2 Kongebok 5
1 Na'aman, den syriske konges hærfører, hadde meget å si hos sin herre og var høit aktet, for ved ham hadde Herren gitt Syria seier; han var en veldig krigsmann, men spedalsk.
[A man named] Naaman was the commander of the army of Syria. Yahweh had enabled him to win many victories/battles. He was a great warrior, and as a result the king of Syria greatly respected him. But he had (leprosy/a dreaded skin disease).
2 Syrerne hadde engang gjort et herjetog og bortført en liten pike som fange fra Israels land; og hun tjente nu hos Na'amans hustru.
[Some time previously, ] groups of soldiers/marauders from Syria had raided/attacked the land of Israel, and they had captured a young girl [and taken her to Syria]. She became a servant for Naaman’s wife.
3 Hun sa til sin frue: Bare min herre var hos profeten i Samaria! Da skulde nok han fri ham fra hans spedalskhet.
One day, that girl said to her, “I wish that (my master/your husband) would go to see the prophet in Samaria. That prophet would heal your husband from his leprosy.”
4 Na'aman gikk inn til sin herre og fortalte ham det og sa: Så og så har piken fra Israels land sagt.
[Naaman’s wife told her husband] what the girl from Israel had said, [and] Naaman told [that] to the king.
5 Da sa kongen i Syria: Dra dit, så vil jeg sende et brev til Israels konge. Han drog avsted og tok med sig ti talenter sølv og seks tusen sekel gull og ti festklædninger.
The king said to him, “Okay, go [and see the prophet]. I will [write] a letter for you to take to the king of Israel, [saying that I sent you].” The king wrote in the letter, “I am sending this letter with [my army commander] Naaman, who serves me [faithfully]. I want you to heal him of his disease.” So Naaman, [assuming/thinking that the king of Israel was the prophet, took the letter and] 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold, and ten sets of clothing, to give to the king of Israel, [and he went to Samaria, taking along several servants].
6 Han overgav brevet til Israels konge, og i det stod det: Når nu dette brev kommer til dig, så vil du se at jeg har sendt min tjener Na'aman til dig, forat du skal fri ham fra hans spedalskhet.
7 Da Israels konge hadde lest brevet, sønderrev han sine klær og sa: Er jeg Gud, så jeg kan døde og gjøre levende, siden han sender bud til mig og vil at jeg skal fri en mann fra hans spedalskhet? Nu ser I vel grant at han søker en leilighet til strid med mig.
[When he arrived in Samaria, he gave the letter to the king] of Israel. The king read the letter. Then, being very dismayed, the king tore his clothes and said, “I am not God [RHQ]! I am not able to enable people to live or to die [RHQ]! Why does [the king] who wrote this letter request me to cure this man of his leprosy? I think that he is just wanting to start a fight with me!”
8 Men da Elisa, den Guds mann, hørte at Israels konge hadde sønderrevet sine klær, sendte han bud til kongen og lot si: Hvorfor har du sønderrevet dine klær? La ham komme til mig! Så skal han kjenne at der er en profet i Israel.
But the prophet Elisha heard that the king of Israel had torn his robe [and said that]. So he sent a message to the king, saying, “Why are you upset/frustrated [RHQ]? Send Naaman to me, and he will find out that [because] I am a true prophet [here] in Israel, [I can help/heal him].”
9 Så kom Na'aman med sine hester og sin vogn og holdt ved døren til Elisas hus.
So Naaman went with his horses and chariots to Elisha’s house and waited outside the door.
10 Og Elisa sendte et bud ut til ham og lot si: Gå og bad dig syv ganger i Jordan! Så skal ditt kjøtt bli friskt igjen, og du skal bli ren.
But Elisha [did not come to the door. Instead, he] sent a messenger to Naaman, to tell him, “Go to the Jordan [River] and wash yourself seven times in the river. Then your skin will be restored/healed, and you will no longer have leprosy.”
11 Da blev Na'aman vred og drog bort og sa: Jeg tenkte at han vilde komme ut til mig og stå frem og påkalle Herrens, sin Guds navn og føre sin hånd frem og tilbake over det syke sted og ta bort spedalskheten.
But Naaman became very angry. He said, “I thought that surely he would wave his hand over the leprosy, and pray to Yahweh his god, and heal me!
12 Er ikke elvene ved Damaskus, Abana og Parpar, bedre enn alle Israels vann? Kunde jeg ikke bade mig i dem og bli ren? Og han vendte om og drog bort i vrede.
Surely the Abana River and the Pharpar River in Damascus [in my own country of Syria] are [RHQ] better than any of the rivers in Israel! Why can I not wash in those rivers and be healed?” [RHQ] So he turned and walked away with great anger/disgust.
13 Men hans tjenere trådte frem og talte til ham og sa: Min far! Dersom profeten hadde pålagt dig noget svært, vilde du da ikke ha gjort det? Hvor meget mere når han bare sier til dig: Bad dig, så skal du bli ren!
But his servants came to him, and [one of them] said, “Sir, if that prophet had told you to do something difficult, you would certainly [RHQ] have done it. So you should certainly do what he says and wash [in the Jordan River] to be healed!” [RHQ]
14 Da drog han ned og dukket sig syv ganger i Jordan efter den Guds manns ord; og hans kjøtt blev friskt som på en liten gutt, og han blev ren.
