2 Kings 5:8-15

5:8 When Elisha the prophet ¹  heard that the king had torn his clothes, he sent this message to the king, “Why did you tear your clothes? Send him ²  to me so he may know there is a prophet in Israel.” 5:9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood in the doorway of Elisha’s house. 5:10 Elisha sent out a messenger who told him, “Go and wash seven times in the Jordan; your skin will be restored ³  and you will be healed.” 5:11 Naaman went away angry. He said, “Look, I thought for sure he would come out, stand there, invoke the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the area, and cure the skin disease. 5:12 The rivers of Damascus, the Abana and Pharpar, are better than any of the waters of Israel! ⁴  Could I not wash in them and be healed?” So he turned around and went away angry. 5:13 His servants approached and said to him, “O master, ⁵  if the prophet had told you to do some difficult task, ⁶  you would have been willing to do it. ⁷  It seems you should be happy that he simply said, “Wash and you will be healed.” ⁸  5:14 So he went down and dipped in the Jordan seven times, as the prophet had instructed. ⁹  His skin became as smooth as a young child’s ¹⁰  and he was healed.

5:15 He and his entire entourage returned to the prophet. Naaman ¹¹  came and stood before him. He said, “For sure ¹²  I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel! Now, please accept a gift from your servant.”

[5:8]  ¹ tn Heb “man of God” (also in vv. 15, 20).

[5:8]  ² tn Heb “Let him come.”

[5:10]  ³ tn Heb “will return to you.”

[5:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all of the waters of Israel?” The rhetorical question expects an emphatic “yes” as an answer.

[5:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “my father,” reflecting the perspective of each individual servant. To address their master as “father” would emphasize his authority and express their respect. See BDB 3 s.v. אָב and the similar idiomatic use of “father” in 2 Kgs 2:12.

[5:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “a great thing.”

[5:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “would you not do [it]?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course you would.”

[5:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “How much more [when] he said, “Wash and be healed.” The second imperative (“be healed”) states the expected result of obeying the first (‘wash”).

[5:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “according to the word of the man of God.”

[5:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and his skin was restored, like the skin of a small child.”

[5:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Naaman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:15]  ¹² tn Heb “look.”