2 Kings 5:27

The NET Bible®

Therefore Naaman's skin disease will afflict you and your descendants forever!" When Gehazi went out from his presence, his skin was as white as snow.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Therefore, Naaman’s skin disease will cling to you and your descendants forever.” So Gehazi went out from his presence diseased, resembling snow.

Hebrew Names Version
The leprosy therefore of Na`aman shall cleave to you, and to your seed forever. He went out from his presence a leper [as white] as snow.

King James Version
The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.

English Standard Version
Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever." So he went out from his presence a leper, like snow.

New Century Version
So Naaman's skin disease will come on you and your children forever." When Gehazi left Elisha, he had the disease and was as white as snow.

Amplified Bible
"Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever." So Gehazi departed from his presence, a leper as white as snow.

New American Standard Bible
"Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever." So he went out from his presence afflicted with leprosy, as white as snow.

Geneva Bible (1587)
The leprosie therefore of Naaman shall cleaue vnto thee, and to thy seede for euer. And he went out from his presence a leper white as snowe.

Legacy Standard Bible
Thus the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your seed forever." So he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.

Contemporary English Version
Because of what you've done, Naaman's leprosy will now be on you and your descendants forever!" Suddenly, Gehazi's skin became white with leprosy, and he left.

Complete Jewish Bible
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.

Darby Translation
But the leprosy of Naaman shall fasten upon thee, and upon thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence leprous, as snow.

Easy-to-Read Version
Now you and your children will catch Naaman's disease. You will have leprosy forever!" When Gehazi left Elisha, his skin was as white as snow! He was sick with leprosy.

George Lamsa Translation
The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave to you and to your descendants for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.

Good News Translation
And now Naaman's disease will come upon you, and you and your descendants will have it forever!" When Gehazi left, he had the disease—his skin was as white as snow.

Lexham English Bible
The skin disease of Naaman shall cling to you and to your offspring forever." Then he went out from before him having a skin disease like the snow.

Literal Translation
Yea, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you, and to your seed forever. And he went out from him as leprous as snow.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But the leprosy of Naaman shal cleue vnto the & to thy sede for euer. Then wete he forth from him leporous as snowe.

American Standard Version
The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.

Bible in Basic English
Because of what you have done, the disease of Naaman the leper will take you in its grip, and your seed after you, for ever. And he went out from before him a leper as white as snow.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
The leprosie therefore of Naaman shal cleaue vnto thee, and vnto thy seede for euer. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snowe.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever.' And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.

King James Version (1611)
The leprosie therefore of Naaman shall cleaue vnto thee, and vnto thy seede for euer: And hee went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
The leprosy also of Naiman shall cleave to thee, and to thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence leprous, like snow.

English Revised Version
The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper [as white] as snow.

Berean Standard Bible
Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman will cling to you and your descendants forever!" And as Gehazi left his presence, he was leprous-as white as snow.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
but also the lepre of Naaman schal cleue to thee, and to thi seed withouten ende. And Giezi yede leprouse as snow, `fro hym.

Young's Literal Translation
yea, the leprosy of Naaman doth cleave to thee, and to thy seed, -- to the age;' and he goeth out from before him -- leprous as snow.

Update Bible Version
The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave to you, and to your seed forever. And he went out from his presence a leper [as white] as snow.

Webster's Bible Translation
The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave to thee, and to thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper [as white] as snow.

World English Bible
The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave to you, and to your seed forever. He went out from his presence a leper [as white] as snow.

New King James Version
Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever." And he went out from his presence leprous, as white as snow.

New Living Translation
Because you have done this, you and your descendants will suffer from Naaman's leprosy forever." When Gehazi left the room, he was covered with leprosy; his skin was white as snow.

New Life Bible
So now the bad skin disease will be upon you and your children forever." And Gehazi went away from Elisha with a bad skin disease. He was as white as snow.

New Revised Standard
Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you, and to your descendants forever." So he left his presence leprous, as white as snow.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
The leprosy of Naaman, therefore, shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed, to times age-abiding. And he went forth from before him - a leper - like snow.

Douay-Rheims Bible
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.

Revised Standard Version
Therefore the leprosy of Na'aman shall cleave to you, and to your descendants for ever." So he went out from his presence a leper, as white as snow.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever." So he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.

Contextual Overview

²⁰ Gehazi, the prophet Elisha's servant, thought, "Look, my master did not accept what this Syrian Naaman offered him. As certainly as the Lord lives, I will run after him and accept something from him." ²¹ So Gehazi ran after Naaman. When Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from his chariot to meet him and asked, "Is everything all right?" ²² He answered, "Everything is fine. My master sent me with this message, ‘Look, two servants of the prophets just arrived from the Ephraimite hill country. Please give them a talent of silver and two suits of clothes.'" ²³ Naaman said, "Please accept two talents of silver. He insisted, and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, along with two suits of clothes. He gave them to two of his servants and they carried them for Gehazi. ²⁴ When he arrived at the hill, he took them from the servants and put them in the house. Then he sent the men on their way. ²⁵ When he came and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, "Where have you been, Gehazi?" He answered, "Your servant hasn't been anywhere." ²⁶ Elisha replied, "I was there in spirit when a man turned and got down from his chariot to meet you. This is not the proper time to accept silver or to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, sheep, cattle, and male and female servants. ²⁷ Therefore Naaman's skin disease will afflict you and your descendants forever!" When Gehazi went out from his presence, his skin was as white as snow.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

