וְנַעֲמָן שַׂר־צְבָא מֶלֶךְ־אֲרָם הָיָה אִישׁ גָּדוֹל לִפְנֵי אֲדֹנָיו וּנְשֻׂא פָנִים כִּי־בוֹ נָתַן־ה' תְּשׁוּעָה לַאֲרָם וְהָאִישׁ הָיָה גִּבּוֹר חַיִל מְצֹרָע

Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man before his master, the Aramean king, and held in esteem, both by the king and by the general public, as he had been very successful in war, and through him the Lord had granted salvation for Aram. The man was a mighty warrior, a leper. Despite his prominence, his leprosy deterred people from approaching him, and this bothered him greatly.

וַאֲרָם יָצְאוּ גְדוּדִים וַיִּשְׁבּוּ מֵאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל נַעֲרָה קְטַנָּה וַתְּהִי לִפְנֵי אֵשֶׁת נַעֲמָן

Aram issued forth in raiding parties; on one occasion, they took a young girl captive from the land of the Kingdom of Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She became a servant in Naaman’s house. Over time, she became close to her mistress, and the Israelite girl, who had observed Naaman’s distress and loneliness, sought to help him.

וַתֹּאמֶר אֶל־גְּבִרְתָּהּ אַחֲלֵי אֲדֹנִי לִפְנֵי הַנָּבִיא אֲשֶׁר בְּשֹׁמְרוֹן אָז יֶאֱסֹף אֹתוֹ מִצָּרַעְתּוֹ

She said to her mistress: Let my master’s requests be put before the prophet who is in Samaria; then he, the prophet, will heal him, Naaman, of his leprosy.

וַיָּבֹא וַיַּגֵּד לַאדֹנָיו לֵאמֹר כָּזֹאת וְכָזֹאת דִּבְּרָה הַנַּעֲרָה אֲשֶׁר מֵאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל

Naaman’s wife passed on the girl’s suggestion to her husband. He, Naaman, came and told his master, the king of Aram, saying: This and that spoke the young woman who is from the Land of the Kingdom of Israel. She claims I can be healed.

וַיֹּאמֶר מֶלֶךְ־אֲרָם לֶךְ־בֹּא וְאֶשְׁלְחָה סֵפֶר אֶל־מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיֵּלֶךְ וַיִּקַּח בְּיָדוֹ עֶשֶׂר כִּכְּרֵי־כֶסֶף וְשֵׁשֶׁת אֲלָפִים זָהָב וְעֶשֶׂר חֲלִיפוֹת בְּגָדִים

The king of Aram, who was unfamiliar with how matters operated in Israel, said: Come, and I will send a letter explaining your situation to the king of Israel so that he will see to it that you are cured. He, Naaman, went and took with him as a gift to the prophet ten talents of silver, six thousand gold coins, and ten changes of garments.

וַיָּבֵא הַסֵּפֶר אֶל־מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר וְעַתָּה כְּבוֹא הַסֵּפֶר הַזֶּה אֵלֶיךָ הִנֵּה שָׁלַחְתִּי אֵלֶיךָ אֶת־נַעֲמָן עַבְדִּי וַאֲסַפְתּוֹ מִצָּרַעְתּוֹ

He, Naaman, brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, the letter stated: Now, with the arrival of this letter to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, and you will heal him of his leprosy. See to it that he is cured. At that time, Israel had trouble defending itself against the repeated Aramean incursions into its territory. The superior position of the king of Aram accounts for the demanding tone of his letter.

וַיְהִי כִּקְרֹא מֶלֶךְ־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת־הַסֵּפֶר וַיִּקְרַע בְּגָדָיו וַיֹּאמֶר הַאֱלֹהִים אָנִי לְהָמִית וּלְהַחֲיוֹת כִּי־זֶה שֹׁלֵחַ אֵלַי לֶאֱסֹף אִישׁ מִצָּרַעְתּוֹ כִּי אַךְ־דְּעוּ־נָא וּרְאוּ כִּי־מִתְאַנֶּה הוּא לִי

It was when the king of Israel read the letter that he rent his garments and said: Am I God, to put to death and to bring to life, that this person sends to me to heal a man of his leprosy? I cannot possibly fulfill this request. Indeed, for now you know and see that he seeks a pretext to fight against me. If I reply that I cannot heal this man’s leprosy, the king of Aram will accuse me of merely lacking the will to do so and will use that as a pretext to harass Israel.

