2 Kings 5

NEW JERUSALEM	DOUAI-RHEIMS
1 Naaman, army commander to the king of Aram, was a man who enjoyed his master's respect andfavour, since through him Yahweh had granted victory to the Aramaeans.	1 Naaman, general of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable: for by him the Lord gave deliverance to Syria: and he was a valiant man and rich, but a leper.
2 But the man suffered from a virulent skin-disease. Now, on one of their raids into Israelite territory, theAramaeans had carried off a little girl, who became a servant of Naaman's wife.	2 Now there had gone out robbers from Syria, and had led away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid, and she waited upon Naaman's wife.
3 She said to her mistress, 'If only my master would approach the prophet of Samaria! He would cure himof his skin-disease.'	3 And she said to her mistress: I wish my master had been with the prophet, that is in Samaria: he would certainly have healed him of the leprosy which he hath.
4 Naaman went and told his master. 'This and this', he reported, 'is what the girl from Israel has said.'	4 Then Naaman went in to his lord, and told him, saying: Thus and thus said tile girl from the land of Israel.
5 'Go by al means,' said the king of Aram, 'I shal send a letter to the king of Israel.' So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten festal robes.	5 And the king of Syria sad to him: Go, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and tell changes of raiment,
6 He presented the letter to the king of Israel. It read, 'With this letter, I am sending my servant Naaman toyou for you to cure him of his skin-disease.'	6 And brought the letter to the king of Israel, in these words: When thou shalt receive this letter, know that I have sent to thee Naaman my servant, that thou mayest heal him of his leprosy.
7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes. 'Am I a god to give death and life,' he said,'for him to send a man to me and ask me to cure him of his skin-disease? Listen to this and take note of it andsee how he intends to pick a quarrel with me.'	7 And when the king of Israel had read the letter, he rent his garments, and said: Am I God, to be able to kill and give life, that this man hath sent to me, to heal a man of his leprosy? mark, and see how he seeketh occasions against me.
8 When Elisha heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent word to the king, 'Why have youtorn your clothes? Let him come to me, and he wil find there is a prophet in Israel.'	8 And when Eliseus the man of God had heard this, to wit, that the king of Israel had rent his garments, he sent to him, saying: Why hast thou rent thy garments? let him come to me, and let him know that there is a prophet in Israel.
9 So Naaman came with his team and chariot and drew up at the door of Elisha's house.	9 So Naaman came with Iris horses and chariots, and stood at the door of the house of Eliseus:
10 And Elisha sent him a messenger to say, 'Go and bathe seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh wilbecome clean once more.'	10 And Eliseus sent a messenger to him, saying: Go, and wash seven times in the Jordan, and thy flesh shall recover health, and thee shalt be clean.
11 But Naaman was indignant and went off, saying, 'Here was I, thinking he would be sure to come out tome, and stand there, and cal on the name of Yahweh his God, and wave his hand over the spot and cure thepart that was diseased.	11 Naaman was angry and went away, saying: I thought he would hare come out to me, and standing would hare invoked the name of the Lord his God, and touched with his hand the place of the leprosy, and healed me.
12 Surely, Abana and Parpar, the rivers of Damascus, are better than any water in Israel? Could I notbathe in them and become clean?' And he turned round and went off in a rage.	12 Are not the Abana, and the Pharphar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel, that I may wash in them, and be made clean? So as he turned, and was going away with indignation,
13 But his servants approached him and said, 'Father, if the prophet had asked you to do somethingdifficult, would you not have done it? Al the more reason, then, when he says to you, "Bathe, and you wilbecome clean." '	13 His servants came to him, and said to him: Father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, surely thou shouldst have done it: how much rather what he now hath said to thee: Wash, and thou shalt he clean?
14 So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, as Elisha had told him to do. Andhis flesh became clean once more like the flesh of a little child.	14 Then he went down, and washed in the Jordan seven times: according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored, like the flesh of a little child, and he was made clean.
