosy."H477H7971H4397H559H1980H7364H3383H7651H6471H1320H7725H2891 11But Naaman became angry and stalked away. "I thought he would certainly come out to meet me!" he said. "I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the LORD his God and heal me!H5283H7107H3212H559H559H3318H3318H5975H7121H8034H3068H430H5130H3027H4725H622H6879 12Aren't the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than any of the rivers of Israel? Why shouldn't I wash in them and be healed?" So Naaman turned and went away in a rage.H71H549H6554H5104H1834H2896H4325H3478H7364H2891H6437H3212H2534 13But his officers tried to reason with him and said, "Sir, if the prophet had told you to do something very difficult, wouldn't you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply, 'Go and wash and be cured!'"H5650H5066H1696H559H1H5030H1696H1419H1697H6213H637H559H7364H2891 14So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had instructed him. And his skin became as healthy as the skin of a young child's, and he was healed!H3381H2881H7651H6471H3383H1697H376H430H1320H7725H1320H6996H5288H2891 15Then Naaman and his entire party went back to find the man of God. They stood before him, and Naaman said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant."H7725H376H430H4264H935H5975H6440H559H3045H430H776H3478H3947H1293H5650 16But Elisha replied, "As surely as the LORD lives, whom I serve, I will not accept any gifts." And though Naaman urged him to take the gift, Elisha refused.H559H3068H2416H6440H5975H3947H6484H3947H3985 17Then Naaman said, "All right, but please allow me to load two of my mules with earth from this place, and I will take it back home with me. From now on I will never again offer burnt offerings or sacrifices to any other god except the LORD.H5283H559H5414H5650H6776H6505H4853H127H5650H6213H5930H2077H312H430H3068 18However, may the LORD pardon me in this one thing: When my master the king goes into the temple of the god Rimmon to worship there and leans on my arm, may the LORD pardon me when I bow, too."H1697H3068H5545H5650H113H935H1004H7417H7812H8172H3027H7812H1004H7417H7812H1004H7417H3068H5545H5650H1697 19"Go in peace," Elisha said. So Naaman started home again.H559H3212H7965H3212H3530H776 20But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God, said to himself, "My master should not have let this Aramean get away without accepting any of his gifts. As surely as the LORD lives, I will chase after him and get something from him."H1522H5288H477H376H430H559H113H2820H5283H761H3947H3027H935H3068H2416H7323H310H3947H3972 21So Gehazi set off after Naaman. When Naaman saw Gehazi running after him, he climbed down from his chariot and went to meet him. "Is everything all right?" Naaman asked.H1522H7291H310H5283H5283H7200H7323H310H5307H4818H7125H559H7965 22"Yes," Gehazi said, "but my master has sent me to tell you that two young prophets from the hill country of Ephraim have just arrived. He would like 75 pounds of silver and two sets of clothing to give to them."H559H7965H113H7971H559H935H2022H669H8147H5288H1121H5030H5414H3603H3701H8147H2487H899 23"By all means, take twice as much silver," Naaman insisted. He gave him two sets of clothing, tied up the money in two bags, and sent two of his servants to carry the gifts for Gehazi.H5283H559H2974H3947H3603H6555H6696H8147H3603H3701H8147H2754H8147H2487H899H5414H8147H5288H5375H6440 24But when they arrived at the citadel, Gehazi took the gifts from the servants and sent the men back. Then he went and hid the gifts inside the house.H935H6076H3947H3027H6485H1004H582H7971H3212 25When he went in to his master, Elisha asked him, "Where have you been, Gehazi?" "I haven't been anywhere," he replied.H935H5975H113H477H559H370H1522H559H5650H1980H575 26But Elisha asked him, "Don't you realize that I was there in spirit when Naaman stepped down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to receive money and clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and cattle, and male and female servants?H559H1980H3820H376H2015H4818H7125H6256H3947H3701H3947H899H2132H3754H6629H1241H5650H8198 27Because you have done this, you and your descendants will suffer from Naaman's leprosy forever." When Gehazi left the room, he was covered with leprosy; his skin was white as snow.H6883H5283H1692H2233H5769H3318H6440H6879H7950
