Study Desk

Now ^(C1)Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man ^(F1)in the view of his master, and eminent, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man was also a valiant warrior, but afflicted with leprosy.

Now the Arameans had gone out ^(C1)in bands and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel; and she ^(F1)waited on Naaman's wife.

And she said to her mistress, "If only my master were ^(F1)with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy."

And ^(F1)Naaman went in and told his master, saying, "The girl who is from the land of Israel spoke such and such."

Then the king of Aram said, "Go ^(F1)now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel." So he departed and ^(C1)took with him ten ^(F2)talents of silver, six thousand ^(F3)shekels of gold, and ten ^(C2)changes of clothes.

And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, ^(F1)which said, "And now as this letter comes to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, so that you may cure him of his leprosy."

But when the king of Israel read the letter, ^(C1)he tore his clothes and said, "^(C2)Am I God, to kill and to keep alive, that this man is sending word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? But ^(C3)consider now, and see how he is seeking ^(F1)a quarrel against me."

Now it happened, when Elisha ^(C1)the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent word to the king, saying, "Why did you tear your clothes? Just have him come to me, and he shall learn that there is a prophet in Israel."

So Naaman came with his horses and his chariots, and stood at the doorway of Elisha's house.

And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "^(C1)Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean."

But Naaman was furious and went away, and he said, "Behold, I ^(F1)thought, 'He will certainly come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the site and cure the ^(F2)leprosy.'

"Are ^(F1)Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, not better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and ^(C1)went away in a rage.

^(C1)Then his servants approached and spoke to him, ^(F1)saying, "^(C2)My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, 'Wash, and be clean'?"

So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, in accordance with the word of the man of God; and ^(C1)his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and ^(C2)he was clean.

Then he returned to the man of God ^(F1)with all his company, and came and stood before him. And he said, "Behold now, ^(C1)I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; so please ^(C2)accept a ^(F2)gift from your servant now."

But he said, "^(C1)As surely as the LORD lives, before whom I stand, ^(C2)I will accept nothing." And he urged him to accept it, but he refused.

Then Naaman said, "If not, please let your servant be given two mules' load of ^(C1)earth; for your servant will no longer offer a burnt offering nor a sacrifice to other gods, but to the LORD.

"Regarding this matter may the LORD forgive your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and ^(C1)he leans on my hand and I bow down in the house of Rimmon, when I bow down in the house of Rimmon, may the LORD please forgive your servant in this matter."

He said to him, "^(C1)Go in peace." So he went some distance from him.

But ^(C1)Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, ^(F1)thought, "Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Aramean, ^(F2)by not accepting from his hand what he brought. ^(C2)As the LORD lives, I will run after him and take something from him."

So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw someone running after him, he came down from the chariot to meet him and said, "Is everything well?"

And he said, "^(C1)Everything is well. My master has sent me, saying, 'Behold, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from ^(C2)the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and ^(C3)two changes of clothes.'"

Naaman said, "^(C1)Be sure to take two talents." And he urged him, and tied up two talents of silver in two bags with two changes of clothes, and gave them to two of his servants; and they carried them before him.

When he came to the ^(F1)hill, he took them from their hand and ^(C1)deposited them in the house, and he sent the men away, and they departed.

But he went in and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him, "Where have you been, Gehazi?" And he said, "^(C1)Your servant went nowhere."

Then he said to him, "Did my heart not go with you, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? ^(C1)Is it a time to accept money and to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, sheep, oxen, and male and female slaves?

"Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your ^(F1)descendants forever." So he went out from his presence ^(C1)afflicted with leprosy, as white as snow.

Now ^(C1)the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, "Behold now, the place ^(F1)before you where we are living is too cramped for us.

"Please let us go to the Jordan, and let us each take from there a beam, and let us construct a place there for ourselves, to live there." So he said, "Go."

Then one of them said, "Please agree and go with your servants." And he said, "I will go."

So he went with them; and when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees.

But it happened that as one of them was ^(F1)cutting down a beam, ^(F2)the axe head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, "Oh, my master! It was borrowed!"

Then the man of God said, "Where did it fall?" And when he showed him the place, ^(C1)he cut off a stick and threw it in there, and made the iron float.

Then he said, "Pick it up for yourself." So he reached out his hand and took it.

Now the king of Aram was making war against Israel; and he consulted with his servants, saying, "In such and such a place shall be my camp."

But ^(C1)the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, saying, "Be careful that you do not pass this place, because the Arameans are coming down there."

And the king of Israel sent scouts to the place about which the man of God had told him; so he warned him, so that he was on his guard there, ^(F1)more than once or twice.

Now the heart of the king of Aram was enraged over this matter; and he called his servants and said to them, "Will you not tell me which of us is for the king of Israel?"

One of his servants said, "No, my lord, the king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom."

So he said, "Go and see where he is, so that I may send men and take him." And it was told to him, saying, "Behold, he is in ^(C1)Dothan."

