Naaman, by the report of a captive girl, is sent to Samaria to be cured of his leprosy, 1-7. Elisha, sending him to the Jordan, cures him, 8-14. He refuses Naaman's gifts, but allows him to take some of the earth, 15-19. Gehazi, abusing his master's name to Naaman, is smitten with leprosy, 20-27.
1 Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance to Syria. He was also a mighty man in valor, but he was a leper. 2 And the Syrians had gone out by companies and had taken away a little girl captive out of the land of Israel, and she waited on Naaman's wife. 3 And she said to her mistress, "I wish that my lord was with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would recover him of his leprosy." 4 And someone went in and told his lord, saying, "In this manner the girl spoke who is of the land of Israel." 5 And the king of Syria said, "Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel." And he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of clothing.
6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, "Now when this letter has come to you, behold, I have sent with this Naaman my servant to you so that you may recover him of his leprosy." 7 And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes and said, "Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends to me to recover a man of his leprosy? Therefore, consider, I pray you, and see how he seeks a quarrel against me."
8 And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, "Why have you rent your clothes? Let him come now to me and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel." 9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall come back to you and you shall be clean." 11 But Naaman was angry and went away and said, "Behold, I thought, 'He will surely come out to me, stand, call on the name of the LORD his God, strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.' 12 Are Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, not better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage. 13 And his servants came near and spoke to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had bid you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much rather then, when he says to you, 'Wash, and be clean'?" 14 Then he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God, and his flesh came back like the flesh of a little child and he was clean.
15 And he returned to the man of God—he and all his company—and came and stood before him. And he said, "Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel. Now therefore, I pray you, take a blessing from your servant." 16 But he said, "As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none." And he urged him to take it, but he refused. 17 And Naaman said, "Shall there not then, I pray you, be given to your servant two mules' burden of earth? For your servant will from now on offer neither burnt-offering nor sacrifice to other gods, but to the LORD. 18 In this thing may the LORD pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there and he leans on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, may the LORD pardon your servant in this thing." 19 And he said to him, "Go in peace." So he departed from him a little way.
20 But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, thought, "Behold, my master has spared Naaman this Syrian in not receiving at his hands that which he brought. But as the LORD lives, I will run after him and take something from him." 21 So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he alighted down from the chariot to meet him and said, "Is all well?" 22 And he said, "All is well. My master has sent me, saying, 'Behold, even now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from mount Ephraim. Give them, I pray you, a talent of silver and two changes of garments.'" 23 And Naaman said, "Be content, take two talents." And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags with two changes of garments and laid them upon two of his servants. And they bore them before him. 24 And when he came to the tower, he took [the things] from their hand and stored them in the house. And he let the men go, and they departed. 25 But he went in and stood before his master, and Elisha said to him, "Where did you come from, Gehazi?" And he said, "Your servant went nowhere."
26 And he said to him, "Did my heart not go with you when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to receive money and to receive garments, olive-groves, vineyards, sheep, oxen, men-servants, and women-servants? 27 Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cleave to you and to your offspring forever." And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.
Matthew Henry Commentary - 2nd Kings, Chapter 5[➚]
[v.24] - Text in square brackets added for implied meaning. The implied text was added based on the context of the verse to give more clarity to the verse. Originally, it was written as, "he took them from their hand..."