6One day the group of prophets came to Elisha and told him, "As you can see, this place where we meet with you is too small.H1121H5030H559H6440H477H4725H3427H6862 2Let's go down to the Jordan River, where there are plenty of logs. There we can build a new place for us to meet." "All right," he told them, "go ahead."H3212H3383H3947H376H259H6982H6213H4725H3427H559H3212 3"Please come with us," someone suggested."I will," he said.H259H559H2974H3212H5650H559H3212 4So he went with them. When they arrived at the Jordan, they began cutting down trees.H3212H935H3383H1504H6086 5But as one of them was cutting a tree, his ax head fell into the river. "Oh, sir!" he cried. "It was a borrowed ax!"H259H5307H6982H1270H5307H4325H6817H559H162H113H7592 6"Where did it fall?" the man of God asked. When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it into the water at that spot. Then the ax head floated to the surface.H376H430H559H575H5307H7200H4725H7094H6086H7993H1270H6687 7"Grab it," Elisha said. And the man reached out and grabbed it.H559H7311H7971H3027H3947 8When the king of Aram was at war with Israel, he would confer with his officers and say, "We will mobilize our forces at such and such a place."H4428H758H3898H3478H3289H5650H559H6423H492H4725H8466 9But immediately Elisha, the man of God, would warn the king of Israel, "Do not go near that place, for the Arameans are planning to mobilize their troops there."H376H430H7971H4428H3478H559H8104H5674H2088H4725H758H5185 10So the king of Israel would send word to the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he would be on the alert there.H4428H3478H7971H4725H376H430H559H2094H8104H259H8147 11The king of Aram became very upset over this. He called his officers together and demanded, "Which of you is the traitor? Who has been informing the king of Israel of my plans?"H3820H4428H758H5590H1697H7121H5650H559H5046H4428H3478 12"It's not us, my lord the king," one of the officers replied. "Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the king of Israel even the words you speak in the privacy of your bedroom!"H259H5650H559H113H4428H477H5030H3478H5046H4428H3478H1697H1696H2315H4904 13"Go and find out where he is," the king commanded, "so I can send troops to seize him." And the report came back: "Elisha is at Dothan."H559H3212H7200H351H7971H3947H5046H559H1886 14So one night the king of Aram sent a great army with many chariots and horses to surround the city.H7971H5483H7393H3515H2428H935H3915H5362H5892H5362 15When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. "Oh, sir, what will we do now?" the young man cried to Elisha.H8334H376H430H6965H7925H3318H2428H5437H5892H5483H7393H5288H559H162H113H6213 16"Don't be afraid!" Elisha told him. "For there are more on our side than on theirs!"H559H3372H7227 17Then Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes and let him see!" The LORD opened the young man's eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.H477H6419H559H3068H6491H5869H7200H3068H6491H5869H5288H7200H2022H4390H5483H7393H784H5439H477 18As the Aramean army advanced toward him, Elisha prayed, "O LORD, please make them blind." So the LORD struck them with blindness as Elisha had asked.H3381H477H6419H3068H559H5221H1471H5575H5221H5575H1697H477 19Then Elisha went out and told them, "You have come the wrong way! This isn't the right city! Follow me, and I will take you to the man you are looking for." And he led them to the city of Samaria.H477H559H1870H2090H5892H3212H310H3212H376H1245H3212H8111 20As soon as they had entered Samaria, Elisha prayed, "O LORD, now open their eyes and let them see." So the LORD opened their eyes, and they discovered that they were in the middle of Samaria.H935H8111H477H559H3068H6491H5869H7200H3068H6491H5869H7200H8432H8111 21When the king of Israel saw them, he shouted to Elisha, "My father, should I kill them? Should I kill them?"H4428H3478H559H477H7200H1H5221H5221 22"Of course not!" Elisha replied. "Do we kill prisoners of war? Give them food and drink and send them home again to their master."H559H5221H5221H7617H2719H7198H7760H3899H4325H6440H398H8354H3212H113 23So the king made a great feast for them and then sent them home to their master. After that, the Aramean raiders stayed away from the land of Israel.H3739H1419H3740H398H8354H7971H3212H113H1416H758H935H3254H776H3478 24Some time later, however, King Ben-hadad of Aram mustered his entire army and besieged Samaria.H310H1130H4428H758H6908H4264H5927H6696H8111 25As a result, there was a great famine in the city. The siege lasted so long that a donkey's head sold for eighty pieces of silver, and a cup of dove's dung sold for five pieces of silver.H1419H7458H8111H6696H2543H7218H8084H3701H7255H6894H1686H3123H2755H2568H3701 26One day as the king of Israel was walking along the wall of the city, a woman