וַיְהִי כִּשְׁמֹעַ אֱלִישָׁע אִישׁ־הָאֱלֹהִים כִּי־קָרַע מֶלֶךְ־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת־בְּגָדָיו וַיִּשְׁלַח אֶל־הַמֶּלֶךְ לֵאמֹר לָמָּה קָרַעְתָּ בְּגָדֶיךָ יָבֹא־נָא אֵלַי וְיֵדַע כִּי יֵשׁ נָבִיא בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל

It was when Elisha, man of God, heard that the king of Israel had rent his garments that he sent a message to the king, saying: Why did you rend your garments? You have no reason to worry. Let him come to me now; I will take care of him, and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.

וַיָּבֹא נַעֲמָן בְּסוּסָו וּבְרִכְבּוֹ וַיַּעֲמֹד פֶּתַח־הַבַּיִת לֶאֱלִישָׁע

Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot and his entourage, and he stood at the entrance of the house of Elisha.

וַיִּשְׁלַח אֵלָיו אֱלִישָׁע מַלְאָךְ לֵאמֹר הָלוֹךְ וְרָחַצְתָּ שֶׁבַע־פְּעָמִים בַּיַּרְדֵּן וְיָשֹׁב בְּשָׂרְךָ לְךָ וּטְהָר

Elisha sent a messenger to him, perhaps because he did not want to come too close to the leper himself, saying: Go and bathe in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will return to you and you will be cleansed of your leprosy.

וַיִּקְצֹף נַעֲמָן וַיֵּלַךְ וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּה אָמַרְתִּי אֵלַי יֵצֵא יָצוֹא וְעָמַד וְקָרָא בְּשֵׁם־ה' אֱלֹהָיו וְהֵנִיף יָדוֹ אֶל־הַמָּקוֹם וְאָסַף הַמְּצֹרָע

When he heard the messenger’s statement, Naaman was incensed, and he went away. He said: Behold, I said to myself: He, the prophet himself, will come out to me and stand, and he will call in the name of the Lord his God, and he will wave his hand over the afflicted area of my body, and thereby heal my symptoms so that I will no longer be the leper. Naaman expected a real miracle that would include impressive hand gestures, and instead the prophet simply instructed him to bathe.

הֲלֹא טוֹב אֲמָנָה וּפַרְפַּר נַהֲרוֹת דַּמֶּשֶׂק מִכֹּל מֵימֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הֲלֹא־אֶרְחַץ בָּהֶם וְטָהָרְתִּי וַיִּפֶן וַיֵּלֶךְ בְּחֵמָה

Aren’t Amana and Parpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not bathe in them and be cleansed? If simply bathing in water can remove my plague, I could have done so just as well in those rivers. He turned and went in fury.

וַיִּגְּשׁוּ עֲבָדָיו וַיְדַבְּרוּ אֵלָיו וַיֹּאמְרוּ אָבִי דָּבָר גָּדוֹל הַנָּבִיא דִּבֶּר אֵלֶיךָ הֲלוֹא תַעֲשֶׂה וְאַף כִּי־אָמַר אֵלֶיךָ רְחַץ וּטְהָר

His servants approached and spoke with him, and said: My father, master, had the prophet spoken to you to perform a difficult matter, would you not do it? All the more so, when he merely said to you: Bathe and be cleansed, why don’t you at least try it? You came ready to follow his instructions and he instructed you to do something very simple, so why are you so angry?

וַיֵּרֶד וַיִּטְבֹּל בַּיַּרְדֵּן שֶׁבַע פְּעָמִים כִּדְבַר אִישׁ הָאֱלֹהִים וַיָּשָׁב בְּשָׂרוֹ כִּבְשַׂר נַעַר קָטֹן וַיִּטְהָר

He went down and immersed seven times in the Jordan in accordance with the word of the man of God, and his flesh returned, clean of blemishes and wrinkles, like the flesh of a small lad, and he was cleansed of all signs of his leprosy.

