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2 Kings 3
Christian Standard Bible

Israel’s King Joram

3 Joram son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria during the eighteenth year of Judah’s King Jehoshaphat, and he reigned twelve years.(A) 2 He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, but not like his father and mother,(B) for he removed the sacred pillar of Baal his father had made. 3 Nevertheless, Joram clung to the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.(C) He did not turn away from them.

Moab’s Rebellion against Israel

4 King Mesha of Moab(D) was a sheep breeder. He used to pay(E) the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs and the wool of one hundred thousand rams,(F) 5 but when Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.(G) 6 So King Joram marched out from Samaria at that time and mobilized all Israel. 7 Then he sent a message to King Jehoshaphat(H) of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me.(I) Will you go with me to fight against Moab?”

Jehoshaphat said, “I will go. I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”(J)

8 He asked, “Which route should we take?”

He replied, “The route of the Wilderness of Edom.”

9 So the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom(K) set out. After they had traveled their indirect route for seven days, they had no water for the army or the animals with them.

10 Then the king of Israel said, “Oh no, the Lord has summoned these three kings, only to hand them over to Moab.”

11 But Jehoshaphat said, “Isn’t there a prophet of the Lord here? Let’s inquire of the Lord through him.”(L)

One of the servants of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha son of Shaphat,(M) who used to pour water on Elijah’s hands, is here.”

12 Jehoshaphat affirmed, “The word of the Lord is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went to him.(N)

13 However, Elisha said to King Joram of Israel, “What do we have in common? Go to the prophets of your father and your mother!” (O)

But the king of Israel replied, “No, because it is the Lord who has summoned these three kings to hand them over to Moab.”

14 Elisha responded, “By the life of the Lord of Armies,(P) before whom I stand: If I did not have respect for King Jehoshaphat of Judah,(Q) I wouldn’t look at you; I would not take notice of you. 15 Now, bring me a musician.”(R)

While the musician played,(S) the Lord’s hand(T) came on Elisha. 16 Then he said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Dig ditch after ditch in this wadi.’ 17 For the Lord says, ‘You will not see wind or rain, but the wadi will be filled with water,(U) and you will drink—you and your cattle and your animals.’ 18 This is easy in the Lord’s sight.(V) He will also hand Moab over to you.(W) 19 Then you will attack every fortified city and every choice city. You will cut down every good tree and stop up every spring. You will ruin every good piece of land with stones.”

20 About the time for the grain offering(X) the next morning, water suddenly came from the direction of Edom and filled the land.

21 All Moab had heard that the kings(Y) had come up to fight against them. So all who could bear arms, from the youngest to the oldest, were summoned and took their stand at the border. 22 When they got up early in the morning, the sun was shining on the water, and the Moabites saw that the water across from them was red like blood.(Z) 23 “This is blood!” they exclaimed. “The kings(AA) have crossed swords[a] and their men have killed one another. So, to the spoil, Moab!”

24 However, when the Moabites came to Israel’s camp, the Israelites attacked them, and they fled from them. So Israel went into the land attacking the Moabites. 25 They would destroy the cities, and each of them would throw a stone to cover every good piece of land. They would stop up every spring and cut down every good tree. This went on until only the buildings of Kir-hareseth(AB) were left. Then men with slings surrounded the city and attacked it.

26 When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took seven hundred swordsmen with him to try to break through to the king of Edom,(AC) but they could not do it. 27 So he took his firstborn son,(AD) who was to become king in his place, and offered him as a burnt offering on the city wall. Great wrath was on the Israelites, and they withdrew from him and returned to their land.

Footnotes

  1. 3:23 Or have been laid waste
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2 Kings 3
International Standard Version

Jehoram Becomes King

3 Ahab’s son Jehoram ascended to the throne of Israel at Samaria during the eighteenth year of the reign of Judah’s King Jehoshaphat. He reigned for twelve years, 2 practicing evil in the Lord’s presence,[a] only not to the extent that his mother and father had done[b]—he forced abolition of the sacred pillar to Baal[c] that his father had crafted. 3 Even so,[d] he kept on committing the sins that Nebat’s son Jeroboam had done, which ensnared Israel in sin—he never abandoned them.

Moab Rebels against Israel

4 Meanwhile, Moab’s King Mesha was a sheep breeder. He used to pay 100,000 lambs and the wool from 100,000 rams to the king of Israel as tribute. 5 After Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 6 So King Jehoram left Samaria at that time[e] and mustered the entire army of[f] Israel. 7 As he was going out, he sent this message[g] to King Jehoshaphat of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight Moab?”