leprosy: 2 Kings 5:1, Joshua 7:25, Isaiah 59:2, Isaiah 59:3, Hosea 10:13, Malachi 2:3, Malachi 2:4, Malachi 2:8, Malachi 2:9, Matthew 27:3-5, Acts 5:5, Acts 5:10, Acts 8:20, 1 Timothy 6:10, 2 Peter 2:3

unto thy seed: 1 Samuel 2:30-36, 2 Samuel 3:29

a leper: 2 Kings 15:5, Exodus 4:6, Numbers 12:10

Reciprocal: Leviticus 13:2 - the plague of leprosy Leviticus 13:10 - shall see him 1 Kings 2:33 - return upon 1 Kings 13:8 - go 2 Kings 6:15 - servant 2 Kings 7:9 - some mischief will come upon us 2 Kings 8:4 - all the great 2 Chronicles 26:19 - even Psalms 101:7 - He that worketh Psalms 109:10 - General Proverbs 10:22 - he Proverbs 15:27 - He that is Proverbs 27:18 - so Ecclesiastes 5:17 - much Jeremiah 29:32 - punish Hosea 9:8 - with Matthew 8:2 - a leper Mark 1:40 - a leper Luke 5:12 - full Luke 17:12 - which

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever,.... As long as any of his race remained; as through his covetousness he had his money, so for his punishment he should have his disease:

and he went out from his presence; as one ashamed and confounded, and discharged from his master's service:

a leper [as white] as snow; a leprosy of which colour is the worst, and is incurable.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Kings 5:27. The leprosy of Naaman - shall cleave unto thee — Thou hast got much money, and thou shalt have much to do with it. Thou hast got Naaman's silver, and thou shalt have Naaman's leprosy. Gehazi is not the last who has got money in an unlawful way, and has got God's curse with it.

A leper as white as snow. — The moment the curse was pronounced, that moment the signs of the leprosy began to appear. The white shining spot was the sign that the infection had taken place. See on Leviticus 13:2, and the notes at the end of that chapter. Leviticus 13:58.

1. SOME have thought, because of the prophet's curse, The leprosy of Naaman shall cleave unto thee and thy seed for ever, that there are persons still alive who are this man's real descendants, and afflicted with this horrible disease. Mr. Maundrell when he was in Judea made diligent inquiry concerning this, but could not ascertain the truth of the supposition. To me it appears absurd; the denunciation took place in the posterity of Gehazi till it should become extinct, and under the influence of this disorder this must soon have taken place. The for ever implies as long as any of his posterity should remain. This is the import of the word לעולם leolam. It takes in the whole extent or duration of the thing to which it is applied. The for ever of Gehazi was till his posterity became extinct.

2. The god Rimmon, mentioned 2 Kings 5:18, we meet with nowhere else in the Scriptures, unless it be the same which Stephen calls Remphan. See Acts 7:43, and the note there. Selden thinks that Rimmon is the same with Elion, a god of the Phoenicians, borrowed undoubtedly from the עליון Elion, the Most High, of the Hebrews, one of the names of the supreme God, which attribute became a god of the Phoenicians. Hesychius has the word Ῥαμας Ramas, which he translates ὁ ὑψιστος Θεος, the Most High God, which agrees very well with the Hebrew רמון Rimmon, from רמה ramah, to make high or exalt. And all these agree with the sun, as being the highest or most exalted in what is called the solar system. Some think Saturn is intended, and others Venus. Much may be seen on this subject in Selden De Diis Syris.

3. Let us not suppose that the offence of Gehazi was too severely punished.

1) Look at the principle, covetousness.

2) Pride and vanity; he wished to become a great man.

3) His lying, in order to impose on Naaman: Behold even now there be come to me, c.

4) He in effect sells the cure of Naaman for so much money for if Naaman had not been cured, could he have pretended to ask the silver and raiment?

5) It was an act of theft; he applied that to his own use which Naaman gave him for his master.

6) He dishonoured his master by getting the money and raiment in his name, who had before so solemnly refused it.

7) He closed the whole by lying to his master, denying that he had gone after Naaman, or that he had received any thing from him. But was it not severe to extend the punishment of his crime to his innocent posterity? I answer, it does not appear that any of Gehazi's children, if he had any prior to this, were smitten with the leprosy; and as to those whom he might beget after this time, their leprosy must be the necessary consequence of their being engendered by a leprous father.

Reader, see the end of avarice and ambition; and see the truth of those words, "He that WILL be rich, shall fall into temptation, and a snare, and into divers hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition." - St. Paul.

4. We have already remarked the apparently severe and manifestly kind providence of God in this business.

1) A marauding party was permitted to spoil the confines of the land of Israel.

2) They brought away, to reduce to captivity, a little maid, probably the hope of her father's house.

3) She became Naaman's property, and waited on his wife.

4) She announced God and his prophet.

5) Naaman, on the faith of her account, took a journey to Samaria.

6) Gets healed of his leprosy.

7) Is converted to the Lord; and, doubtless, brought at least his whole family to believe to the saving of their souls. What was severe to the parents of the little maid was most kind to Naaman and his family; and the parents lost their child only a little time, that they might again receive her with honour and glory for ever. How true are the words of the poet!

"Behind a frowning providence he hides a smiling face."

And see the benefits of a religious education! Had not this little maid been brought up in the knowledge of the true God, she had not been the instrument of so great a salvation. See my sermon on this subject 2 Kings 5:12.