The Divided Kingdom

The king of Aram said, "Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Isra'el." He set out, taking with him 660 pounds of silver, 6,000 pieces of gold and ten changes of clothes.

He brought the king of Isra'el the letter, which said, "When this letter reaches you, you will see that I have sent my servant Na'aman to you, so that you can heal his tzara'at."

When the king of Isra'el finished reading the letter, he tore his clothes. "Am I God, able to kill and make alive," he asked, "so that he sends me a man to heal of tzara'at? You can see that he is only seeking an excuse to quarrel with me."

But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Isra'el had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king: "Why did you tear your clothes? Just have him come to me, and he will know that there is a prophet in Isra'el."

So Na'aman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha's house.

Elisha sent a messenger to him, who said, "Go, and bathe in the Yarden seven times. Your skin will become as it was, and you will be clean."

But Na'aman became angry and left, saying, "Here now! I thought for certain that he would come out personally, that he would stand, call on the name of ADONAI his God and wave his hand over the diseased place and thus heal the person with tzara'at.

Aren't Amanah and Parpar, the rivers of Dammesek, better than all the water in Isra'el? Why can't I bathe in them and be clean?" So he turned and went off in a rage.

But his servants approached him and said, "My father! If the prophet had asked you to do something really difficult, wouldn't you have done it? So, doesn't it make even more sense to do what he says, when it's only, 'Bathe, and be clean'?"

So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Yarden, as the man of God had said to do; and his skin was restored and became like the skin of a child; and he became clean.

Then, with his whole retinue, he returned to the man of God, went and stood before him, and said, "Well, I've learned that there is no God in all the earth except in Isra'el; therefore, please accept a present from your servant."

But Elisha answered, "As ADONAI lives, before whom I stand, I will not accept it." And despite his urging him to take it, he refused.

So Na'aman said, "If you won't take it, then please let your servant be given as much earth as two mules can carry; because from now on, your servant will offer neither burnt offerings nor sacrifices to other gods, but only to ADONAI.

Except this, and may ADONAI forgive your servant for it: when my master goes into the temple of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand, and I bow down in the temple of Rimmon - when I bow down, may ADONAI forgive your servant for this."

Elisha said to him, "Go in peace." Na'aman had gone only a short distance from him,

when Geichazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said to himself, "Here, my master has made it easy on this Arami Na'aman by not accepting from him what he brought. As ADONAI lives, I'll run after him and get at least something from him."

So Geichazi hurried off after Na'aman. When Na'aman saw someone running after him, he got down from his chariot to meet him and asked, "Is everything all right?"

"Yes," he replied. "My master sent me with this message: 'Two young men have just now come to me, guild prophets from the hills of Efrayim. Would you be kind enough to give them a talent of silver [sixty-six pounds] and two changes of clothes?"

"By all means, take two talents!" said Na'aman, pressing him. He tied up the two talents of silver in two bags and gave them, with the two changes of clothes, to two of his servants, who carried them ahead of Geichazi.

On reaching the hill, he took the bags from them and put them away in the house. Then he let the men go, and they left.

He went in and stood before his master. Elisha asked, "Where have you been, Geichazi?" "Your servant hasn't gone anywhere," he said.

Elisha said to him, "Wasn't my heart there with you when the man left his chariot to meet you? Is this a time to receive silver and clothing - and olive groves and vineyards and sheep and oxen and male and female slaves?

Therefore Na'aman's tzara'at will cling to you and your descendants forever." He left Elisha's presence with tzara'at as white as snow.

The guild prophets said to Elisha, "As you can see, the place where we are living in order to be with you is too small for us.

Please allow us to go to the Yarden; each of us will collect a log there, and we'll build a place there for us to live." He answered, "Go ahead."