called to him, "Please help me, my lord the king!"H4428H3478H5674H2346H6817H802H559H3467H113H4428 27He answered, "If the LORD doesn't help you, what can I do? I have neither food from the threshing floor nor wine from the press to give you."H559H3068H3467H370H3467H1637H3342 28But then the king asked, "What is the matter?" She replied, "This woman said to me: 'Come on, let's eat your son today, then we will eat my son tomorrow.'H4428H559H559H802H559H5414H1121H398H3117H398H1121H4279 29So we cooked my son and ate him. Then the next day I said to her, 'Kill your son so we can eat him,' but she has hidden her son."H1310H1121H398H559H312H3117H5414H1121H398H2244H1121 30When the king heard this, he tore his clothes in despair. And as the king walked along the wall, the people could see that he was wearing burlap under his robe next to his skin.H4428H8085H1697H802H7167H899H5674H2346H5971H7200H8242H1004H1320 31"May God strike me and even kill me if I don't separate Elisha's head from his shoulders this very day," the king vowed.H559H430H6213H3254H7218H477H1121H8202H5975H3117 32Elisha was sitting in his house with the elders of Israel when the king sent a messenger to summon him. But before the messenger arrived, Elisha said to the elders, "A murderer has sent a man to cut off my head. When he arrives, shut the door and keep him out. We will soon hear his master's steps following him."H477H3427H1004H2205H3427H7971H376H6440H4397H935H559H2205H7200H1121H7523H7971H5493H7218H7200H4397H935H5462H1817H3905H1817H6963H113H7272H310 33While Elisha was still saying this, the messenger arrived. And the king said, "All this misery is from the LORD! Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?"H1696H4397H3381H559H7451H3068H3176H3068
7Elisha replied, "Listen to this message from the LORD! This is what the LORD says: By this time tomorrow in the markets of Samaria, five quarts of choice flour will cost only one piece of silver, and ten quarts of barley grain will cost only one piece of silver."H477H559H8085H1697H3068H559H3068H4279H6256H5429H5560H8255H5429H8184H8255H8179H8111 2The officer assisting the king said to the man of God, "That couldn't happen even if the LORD opened the windows of heaven!" But Elisha replied, "You will see it happen with your own eyes, but you won't be able to eat any of it!"H7991H3027H4428H8172H6030H376H430H559H3068H6213H699H8064H1697H559H7200H5869H398 3Now there were four men with leprosy sitting at the entrance of the city gates. "Why should we sit here waiting to die?" they asked each other.H702H6879H582H6607H8179H559H376H7453H3427H4191 4"We will starve if we stay here, but with the famine in the city, we will starve if we go back there. So we might as well go out and surrender to the Aramean army. If they let us live, so much the better. But if they kill us, we would have died anyway."H559H935H5892H7458H5892H4191H3427H4191H3212H5307H4264H758H2421H2421H4191H4191 5So at twilight they set out for the camp of the Arameans. But when they came to the edge of the camp, no one was there!H6965H5399H935H4264H758H935H7097H4264H758H376 6For the Lord had caused the Aramean army to hear the clatter of speeding chariots and the galloping of horses and the sounds of a great army approaching. "The king of Israel has hired the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us!" they cried to one another.H136H4264H758H8085H6963H7393H6963H5483H6963H1419H2428H559H376H251H4428H3478H7936H4428H2850H4428H4714H935 7So they panicked and ran into the night, abandoning their tents, horses, donkeys, and everything else, as they fled for their lives.H6965H5127H5399H5800H168H5483H2543H4264H5127H5315 8When the lepers arrived at the edge of the camp, they went into one tent after another, eating and drinking wine; and they carried off silver and gold and clothing and hid it.H6879H935H7097H4264H935H259H168H398H8354H5375H3701H2091H899H3212H2934H7725H935H312H168H5375H3212H2934 9Finally, they said to each other, "This is not right. This is a day of good news, and we aren't sharing it with anyone! If we wait until morning, some calamity will certainly fall upon us. Come on, let's go back and tell the people at the palace."H559H376H7453H6213H3117H3117H1309H2814H2442H1242H216H5771H4672H3212H935H5046H4428H1004 10So they went back to the city and told the gatekeepers what had happened. "We went out to the Aramean camp," they said, "and no one was there! The horses and donkeys were tethered and the tents were all in order, but there wasn't a single person around!"H935H7121H7778H5892H5046H559H935H4264H758H376H6963H120H5483H631H2543H631H168 