וַיָּשָׁב אֶל־אִישׁ הָאֱלֹהִים הוּא וְכָל־מַחֲנֵהוּ וַיָּבֹא וַיַּעֲמֹד לְפָנָיו וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּה־נָא יָדַעְתִּי כִּי אֵין אֱלֹהִים בְּכָל־הָאָרֶץ כִּי אִם־בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל וְעַתָּה קַח־נָא בְרָכָה מֵאֵת עַבְדֶּךָ

Once Naaman saw the prophet’s miraculous power, he regretted his earlier statement. He returned from the Jordan to the man of God, Elisha, he and all his camp; he came and stood before him, and said: Behold, now I know that there is no true God in all the earth, except in Israel; now please, accept a tribute from your servant, as I wish to express my gratitude toward you.

וַיֹּאמֶר חַי־ה' אֲשֶׁר־עָמַדְתִּי לְפָנָיו אִם־אֶקָּח וַיִּפְצַר בּוֹ לָקַחַת וַיְמָאֵן

He, Elisha, said, in the form of an oath: As the Lord before whom I have stood lives, I will not accept anything from you. He, Naaman, implored him to accept his gift; but he, Elisha, refused. The phrase “as the Lord before whom I have stood lives” had been used previously by both Elisha and his master, Elijah, as an expression of an oath.

וַיֹּאמֶר נַעֲמָן וָלֹא יֻתַּן־נָא לְעַבְדְּךָ מַשָּׂא צֶמֶד־פְּרָדִים אֲדָמָה כִּי לוֹא־יַעֲשֶׂה עוֹד עַבְדְּךָ עֹלָה וָזֶבַח לֵאלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים כִּי אִם־לַה'

Naaman said: If you will not take the gift from me, please let there at least be given to your servant a pair of mules’ load of earth, the amount of earth from your land that can be carried by two mules, for your servant will no longer perform a burnt offering or a feast offering to other gods, but only to the Lord. I accept upon myself to worship only the God of Israel, and therefore I want pure earth upon which to worship Him.

לַדָּבָר הַזֶּה יִסְלַח ה' לְעַבְדֶּךָ בְּבוֹא אֲדֹנִי בֵית־רִמּוֹן לְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֹת שָׁמָּה וְהוּא נִשְׁעָן עַל־יָדִי וְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֵיתִי בֵּית רִמֹּן בְּהִשְׁתַּחֲוָיָתִי בֵּית רִמֹּן יִסְלַח־ה' לְעַבְדְּךָ בַּדָּבָר הַזֶּה

Naaman added: For this matter, let the Lord pardon your servant: When my master, the king of Aram, comes to the house of worship of Rimon to prostrate himself there, and he leans on my hand, as I am second-in-command to him, and then I am compelled to prostrate myself in the house of Rimon; when I prostrate myself in the house of Rimon, may the Lord pardon your servant for this matter.

וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ לֵךְ לְשָׁלוֹם וַיֵּלֶךְ מֵאִתּוֹ כִּבְרַת אָרֶץ

He said to him: Go in peace. Elisha granted his request and sent him on his way. He, Naaman, departed and traveled some distance from him.

וַיֹּאמֶר גֵּיחֲזִי נַעַר אֱלִישָׁע אִישׁ־הָאֱלֹהִים הִנֵּה חָשַׂךְ אֲדֹנִי אֵת־נַעֲמָן הָאֲרַמִּי הַזֶּה מִקַּחַת מִיָּדוֹ אֵת אֲשֶׁר־הֵבִיא חַי־ה' כִּי־אִם־רַצְתִּי אַחֲרָיו וְלָקַחְתִּי מֵאִתּוֹ מְאוּמָה

Gehazi, the lad of Elisha the man of God, said to himself: Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Aramean, in not accepting from his hand that which he brought. It is a shame that he refused to take anything from Naaman. As the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something from him.

