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2 Kings 3
New Living Translation

War between Israel and Moab

3 Ahab’s son Joram[a] began to rule over Israel in the eighteenth year of King Jehoshaphat’s reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria twelve years. 2 He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, but not to the same extent as his father and mother. He at least tore down the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had set up. 3 Nevertheless, he continued in the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had committed and led the people of Israel to commit.

4 King Mesha of Moab was a sheep breeder. He used to pay the king of Israel an annual tribute of 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. 5 But after Ahab’s death, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 6 So King Joram promptly mustered the army of Israel and marched from Samaria. 7 On the way, he sent this message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you join me in battle against him?”

And Jehoshaphat replied, “Why, of course! You and I are as one. My troops are your troops, and my horses are your horses.” 8 Then Jehoshaphat asked, “What route will we take?”

“We will attack from the wilderness of Edom,” Joram replied.

9 The king of Edom and his troops joined them, and all three armies traveled along a roundabout route through the wilderness for seven days. But there was no water for the men or their animals.

10 “What should we do?” the king of Israel cried out. “The Lord has brought the three of us here to let the king of Moab defeat us.”

11 But King Jehoshaphat of Judah asked, “Is there no prophet of the Lord with us? If there is, we can ask the Lord what to do through him.”

One of King Joram’s officers replied, “Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to be Elijah’s personal assistant.[b]”

12 Jehoshaphat said, “Yes, the Lord speaks through him.” So the king of Israel, King Jehoshaphat of Judah, and the king of Edom went to consult with Elisha.

13 “Why are you coming to me?”[c] Elisha asked the king of Israel. “Go to the pagan prophets of your father and mother!”

But King Joram of Israel said, “No! For it was the Lord who called us three kings here—only to be defeated by the king of Moab!”

14 Elisha replied, “As surely as the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, I wouldn’t even bother with you except for my respect for King Jehoshaphat of Judah. 15 Now bring me someone who can play the harp.”

While the harp was being played, the power[d] of the Lord came upon Elisha, 16 and he said, “This is what the Lord says: This dry valley will be filled with pools of water! 17 You will see neither wind nor rain, says the Lord, but this valley will be filled with water. You will have plenty for yourselves and your cattle and other animals. 18 But this is only a simple thing for the Lord, for he will make you victorious over the army of Moab! 19 You will conquer the best of their towns, even the fortified ones. You will cut down all their good trees, stop up all their springs, and ruin all their good land with stones.”

20 The next day at about the time when the morning sacrifice was offered, water suddenly appeared! It was flowing from the direction of Edom, and soon there was water everywhere.

21 Meanwhile, when the people of Moab heard about the three armies marching against them, they mobilized every man who was old enough to strap on a sword, and they stationed themselves along their border. 22 But when they got up the next morning, the sun was shining across the water, making it appear red to the Moabites—like blood. 23 “It’s blood!” the Moabites exclaimed. “The three armies must have attacked and killed each other! Let’s go, men of Moab, and collect the plunder!”

24 But when the Moabites arrived at the Israelite camp, the army of Israel rushed out and attacked them until they turned and ran. The army of Israel chased them into the land of Moab, destroying everything as they went.[e] 25 They destroyed the towns, covered their good land with stones, stopped up all the springs, and cut down all the good trees. Finally, only Kir-hareseth and its stone walls were left, but men with slings surrounded and attacked it.

26 When the king of Moab saw that he was losing the battle, he led 700 of his swordsmen in a desperate attempt to break through the enemy lines near the king of Edom, but they failed. 27 Then the king of Moab took his oldest son, who would have been the next king, and sacrificed him as a burnt offering on the wall. So there was great anger against Israel,[f] and the Israelites withdrew and returned to their own land.

Footnotes

  1. 3:1 Hebrew Jehoram, a variant spelling of Joram; also in 3:6.
  2. 3:11 Hebrew He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.
  3. 3:13 Hebrew What is there in common between you and me?
  4. 3:15 Hebrew the hand.
  5. 3:24 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  6. 3:27 Or So Israel’s anger was great. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
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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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