“I’m coming,” Jehoshaphat[h] replied. “I’m like you! My army will act like your army and my cavalry like your cavalry,” Then Jehoshaphat[i] added: 8 “What road do we take?”

Jehoram[j] answered, “We’ll go along the Edom desert road.”

9 So the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom made a complete circuit on the road for seven days, but there was no water for the army or for the livestock that accompanied[k] them.

10 Then the king of Israel remarked, “Oh no! The Lord has summoned us three kings so he can hand us over to Moab, hasn’t he?”

The Kings Seek Elisha’s Counsel

11 Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn’t there a prophet who belongs to the Lord and through whom we can ask the Lord a question?”

One of the king of Israel’s attendants replied, “Shaphat’s son Elisha lives here. He used to be Elijah’s personal attendant.”[l]

12 Jehoshaphat answered, “He receives messages from[m] the Lord.” So the king of Israel, Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom went to visit Elisha.[n]

13 Elisha asked the king of Israel, “What do I have in common[o] with you? Go visit your parents’ prophets.”[p]

The king of Israel replied, “No! The Lord has summoned these three kings so he can hand them over to Moab!”

14 But Elisha responded, “As the Lord of the Heavenly Armies lives, in whose presence I stand, I would never pay attention to you or even look in your direction were it not for my continuous respect for the presence of King Jehoshaphat of Judah. 15 Now bring me a musician.”

As the musician played, the hand of the Lord rested on Elisha, 16 so he said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Fill this valley with trench after trench!’ 17 This is what the Lord says: ‘Though you won’t see wind or storm, nevertheless that river[q] will overflow with water so that you, your cattle, and your livestock may drink.’ 18 And this is the easy part for the Lord[r]—he’s also going to hand the Moabites over to you! 19 Then you are to attack every fortified city and every significant city. Cut down every significant tree, fill in all of the water springs, and ruin every prime piece of land with stones.”

War with Moab

20 The very next day, about the time of the morning offering, water suddenly appeared, coming from the direction of Edom, and the land overflowed with water! 21 Meanwhile, all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to attack them, so everyone old enough to wear battle armor was mustered to stand guard at the border. 22 As the Moabites arose early that morning, the sun cast its rays on the water, and to the Moabites, the water across from them appeared to be red like blood. 23 So they concluded,[s] “This must be blood! The kings must have had one mighty big fight and each man killed the other! So let’s go get the battle spoil, Moab!”

24 But when the Moabites arrived at the Israeli encampment, the Israelis got up and attacked them. The Moabites ran away from the Israelis,[t] who followed them into the land as they continued their pursuit against Moab. 25 They destroyed their cities, and all of them threw stones onto every piece of farm[u] land, ruining the fields.[v] Then they filled in all the water wells[w] and chopped down all of the useful[x] trees. Stone walls remained surrounding Kir-hareseth only, until the archers surrounded and attacked that city. 26 When the king of Moab realized that the battle was going strongly against him, he took 700 expert swordsmen to attempt to break through to the king of Edom, but was unable to do so. 27 So he took his firstborn son, whom he intended to reign after him, and offered him up as a burnt offering on the wall. There subsequently came great anger against Israel, so they abandoned the attack and returned to their homeland.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 3:2 Lit. sight
  2. 2 Kings 3:2 The Heb. lacks had done
  3. 2 Kings 3:2 I.e. the main Canaanite male deity, and so throughout the book
  4. 2 Kings 3:3 Lit. Only
  5. 2 Kings 3:6 Lit. in those days
  6. 2 Kings 3:6 The Heb. lacks army of
  7. 2 Kings 3:7 The Heb. lacks this message
  8. 2 Kings 3:7 Lit. He
  9. 2 Kings 3:7 Lit. He
  10. 2 Kings 3:8 Lit. He
  11. 2 Kings 3:9 Or followed
  12. 2 Kings 3:11 Lit. to pour water on Elijah’s hands
  13. 2 Kings 3:12 Lit. He has the word of
  14. 2 Kings 3:12 Lit. him
  15. 2 Kings 3:13 The Heb. lacks in common
  16. 2 Kings 3:13 Lit. the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother
  17. 2 Kings 3:17 Or seasonal stream
  18. 2 Kings 3:18 Lit. part in the Lord’s eyes
  19. 2 Kings 3:23 Lit. said
  20. 2 Kings 3:24 Lit. of them
  21. 2 Kings 3:25 Or good
  22. 2 Kings 3:25 I.e. for future cultivation
  23. 2 Kings 3:25 Or springs
  24. 2 Kings 3:25 Or good
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2 Kings 2
2 Kings 4
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