וַיִּרְדֹּף גֵּיחֲזִי אַחֲרֵי נַעֲמָן וַיִּרְאֶה נַעֲמָן רָץ אַחֲרָיו וַיִּפֹּל מֵעַל הַמֶּרְכָּבָה לִקְרָאתוֹ וַיֹּאמֶר הֲשָׁלוֹם

Gehazi pursued Naaman. Naaman saw him running after him and he alit from the chariot to meet him, and he said: There must be an urgent reason for your pursuit; is it all well?

וַיֹּאמֶר שָׁלוֹם אֲדֹנִי שְׁלָחַנִי לֵאמֹר הִנֵּה עַתָּה זֶה בָּאוּ אֵלַי שְׁנֵי־נְעָרִים מֵהַר אֶפְרַיִם מִבְּנֵי הַנְּבִיאִים תְּנָה־נָּא לָהֶם כִּכַּר כֶּסֶף וּשְׁתֵּי חֲלִפוֹת בְּגָדִים

He, Gehazi, said: It is well. Since he wanted to receive money from Naaman, he invented a story in Elisha’s name: My master sent me, saying: Behold, just now two lads of the disciples of the prophets have come to me from the highlands of Ephraim. Please give them a talent, roughly 30 kg, of silver and two changes of garments. Although Elisha had sworn not to take anything from Naaman, according to Gehazi’s fabricated narrative, he suddenly required funds for a charitable purpose.

וַיֹּאמֶר נַעֲמָן הוֹאֵל קַח כִּכָּרָיִם וַיִּפְרָץ בּוֹ וַיָּצַר כִּכְּרַיִם כֶּסֶף בִּשְׁנֵי חֲרִטִים וּשְׁתֵּי חֲלִפוֹת בְּגָדִים וַיִּתֵּן אֶל־שְׁנֵי נְעָרָיו וַיִּשְׂאוּ לְפָנָיו

Naaman, excited at the opportunity to give something to the prophet, said: Please, take two silver talents instead of one. He implored him, and Gehazi presumably did not resist for long, and he, Naaman, wrapped two talents of silver in two pouches and took two changes of garments, and he gave them to two of his lads, and they carried it before him, Gehazi.

וַיָּבֹא אֶל־הָעֹפֶל וַיִּקַּח מִיָּדָם וַיִּפְקֹד בַּבָּיִת וַיְשַׁלַּח אֶת־הָאֲנָשִׁים וַיֵּלֵכוּ

He, Gehazi, came to the citadel and took it from their hand, and deposited it in the house. He sent the men, Naaman’s servants, off and they went. This citadel was a tall structure located at the entrance to the city of Samaria.

וְהוּא־בָא וַיַּעֲמֹד אֶל־אֲדֹנָיו וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו אֱלִישָׁע מֵאַיִן גֵּחֲזִי וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא־הָלַךְ עַבְדְּךָ אָנֶה וָאָנָה

He came and stood before his master, to serve Elisha in his usual manner. Elisha said to him: From where have you just come, Gehazi? He said: Your servant did not go here or there; I did not go anywhere.

וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו לֹא־לִבִּי הָלַךְ כַּאֲשֶׁר הָפַךְ־אִישׁ מֵעַל מֶרְכַּבְתּוֹ לִקְרָאתֶךָ הַעֵת לָקַחַת אֶת־הַכֶּסֶף וְלָקַחַת בְּגָדִים וְזֵיתִים וּכְרָמִים וְצֹאן וּבָקָר וַעֲבָדִים וּשְׁפָחוֹת

He, Elisha, said to him: Did my heart not go with you when a man turned around from upon his chariot to meet you? I know exactly what happened. Is it the time, is it proper in these circumstances, to take the silver, and to use that silver to take, purchase, garments, olive trees, vineyards, sheep, cattle, slaves, and maidservants?

וְצָרַעַת נַעֲמָן תִּדְבַּק־בְּךָ וּבְזַרְעֲךָ לְעוֹלָם וַיֵּצֵא מִלְּפָנָיו מְצֹרָע כַּשָּׁלֶג

The leprosy of Naaman will cleave to you and to your descendants forever. He, Gehazi, departed from his presence and he was leprous like snow.