So he sent horses and chariots and a substantial army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city.

Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, "This is hopeless, my master! ^(F1)What are we to do?"

And he said, "^(C1)Do not be afraid, for ^(C2)those who are with us are ^(F1)greater than those who are with them."

Then Elisha prayed and said, "^(C1)LORD, please, open his eyes so that he may see." And the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of ^(C2)horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, "Please strike this ^(F1)people with blindness." So He ^(C1)struck them with blindness in accordance with the word of Elisha.

Then Elisha said to them, "This is not the way, nor is this the city; follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek." And he brought them to Samaria.

When they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, "^(C1)LORD, open the eyes of these men, so that they may see." So the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.

Then the king of Israel when he saw them, said to Elisha, "^(C1)My father, shall I ^(F1)kill them? Shall I ^(F1)kill them?"

But he ^(F1)answered, "You shall not ^(F2)kill them. Would you ^(F2)(C1)kill those whom you have taken captive with your sword and your bow? ^(C2)Set bread and water before them, so that they may eat and drink, and go to their master."

So he provided a large feast for them; and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And ^(C1)the marauding bands of Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel.

Now it came about after this, that ^(C1)Ben-hadad the king of Aram gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria.

So there was a severe ^(C1)famine in Samaria; and behold, they kept besieging it until a donkey's head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a fourth of a ^(F1)kab of dove's dung for five shekels of silver.

And as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, "Help, my lord the king!"

But he said, "^(F1)If the LORD does not help you, from where am I to help you? From the threshing floor, or from the wine press?"

Then the king said to her, "^(C1)What ^(F1)is on your mind?" And she said, "This woman said to me, 'Give your son so that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.'

"^(C1)So we cooked my son and ate him; and I said to her on the next day, 'Give your son, so that we may eat him'; but she has hidden her son."

When the king heard the woman's words, ^(C1)he tore his clothes—and he was passing by on the wall—and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth ^(F1)underneath on his ^(F2)body.

Then he said, "May ^(C1)God do so to me and more so, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat ^(F1)remains on him today."

Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and ^(C1)the elders were sitting with him. And the king sent a man from his presence; but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, "Do you ^(C2)see how this son of a murderer has sent a man to cut off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and ^(F1)hold the door shut against him. Is the sound of his master's feet not behind him?"

While he was still talking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him and he said, "^(C1)Behold, this evil is from the LORD; why should I wait for the LORD any longer?"

Then Elisha said, "Listen to the word of the LORD; this is what the LORD says: '^(C1)About this time tomorrow a ^(F1)measure of fine flour will be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.'"

^(C1)The royal officer on whose hand the king was leaning responded to the man of God and said, "^(C2)Even if the LORD were to make ^(F1)windows in heaven, could this thing happen?" Then he said, "Behold, you are going to see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat ^(F2)any of it."

Now there were four ^(C1)leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, "Why are we sitting here until we die?

"If we say, 'We will enter the city,' then the famine is in the city and we will die there; but if we sit here, we will also die. Now then come, and let's go over to ^(C1)the camp of the Arameans. If they spare us, we will live; and if they kill us, then we will die."

So they got up at twilight to go to the camp of the Arameans; when they came to the outskirts of the camp of the Arameans, behold, there was no one there.

For ^(C1)the Lord had made the army of the Arameans hear a sound of chariots, a sound of horses, that is, the sound of a great army; and they said to one another, "Behold, the king of Israel has hired ^(C2)the kings of the Hittites and ^(C3)the kings of the Egyptians against us, to ^(F1)attack us!"

So they ^(C1)got up and fled at twilight, and abandoned their tents, their horses, and their donkeys—indeed the camp itself, just as it was; and they fled for their lives.

When these men with leprosy came to the outskirts of the camp, they entered one tent and ate and drank, and ^(C1)carried from there silver, gold, and clothes, and they went and hid them; then they returned and entered another tent, and carried valuables from there also, and went and hid them.

Then they said to one another, "We are not doing the right thing. This day is a day of good news, but we are keeping silent about it; if we wait until the morning light, punishment will ^(F1)overtake us. Now then come, let's go and inform the king's household."

So they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city, and told them, saying, "We came to the camp of the Arameans, and behold, there was no one there, nor a human voice; only the horses tied and the donkeys tied, and the tents just as they were."

And the gatekeepers called and announced it inside the king's house.

Then the king got up in the night and said to his servants, "I will now tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know that ^(C1)we are hungry; so they have left the camp ^(C2)to hide themselves in the field, saying, 'When they come out of the city, we will capture them alive and get into the city.'"

One of his servants responded and said, "Please, have some men take five of the horses that remain, which are left ^(F1)in the city. Behold, they will be in any case like all the multitude of Israel who are left in it; behold, they will be like all the multitude of Israel who have already perished, so let us send them and see."

Therefore they took two chariots with horses, and the king sent them after the army of the Arameans, saying, "Go and see."