11Then the gatekeepers shouted the news to the people in the palace.H7121H7778H5046H4428H1004H6441 12The king got out of bed in the middle of the night and told his officers, "I know what has happened. The Arameans know we are starving, so they have left their camp and have hidden in the fields. They are expecting us to leave the city, and then they will take us alive and capture the city."H4428H6965H3915H559H5650H5046H758H6213H3045H7457H3318H4264H2247H7704H559H3318H5892H8610H2416H935H5892 13One of his officers replied, "We had better send out scouts to check into this. Let them take five of the remaining horses. If something happens to them, it will be no worse than if they stay here and die with the rest of us."H259H5650H6030H559H3947H2568H5483H7604H7604H1995H3478H7604H1995H3478H8552H7971H7200 14So two chariots with horses were prepared, and the king sent scouts to see what had happened to the Aramean army.H3947H8147H7393H5483H4428H7971H310H4264H758H559H3212H7200 15They went all the way to the Jordan River, following a trail of clothing and equipment that the Arameans had thrown away in their mad rush to escape. The scouts returned and told the king about it.H3212H310H3383H1870H4392H899H3627H758H7993H2648H4397H7725H5046H4428 16Then the people of Samaria rushed out and plundered the Aramean camp. So it was true that five quarts of choice flour were sold that day for one piece of silver, and ten quarts of barley grain were sold for one piece of silver, just as the LORD had promised.H5971H3318H962H4264H758H5429H5560H8255H5429H8184H8255H1697H3068 17The king appointed his officer to control the traffic at the gate, but he was knocked down and trampled to death as the people rushed out. So everything happened exactly as the man of God had predicted when the king came to his house.H4428H6485H7991H3027H8172H8179H5971H7429H8179H4191H376H430H1696H1696H4428H3381 18The man of God had said to the king, "By this time tomorrow in the markets of Samaria, five quarts of choice flour will cost one piece of silver, and ten quarts of barley grain will cost one piece of silver."H376H430H1696H4428H559H5429H8184H8255H5429H5560H8255H4279H6256H8179H8111 19The king's officer had replied, "That couldn't happen even if the LORD opened the windows of heaven!" And the man of God had said, "You will see it happen with your own eyes, but you won't be able to eat any of it!"H7991H6030H376H430H559H3068H6213H699H8064H1697H559H7200H5869H398 20And so it was, for the people trampled him to death at the gate!H5971H7429H8179H4191
8Elisha had told the woman whose son he had brought back to life, "Take your family and move to some other place, for the LORD has called for a famine on Israel that will last for seven years."H1696H477H802H1121H2421H559H6965H3212H1004H1481H834H1481H3068H7121H7458H935H776H7651H8141 2So the woman did as the man of God instructed. She took her family and settled in the land of the Philistines for seven years.H802H6965H6213H1697H376H430H3212H1004H1481H776H6430H7651H8141 3After the famine ended she returned from the land of the Philistines, and she went to see the king about getting back her house and land.H7651H8141H7097H802H7725H776H6430H3318H6817H4428H1004H7704 4As she came in, the king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God. The king had just said, "Tell me some stories about the great things Elisha has done."H4428H1696H1522H5288H376H430H559H5608H1419H477H6213 5And Gehazi was telling the king about the time Elisha had brought a boy back to life. At that very moment, the mother of the boy walked in to make her appeal to the king about her house and land."Look, my lord the king!" Gehazi exclaimed. "Here is the woman now, and this is her son—the very one Elisha brought back to life!"H5608H4428H2421H4191H2421H802H1121H2421H6817H4428H1004H7704H1522H559H113H4428H802H1121H477H2421 6"Is this true?" the king asked her. And she told him the story. So he directed one of his officials to see that everything she had lost was restored to her, including the value of any crops that had been harvested during her absence.H4428H7592H802H5608H4428H5414H259H5631H559H7725H8393H7704H3117H5800H776 7Elisha went to Damascus, the capital of Aram, where King Ben-hadad lay sick. When someone told the king that the man of God had come,H477H935H1834H1130H4428H758H2470H5046H559H376H430H935H2008 8the king said to Hazael, "Take a gift to the man of God. Then tell him to ask the LORD, 'Will I recover from this illness?'"H4428H559H2371H3947H4503H3027H3212H7125H376H430H1875H3068H559H2421H2483 9So Hazael