So he asked them the time ¹  when his condition began to improve, ²  and ³  they told him, “Yesterday at one o’clock in the afternoon ⁴  the fever left him.”

They inquired, “What is the guilt offering that we should send to him?” They replied, “The Philistine leaders number five. So send five gold sores and five gold mice, for it is the same plague that has afflicted both you and your leaders.

The rest of the events of Asa’s reign, including all his successes and accomplishments, as well as a record of the cities he built, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. ¹  Yet when he was very old he developed a foot disease. ² 

Ahaziah fell through a window lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria ¹  and was injured. He sent messengers with these orders, ²  “Go, ask ³  Baal Zebub, ⁴  the god of Ekron, if I will survive this injury.”

Now Naaman, the commander of the king of Syria’s army, was esteemed and respected by his master, ¹  for through him the Lord had given Syria military victories. But this great warrior had a skin disease. ² 

When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill or restore life? Why does he ask me to cure a man of his skin disease? ¹  Certainly you must see that he is looking for an excuse to fight me!” ² 

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.

God gives a man riches, property, and wealth so that he lacks nothing that his heart ¹  desires, ²  yet God does not enable ³  him to enjoy ⁴  the fruit of his labor ⁵  – instead, someone else ⁶  enjoys ⁷  it! ⁸  This is fruitless and a grave misfortune. ⁹ 

If they ask you, ‘Where should we go?’ tell them the Lord says this: “Those who are destined to die of disease will go to death by disease. Those who are destined to die in war will go to death in war. Those who are destined to die of starvation will go to death by starvation. Those who are destined to go into exile will go into exile.” ¹ 

But I will let a small number of them survive the sword, famine, and pestilence, so that they can confess all their abominable practices to the nations where they go. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt and will cause boils to break out and fester ¹  on both people and animals in all the land of Egypt.”

So they took soot from a furnace and stood before Pharaoh, Moses threw it into the air, and it caused festering boils to break out on both people and animals.

“When you take a census ¹  of the Israelites according to their number, ²  then each man is to pay a ransom ³  for his life to the Lord when you number them, ⁴  so that there will be no plague among them when you number them.

The priest must then examine the infection on the seventh day, and if ¹  the scall has not spread, there is no reddish yellow hair in it, and the scall does not appear to be deeper than the skin, ² 

the priest is to examine them, ¹  and if ²  the bright spots on the skin of their body are faded white, it is a harmless rash that has broken out on the skin. The person is clean. ³ 

But if the priest has examined it and ¹  the infection has faded after it has been washed, he is to tear it out of ²  the garment or the leather or the warp or the woof.

“The priest must then perform the sin offering ¹  and make atonement for the one being cleansed from his impurity. After that he ²  is to slaughter the burnt offering,

“‘You must not present to the Lord something blind, or with a broken bone, or mutilated, or with a running sore, ¹  or with a festering eruption, or with a feverish rash. ²  You must not give any of these as a gift ³  on the altar to the Lord.

I will bring on you an avenging sword, a covenant vengeance. ¹  Although ²  you will gather together into your cities, I will send pestilence among you and you will be given into enemy hands. ³ 

and this water that causes the curse will go ¹  into your stomach, and make your abdomen swell and your thigh rot.” ²  Then the woman must say, “Amen, amen.” ³