Hezekiah’s Illness^(A)

20 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”

² Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, ³ “Remember,^(B) Lord, how I have walked^(C) before you faithfully^(D) and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

⁴ Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: ⁵ “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the ruler of my people, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard^(E) your prayer and seen your tears;^(F) I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the Lord. ⁶ I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend^(G) this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.’”

⁷ Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs.” They did so and applied it to the boil,^(H) and he recovered.

⁸ Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the temple of the Lord on the third day from now?”

⁹ Isaiah answered, “This is the Lord’s sign^(I) to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or shall it go back ten steps?”

¹⁰ “It is a simple^(J) matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps,” said Hezekiah. “Rather, have it go back ten steps.”

¹¹ Then the prophet Isaiah called on the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back^(K) the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.

Envoys From Babylon^(L)(M)

¹² At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of Hezekiah’s illness. ¹³ Hezekiah received the envoys and showed them all that was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold, the spices and the fine olive oil—his armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.

¹⁴ Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did those men say, and where did they come from?”

“From a distant land,” Hezekiah replied. “They came from Babylon.”

¹⁵ The prophet asked, “What did they see in your palace?”

“They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah said. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”

¹⁶ Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: ¹⁷ The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon.^(N) Nothing will be left, says the Lord. ¹⁸ And some of your descendants,^(O) your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”^(P)

¹⁹ “The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?”

²⁰ As for the other events of Hezekiah’s reign, all his achievements and how he made the pool^(Q) and the tunnel^(R) by which he brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? ²¹ Hezekiah rested with his ancestors. And Manasseh his son succeeded him as king.

Naaman Healed of Leprosy

5 Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram.^(A) 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](B)

² Now bands of raiders^(C) 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^(D) 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.^{(E) 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,^(F) he tore his robes and said, “Am I God?^(G) Can I kill and bring back to life?^(H) Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel^(I) 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^(J) 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^(K) yourself seven times^(L) 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^(M) over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. ¹² Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters^(N) of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.^(O)

¹³ Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father,^(P) 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,^(Q) as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored^(R) and became clean like that of a young boy.^(S)

¹⁵ Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God^(T). He stood before him and said, “Now I know^(U) that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift^(V) 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.^(W)

¹⁷ “If you will not,” said Naaman, “please let me, your servant, be given as much earth^(X) 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^(Y) 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,”^(Z) 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^(AA) 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.’”^(AB)

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^(AC) to take money or to accept clothes—or olive groves and vineyards, or flocks and herds, or male and female slaves?^{(AD) 27} Naaman’s leprosy^(AE) will cling to you and to your descendants forever.” Then Gehazi^(AF) went from Elisha’s presence and his skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow.^(AG)

Hazael Murders Ben-Hadad

⁷ Elisha went to Damascus,^(A) and Ben-Hadad^(B) king of Aram was ill. When the king was told, “The man of God has come all the way up here,” ⁸ he said to Hazael,^(C) “Take a gift^(D) with you and go to meet the man of God. Consult^(E) the Lord through him; ask him, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”

⁹ Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him as a gift forty camel-loads of all the finest wares of Damascus. He went in and stood before him, and said, “Your son Ben-Hadad king of Aram has sent me to ask, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”

¹⁰ Elisha answered, “Go and say to him, ‘You will certainly recover.’^(F) Nevertheless,^[a] the Lord has revealed to me that he will in fact die.” ¹¹ He stared at him with a fixed gaze until Hazael was embarrassed.^(G) Then the man of God began to weep.^(H)

¹² “Why is my lord weeping?” asked Hazael.

“Because I know the harm^(I) you will do to the Israelites,” he answered. “You will set fire to their fortified places, kill their young men with the sword, dash^(J) their little children^(K) to the ground, and rip open^(L) their pregnant women.”

¹³ Hazael said, “How could your servant, a mere dog,^(M) accomplish such a feat?”

“The Lord has shown me that you will become king^(N) of Aram,” answered Elisha.

¹⁴ Then Hazael left Elisha and returned to his master. When Ben-Hadad asked, “What did Elisha say to you?” Hazael replied, “He told me that you would certainly recover.” ¹⁵ But the next day he took a thick cloth, soaked it in water and spread it over the king’s face, so that he died.^(O) Then Hazael succeeded him as king.