loaded down forty camels with the finest products of Damascus as a gift for Elisha. He went to him and said, "Your servant Ben-hadad, the king of Aram, has sent me to ask, 'Will I recover from this illness?'"H2371H3212H7125H3947H4503H3027H2898H1834H705H1581H4853H935H5975H6440H559H1121H1130H4428H758H7971H559H2421H2483 10And Elisha replied, "Go and tell him, 'You will surely recover.' But actually the LORD has shown me that he will surely die!"H477H559H3212H559H2421H2421H3068H7200H4191H4191 11Elisha stared at Hazael with a fixed gaze until Hazael became uneasy. Then the man of God started weeping.H5975H6440H7760H954H376H430H1058 12"What's the matter, my lord?" Hazael asked him. Elisha replied, "I know the terrible things you will do to the people of Israel. You will burn their fortified cities, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little children to the ground, and rip open their pregnant women!"H2371H559H1058H113H559H3045H7451H6213H1121H3478H4013H7971H784H970H2026H2719H7376H5768H1234H2030 13Hazael responded, "How could a nobody like me ever accomplish such great things?" Elisha answered, "The LORD has shown me that you are going to be the king of Aram."H2371H559H5650H3611H6213H1419H1697H477H559H3068H7200H4428H758 14When Hazael left Elisha and went back, the king asked him, "What did Elisha tell you?" And Hazael replied, "He told me that you will surely recover."H3212H477H935H113H559H559H477H559H559H2421H2421 15But the next day Hazael took a blanket, soaked it in water, and held it over the king's face until he died. Then Hazael became the next king of Aram.H4283H3947H4346H2881H4325H6566H6440H4191H2371H4427 16Jehoram son of King Jehoshaphat of Judah began to rule over Judah in the fifth year of the reign of Joram son of Ahab, king of Israel.H2568H8141H3141H1121H256H4428H3478H3092H4428H3063H3088H1121H3092H4428H3063H4427 17Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years.H7970H8147H8141H1121H4427H4427H8083H8141H3389 18But Jehoram followed the example of the kings of Israel and was as wicked as King Ahab, for he had married one of Ahab's daughters. So Jehoram did what was evil in the LORD's sight.H3212H1870H4428H3478H6213H1004H256H1323H256H802H6213H7451H5869H3068 19But the LORD did not want to destroy Judah, for he had made a covenant with David and promised that his descendants would continue to rule, shining like a lamp forever.H3068H14H7843H3063H1732H5650H559H5414H3117H5216H1121 20During Jehoram's reign, the Edomites revolted against Judah and crowned their own king.H3117H123H6586H3027H3063H4427H4428 21So Jehoram went with all his chariots to attack the town of Zair. The Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, but he went out at night and attacked them under cover of darkness. But Jehoram's army deserted him and fled to their homes.H3141H5674H6811H7393H6965H3915H5221H123H5437H8269H7393H5971H5127H168 22So Edom has been independent from Judah to this day. The town of Libnah also revolted about that same time.H123H6586H3027H3063H3117H3841H6586H1931H6256 23The rest of the events in Jehoram's reign and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah.H3499H1697H3141H6213H3789H5612H1697H3117H4428H3063 24When Jehoram died, he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. Then his son Ahaziah became the next king.H3141H7901H1H6912H1H5892H1732H274H1121H4427 25Ahaziah son of Jehoram began to rule over Judah in the twelfth year of the reign of Joram son of Ahab, king of Israel.H8147H6240H8141H8141H3141H1121H256H4428H3478H274H1121H3088H4428H3063H4427 26Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother was Athaliah, a granddaughter of King Omri of Israel.H8147H6242H8141H1121H274H4427H4427H259H8141H3389H517H8034H6271H1323H6018H4428H3478 27Ahaziah followed the evil example of King Ahab's family. He did what was evil in the LORD's sight, just as Ahab's family had done, for he was related by marriage to the family of Ahab.H3212H1870H1004H256H6213H7451H5869H3068H1004H256H2860H1004H256 28Ahaziah joined Joram son of Ahab, the king of Israel, in his war against King Hazael of Aram at Ramoth-gilead. When the Arameans wounded King Joram in the battle,H3212H3141H1121H256H4421H2371H4428H758H7433H1568H761H5221H3141 29he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he had received at Ramoth. Because Joram was wounded, King Ahaziah of Judah went to Jezreel to visit him.H4428H3141H7725H7495H3157H4347H761H5221H7414H3898H2371H4428H758H274H1121H3088H4428H3063H3381H7200H3141H1121H256H3157H2470
Dublin, OH
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