2 Kings 5

Great(i) 1 Naaman, captayne of the Hoste of the kynge of Siria, was a greate man, and honorable in the syght of his master: because that by him the Lorde had geuen health vnto Siria. He was also a myghtie man, and experte in warre, but he was a leper. 2 And the Syrians had gone out by companies, & had brought out of the contreye of Israel a lytle mayde, & she was with Naamans wyfe. 3 And she sayde vnto her ladye: I wold to God my Lorde were with the prophet that is in Samaria: for he wolde delyuer him of his leprosie. 4 And he went in, and tolde his Lorde, sayinge: thus and thus sayde the mayde, that is of the lande of Israel. 5 And the kynge of Syria sayde: Come and entre in and I wyll sende a letter vnto the kynge of Israel. And he came, and toke with him ten talentes of syluer, and .vj. thousande peces of golde, & ten chaunge of raymentes, 6 and brought the letter to the kynge of Israel contaynynge this tenoure: Nowe when this letter is come vnto the: Beholde, I haue therwith sent Naaman my seruaunt to the, that thou mayest rydde him of his leprosie. 7 And it fortuned, that when the kynge of Israel had redde the letter, he rent his clothes, and sayde: am I God, that I shulde slaye, & make alyue? For he doth sende to me that I shulde delyuer a man from his leprosie. Wherfore consyder (I praye you) and se howe he seketh a quarell agaynst me. 8 which when Elisa the man of God had hearde, howe that the kynge of Israel had rent his clothes, he sent to the kynge, sayinge. Wherfore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come nowe to me & he shall know, that there is a prophet in Israel. 9 And so Naaman came wt his horsses and with his charettes, and stode at the dore of the housse of Elisa. 10 And Elisa sent a messenger vnto him, sayinge: go and washe the in Iordan seuen tymes, & thy fleshe shall come agayne to the, & thou shalt be cleansed. 11 But Naaman was wroth, & went a waye, & sayde. Beholde I thought wt my selfe: he wolde surely come out, and stande & call on the name of the Lorde his God, and put his hande on the place that he maye heale the leprosie. 12 Are not Abana & Pharphar, ryuers of Damasco, better then all the waters of Israel? Yf I washe me also in them, shall I not be clensed? And so he turned him, and departed with displeasure. 13 And his seruauntes came, & commoned with hym, and sayde: Father, yf the prophete had bydd the do some great thinge, oughtest thou not to haue done it? How moch rather then, whan he sayth to the: wasshe, and be cleane? 14 Then went he downe, & wasshed him selfe seuen tymes in Iordan, accordynge to the sayinge of the man of God, & his flesshe chaunged, like vnto the flesshe of a lytle chylde, & he was cleansed. 15 And he turned agayne to the man of God, he and all his companie, and stode before him, and sayde: Beholde, I knowe nowe that there is no God in all the worlde, but in Israel. Nowe therfore take a blessinge of thy seruaunt. 16 But he sayde: as surely as the Lorde liueth (before whom I stande) I will receaue none. And whan the other wolde haue constrayned hym to receaue it, he wolde not. 17 And Naaman sayde: Shall there not be geuen to thy seruaunt as moch of this erthe as two mules maye beare? For thy seruaunt will here forth offer nether burnt sacrifyce nor offeringe vnto any other God, saue vnto the Lorde. 18 But herin the Lorde be mercyfull to thy seruaunt, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon, & doth worshyppe there, & leaneth on my hande, and I also worshyppe in the house of Rimmon. (Whan I do worshyppe I saye) in the house of Rimmon, the Lorde be mercyfull vnto thy seruaunt because of thys thinge. 19 Unto whom he sayde: go in peace. And when he was departed from him as it were a furlonge of grounde, 20 Gehezi the seruaunt of Elisa the man of God, sayde: beholde, my master hath spared Naaman thys Syrian, that he wolde not receaue of hys hande those thynges that he offered. As surely as the Lorde lyueth, I wyll runne after him, & take some what of him. 21 And so Gehezi folowed Naaman. And when Naaman sawe him runninge after him, he lyght downe from the charet, to mete him, and sayde: is all well? 22 He answered: All is well. Beholde, my master hath sent me, sayinge: se, there be come to me euen nowe from mount Ephraim two yonge men of the chyldren of the prophetes: geue them I praye the, one talent of syluer and two chaunge of garmentes. 23 And Naaman sayde: With a good will. Take two talentes: & he compelled him to bynde two talentes of syluer in two bagges, with two chaunge of garmentes, and layed them vpon two of his seruauntes, to beare them before him. 24 And whan he came in to a secrete place, he toke them from their hande, & bestowed it in the house, & the men were let go, 25 and they departed. But he went in, and stode before his master. And Elisa sayde vnto him: whence commest thou Gehezi? He sayde: thy seruaunt went no whether. 26 But he sayde vnto hym: went not myne hert with the, when the man turned agayne from his charet to mete the? Is it nowe a tyme to receaue moneye, to receaue garmentes, olyue trees, vyneyardes, shepe and oxen, men seruauntes & mayde seruauntes? 27 The leprosye therfore of Naaman shall cleaue vnto the, and vnto thy seed for euer. And he went out from his presence a leper, as whyte as snowe.