So Naaman went down to the Jordan [River] and washed himself seven times, as (the prophet/Elisha) told him to do. Then his skin was restored/healed, and it became healthy/smooth, like the skin of a young child.
15 Og han vendte tilbake til den Guds mann med hele sitt følge, og da han kom dit, trådte han frem for ham og sa: Nu vet jeg at det ikke er nogen Gud på hele jorden uten i Israel; sa ta nu imot en gave av din tjener!
Then Naaman and those who were with him went back to talk to Elisha. They stood in front of him, and Naaman said, “Now I know that there are no real gods anywhere else in the world, but there is a God here in Israel! So now please accept these gifts that I [have brought to you]!”
16 Men han sa: Så sant Herren lever, han hvis tjener jeg er: Jeg tar ikke imot noget. Og han bad ham inntrengende om å ta imot, men han vilde ikke.
But Elisha replied, “Just as certainly as Yahweh, the one whom I serve, lives, I will not accept any gifts.” Naaman kept urging him [to accept the gifts], but Elisha kept refusing.
17 Da sa Na'aman: Siden du ikke vil, så la dog din tjener få så meget jord som et par mulesler kan bære! For din tjener vil ikke mere ofre brennoffer eller slaktoffer til andre guder, men til Herren alene.
Then Naaman said, “Okay, but [I have one request. This dirt here in Israel is holy, so] please allow me to take some dirt from this place and put it [in sacks] on two mules. Then I will take it back home with me [and make an altar on this dirt]. From now on, I will offer sacrifices to Yahweh [on that altar]. I will not offer sacrifices to any other god.
18 Men én ting tilgi Herren din tjener: Når min herre går inn Rimmons hus for å tilbede der, og han støtter sig til min hånd, og jeg kaster mig ned der i Rimmons hus, så la Herren din tjener få tilgivelse for dette at jeg kaster mig ned i Rimmons hus!
However, when my master, [the king, ] goes into the temple of the god Rimmon to worship him/it there, and he is leaning on my arm, I hope/desire that Yahweh will forgive me because I will have to bow down, too.”
19 Han svarte ham: Dra bort i fred! Så drog han fra ham, men da han var kommet et stykke på veien,
Elisha replied, “Go home, and do not worry about that.” So Naaman [and his servants] started to travel home.
20 da tenkte Gehasi, den Guds mann Elisas dreng: Min herre har spart denne syrer Na'aman og ikke tatt imot av ham det han hadde hatt med sig; så sant Herren lever, vil jeg springe efter ham og få noget av ham.
But then Elisha’s servant Gehazi said to himself, “It is not good that my master allowed this Syrian man to leave like this. He should have accepted his gifts. So just as certainly as Yahweh lives, I will go and catch up with Naaman and get something from him.”
21 Så skyndte Gehasi sig efter Na'aman; og da Na'aman så en springe efter ham, steg han i hast ned av vognen og gikk ham i møte og sa: Står alt vel til?
So Gehazi hurried to catch up with Naaman. When Naaman saw Gehazi running toward him, he [stopped] the chariot [in which he was riding, ] jumped out, and went to see what Gehazi wanted. He asked him, “Is everything all right?”
22 Han sa: Ja, men min herre har sendt mig og lar si: Just nu er det kommet to unge menn til mig fra Efra'im-fjellene, to av profetenes disipler; gi dem en talent sølv og to festklædninger!
Gehazi replied, “Yes, but two young prophets from the hilly area where the descendants of Ephraim live have just arrived. Elisha has sent me to tell you that he would like 75 pounds of silver and two sets of clothing to give to them.”
23 Na'aman svarte: Vær så snild og ta to talenter! Og han bad ham inntrengende og knyttet to talenter sølv inn i to punger og tok to festklædninger og overgav det til to av sine drenger, og de bar det foran ham;
Naaman replied, “Certainly! You can have 150 pounds of silver!” He urged Gehazi to take it. He also gave him two sets of clothing. He tied up the silver in two bags and gave them to two of his servants to carry back to Elisha.
24 men da han kom til bakken, tok han det av deres hånd og gjemte det i huset, og han bad farvel med mennene, og de drog sin vei.
But when they arrived at the hill [where Elisha lived], Gehazi took the silver and the clothes from Naaman’s servants and sent the servants back to Naaman. Then he took those things into his house and hid them.
25 Og selv gikk han inn og trådte frem for sin herre. Da spurte Elisa ham: Hvor kommer du fra, Gehasi? Han svarte: Din tjener har ikke vært noget sted.
When he went to Elisha, Elisha asked him, “Where did you go, Gehazi?” Gehazi replied, “I did not go anywhere.”
26 Men han sa til ham: Var jeg ikke til stede i ånden da mannen vendte om fra sin vogn og gikk dig i møte? Er det nu tid til å ta imot sølv og få sig klær og oljetrær og vingårder og småfe og storfe og tjenere og tjenestepiker?
Elisha asked him, [“Do you not realize that] my spirit was there when Naaman got out of his chariot to talk with you? This is certainly not [RHQ] the time to accept gifts of money and clothes and olive groves and vineyards and sheep and oxen and servants!
27 Derfor skal Na'amans spedalskhet henge ved dig og ved din ætt til evig tid. Så gikk han ut fra ham og var spedalsk, hvit som sne.
Because you have done this, you and your children and all your descendants, forever, will have leprosy just like Naaman had!” And when Gehazi left the room, he was a leper! His skin was as white as snow!