15 Returning to Elisha with his whole escort, he went in and, presenting himself, said, 'Now I know thatthere is no God anywhere on earth except in Israel. Now, please, accept a present from your servant.'	15 And returning to the man of God with all his train, be came, and stood before him, and said: In truth, I know there is no other God in all the earth, but only in Israel: I beseech thee therefore take a blessing of thy servant.
16 But Elisha replied, 'As Yahweh lives, whom I serve, I wil accept nothing.' Naaman pressed him toaccept, but he refused.	16 But he answered: As the Lord liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And when he pressed him, he still refused.
17 Then Naaman said, 'Since your answer is "No," al ow your servant to be given as much earth as twomules may carry, since your servant wil no longer make burnt offerings or sacrifice to any god except Yahweh.	17 And Naaman said: As thou wilt: but I beseech thee, grant to me thy servant, to take from hence two mules' burden of earth: for thy servant will not henceforth offer holocaust, or victim, to other gods, but to the Lord.
18 Only -- and may Yahweh forgive your servant for this -- when my master goes to the temple of Rimmonto worship there, he leans on my arm, and I bow down in the temple of Rimmon when he does; may Yahwehforgive your servant for doing this!'	18 But there is only this, for which thou shalt entreat the Lord for thy servant, when my master goeth into the temple of Remmon, to worship: and he leaneth upon my hand, if I bow down in the temple of Remmon, when he boweth down in the same place, that the Lord pardon me thy servant for this thing.
19 'Go in peace,' Elisha replied.	19 And he said to him: Go in peace. So he departed from him in the springtime of the earth.
20 Naaman had gone a smal distance, when Gehazi, Elisha's servant, said to himself, 'My master has letthis Aramaean Naaman off lightly, by not accepting what he offered. As Yahweh lives, I will run after him and getsomething out of him.'	20 But Giezi the servant of the man of God said: My master hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving of him that which he brought: as the Lord liveth, I will run after him, and take some thing of him:
21 So Gehazi set off in pursuit of Naaman. When Naaman saw him running after him, he jumped downfrom his chariot to meet him. 'Is all well?' he asked.	21 ,21And Giezi followed after Naaman: and when he saw him running after him, he leapt down from his chariot to meet him, and said: Is all well?
22 'All is well,' he said. 'My master has sent me to say, "This very moment two young men of the propheticbrotherhood have arrived from the highlands of Ephraim. Be kind enough to give them a talent of silver and twofestal robes." '	22 And he said: Well: my master hath sent me to thee, saying: Just now there are come to me from mount Ephraim, two young men of the sons of the prophets: give them a talent of silver, and two changes of garments.
23 'Please accept two talents,' Naaman replied, and pressed him, tying up the two talents of silver in twobags with the two festal robes and consigning them to two of his servants who carried them ahead of Gehazi.	23 And Naaman said: It is better that thou take two talents. And he forced him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, and two changes of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants, and they carried them before him.
24 When he reached Ophel, he took these from them and put them away in the house. He then dismissedthe men, who went away.	24 And when he was come, and now it was the evening, he took them from their hands, and laid them up in the house, and sent the men away, and they departed.
25 He, for his part, went and presented himself to his master. Elisha said, 'Gehazi, where have you been?''Your servant has not been anywhere,' he replied.	25 But he went in, and stood before his master. And Eliseus said: Whence comest thou, Giezi? He answered: Thy servant went no whither.
26 But Elisha said to him, 'Was not my heart present there when someone left his chariot to meet you?Now you have taken the money, you can buy gardens with it, and olive groves, sheep and oxen, male andfemale slaves.	26 But he said: Was not my heart present, when the man turned back from his chariot to meet thee? So now thou hast received money, and received garments, to buy oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants.
27 But Naaman's disease of the skin wil cling to you and your descendants for ever.' And Gehazi left hispresence white as snow from skin-disease.	27 But the leprosy of Naaman shall also stick to thee, and to thy seed for ever. And he went out from him a leper as white as snow.