They went after them to the Jordan, and behold, all the way was full of clothes and equipment which the Arameans had thrown away when they fled in a hurry. Then the messengers returned and informed the king.

So the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. Then a ^(F1)measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two ^(F1)measures of barley for a shekel, ^(C1)in accordance with the word of the LORD.

Now the king appointed ^(C1)the royal officer on whose hand he leaned ^(F1)to be in charge of the gate; but the people trampled on him at the gate, and he died, just as the man of God had said, ^(C2)who spoke when the king came down to him.

So it happened just as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, "^(C1)Two ^(F1)measures of barley for a shekel and a ^(F1)measure of fine flour for a shekel, will be sold about this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria."

At that time the royal officer had responded to the man of God and said, "Now even if ^(C1)the LORD were to make windows in heaven, could such a thing as this happen?" And he had said, "Behold, you are going to see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat ^(F1)any of it."

And this is what happened to him, for the people trampled on him at the gate and he died.

Now ^(C1)Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, "Arise and go ^(F1)with your household, and live wherever you can live; for the ^(C2)LORD has called for a famine, and ^(C3)it will indeed come on the land for seven years."

So the woman arose and acted in accordance with the word of the man of God: she went with her household and resided in the land of the Philistines for seven years.

Then at the end of seven years, the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went to ^(F1)appeal to the king for her house and for her field.

Now the king was speaking with ^(C1)Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, "Please report to me all the great things that Elisha has done."

And as he was reporting to the king ^(C1)how he had restored to life the one who was dead, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life ^(F1)appealed to the king for her house and for her field. And Gehazi said, "My lord the king, this is the woman and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life."

When the king asked the woman, she told everything to him. So the king appointed an officer for her, saying, "Restore all that was hers and all the produce of the field from the day that she left the land even until now."

Then Elisha came to ^(C1)Damascus. Now ^(C2)Ben-hadad, the king of Aram, was sick, and it was told to him, saying, "^(C3)The man of God has come here."

And the king said to ^(C1)Hazael, "^(C2)Take a gift in your hand and go to meet the man of God, and ^(C3)inquire of the LORD by him, saying, 'Will I recover from this sickness?'"

So Hazael went to meet him and took a gift in his hand, even every kind of good thing of Damascus, forty camels' loads; and he came and stood before him and said, "^(C1)Your son Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to you, saying, 'Will I recover from this sickness?'"

Then Elisha said to him, "^(C1)Go, say to him, 'You will certainly recover'; but the ^(C2)LORD has shown me that he will certainly die."

And he ^(F1)stared steadily at him ^(C1)until Hazael was embarrassed, and then ^(C2)the man of God wept.

And Hazael said, "Why is my lord weeping?" And he ^(F1)answered, "Because ^(C1)I know the evil that you will do to the sons of Israel: you will set their fortified cities on fire, you will kill their young men with the sword, their little ones you ^(C2)will smash to pieces, and you will rip up their pregnant women."

Then Hazael said, "But what is your servant—^(C1)a lowly dog—that he could do this great thing?" And Elisha ^(F1)answered, "^(C2)The LORD has shown me that you will be king over Aram."

So he left Elisha and came to his master, who said to him, "What did Elisha say to you?" And he ^(F1)answered, "He told me that ^(C1)you would certainly recover."

But on the following day, he took the ^(F1)cover and dipped it in water, and spread it over his face, ^(C1)so that he died. And Hazael became king in his place.

Now in the fifth year of ^(C1)Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was the king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah became king.

He was ^(C1)thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned for eight years in Jerusalem.

He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for ^(C1)Ahab's daughter was his wife; and he did evil in the sight of the LORD.

However, the LORD did not want to destroy Judah, for the sake of David His servant, ^(C1)since He had ^(F1)promised him to give him a ^(F2)lamp through his sons always.

In his days ^(C1)Edom broke away from the ^(F1)rule of Judah, and appointed a king over themselves.

Then Joram crossed over to Zair, and all his chariots with him. And he got up at night and struck the Edomites who had surrounded him and the captains of the chariots; ^(C1)but ^(F1)his army fled to their tents.

^(C1)So Edom has broken away from ^(F1)Judah to this day. Then ^(C2)Libnah broke away at the same time.

Now the rest of the acts of Joram and everything that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

So Joram ^(F1)lay down with his fathers and ^(C1)was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and his son ^(C2)Ahaziah became king in his place.

^(C1)In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign.

^(C1)Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned for one year in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Athaliah the granddaughter of Omri king of Israel.

^(C1)He walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did evil in the sight of the LORD, like the house of Ahab, because he was a son-in-law of the house of Ahab.

Then he went with Joram the son of Ahab to war against ^(C1)Hazael king of Aram at ^(C2)Ramoth-gilead, and the Arameans ^(F1)wounded Joram.

So ^(C1)King Joram returned to have himself healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Arameans had ^(F1)inflicted on him at ^(C2)Ramah when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. Then ^(C3)Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel because he was sick.