And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet. Yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
Parallel translations
- WEB There were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed, except Naaman, the Syrian.”
- KJV And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.
- NKJV And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”
- NASB And there were many with leprosy in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
- NLT And many in Israel had leprosy in the time of the prophet Elisha, but the only one healed was Naaman, a Syrian.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Likewise, only Naaman the Syrian, a Gentile, was cleansed of leprosy in Elisha's day. God again shows mercy to an outsider over unbelieving Israel.
Overview
Jesus cites Naaman the Syrian, healed of leprosy while many Israelite lepers were not. Like the Sidonian widow, this Gentile received grace through faith and obedience. The examples declare that God's saving mercy is not confined to ethnic Israel—a truth that enrages His hearers and anticipates the worldwide gospel.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 2 Kgs 5:1–27Now Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man in his master’s sight and highly regarded, for through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. And he was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.
- John 17:12While I was with them, I protected and preserved them by Your name, the name You gave Me. Not one of them has been lost, except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.
- Matt 12:4He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for them to eat, but only for the priests.
- 1 Kgs 19:19–21So Elijah departed and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve teams of oxen, and he was with the twelfth team. Elijah passed by him and threw his cloak around him.
- Job 36:23Who has appointed His way for Him, or told Him, ‘You have done wrong’?
- Dan 4:35All the peoples of the earth are counted as nothing, and He does as He pleases with the army of heaven and the peoples of the earth. There is no one who can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’”
- Job 21:22Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since He judges those on high?
- Job 33:13Why do you complain to Him that He answers nothing a man asks?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 4:27 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.