2 Kings 3
King James Version
3 Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years.
2 And he wrought evil in the sight of the Lord; but not like his father, and like his mother: for he put away the image of Baal that his father had made.
3 Nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom.
4 And Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster, and rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand lambs, and an hundred thousand rams, with the wool.
5 But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.
6 And king Jehoram went out of Samaria the same time, and numbered all Israel.
7 And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle? And he said, I will go up: I am as thou art, my people as thy people, and my horses as thy horses.
8 And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way through the wilderness of Edom.
9 So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom: and they fetched a compass of seven days' journey: and there was no water for the host, and for the cattle that followed them.
10 And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the Lord hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab!
11 But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may enquire of the Lord by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.
12 And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the Lord is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.
13 And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the Lord hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab.
14 And Elisha said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee.
15 But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him.
16 And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of ditches.
17 For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts.
18 And this is but a light thing in the sight of the Lord: he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand.
19 And ye shall smite every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all wells of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.
20 And it came to pass in the morning, when the meat offering was offered, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water.
21 And when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them, they gathered all that were able to put on armour, and upward, and stood in the border.
22 And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood:
23 And they said, This is blood: the kings are surely slain, and they have smitten one another: now therefore, Moab, to the spoil.
24 And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them: but they went forward smiting the Moabites, even in their country.
25 And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the wells of water, and felled all the good trees: only in Kirharaseth left they the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it.
26 And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew swords, to break through even unto the king of Edom: but they could not.
27 Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall. And there was great indignation against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.
2 Kings 3
New American Standard Bible
Jehoram Meets Moabite Rebellion
3 Now Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria (A)in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned for twelve years. 2 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, though not like his father and his mother; for (B)he removed the memorial stone of Baal (C)which his father had made. 3 Nevertheless, (D)he clung to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, into (E)which he misled Israel; he did not abandon them.
4 Now Mesha the king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he (F)used to make tribute payments to the king of Israel of a hundred thousand lambs, and the wool of a hundred thousand rams. 5 However, (G)when King Ahab died, the king of Moab broke with the [a]king of Israel. 6 So King Jehoram left Samaria for battle [b]at that time and mustered all Israel. 7 Then he went and sent word to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, “The king of Moab has broken away from me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?” And he said, “I will go up. [c](H)Consider me yours, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” 8 Then he said, “Which way shall we go up?” And he [d]answered, “The way of the wilderness of Edom.”
9 So (I)the king of Israel went with (J)the king of Judah and (K)the king of Edom, and they made a circuit of seven days’ journey. But there was no water for the army or for the cattle that [e]followed them. 10 Then the king of Israel said, “It is hopeless! For the Lord has called these three kings to hand them over to Moab!” 11 But Jehoshaphat said, “(L)Is there no prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of the Lord by him?” And one of the king of Israel’s servants answered and said, “(M)Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, (N)who used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.” 12 And Jehoshaphat said, “The word of the Lord is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.
13 Now Elisha said to the king of Israel, “[f]What business do you have with me? (O)Go to your father’s prophets and your mother’s prophets.” But the king of Israel said to him, “No, for the Lord has called these three kings together to hand them over to Moab.” 14 Elisha said, “(P)As surely as the Lord of armies lives, before whom I stand, if I did not respect Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look at you nor see you. 15 But now (Q)bring me a [g]musician.” And it came about, when the [h]musician played, that (R)the hand of the Lord came upon him. 16 And he said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Make this valley [i]full of trenches.’ 17 For the Lord says this: ‘You will not see wind, nor will you see rain; yet that valley (S)shall be filled with water, so that you will drink, you, your livestock, and your other animals. 18 And this is an (T)insignificant thing in the sight of the Lord; He will also give the Moabites into your hand. 19 (U)Then you shall strike every fortified city and every choice city, and [j]cut down every good tree and stop up all the springs of water, and spoil every good plot of land with stones.’” 20 And it happened in the morning (V)about the time of offering the sacrifice, that behold, water came from the direction of Edom, and the country was filled with water.
21 Now all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them. And all who were able to [k]put on armor and older were summoned and they took their positions on the border. 22 Then they got up early in the morning, and the sun shone on the water, and the Moabites saw the water opposite them as red as blood. 23 So they said, “This is blood; the kings must have fought each other, and they have killed one another. Now then, Moab, to the spoils!” 24 But when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and struck the Moabites, so that they fled from them; and the Israelites invaded [l]the land, [m]killing the Moabites. 25 (W)So they destroyed the cities; and each one threw a stone on every plot of good land and filled it. So they stopped up every spring of water and [n]cut down every good tree, until in (X)Kir-hareseth only they left its stones; however, the rock slingers surrounded it and struck it. 26 When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hundred men who drew swords, to break through to the king of Edom; but they could not. 27 Then the king of Moab took his oldest son who was to reign in his place, and (Y)offered him as a burnt offering on the wall. And great anger came upon Israel, and they departed from him and returned to their own land.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 3:5 I.e., Jehoram, the new king
- 2 Kings 3:6 Lit in that day
- 2 Kings 3:7 Lit As I, as you, as my people...
- 2 Kings 3:8 Lit said
- 2 Kings 3:9 Lit were in their footsteps
- 2 Kings 3:13 Lit What to me and to you, an ancient idiom
- 2 Kings 3:15 Lit string player
- 2 Kings 3:15 Lit string player
- 2 Kings 3:16 Lit trenches, trenches
- 2 Kings 3:19 Lit fell
- 2 Kings 3:21 Lit strap on a belt (for weapons)
- 2 Kings 3:24 Lit it
- 2 Kings 3:24 Lit striking
- 2 Kings 3:25 Lit felled
2 Kings 3
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 3
Joram’s Campaign against Moab. 1 Joram, the son of Ahab, began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of the reign of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, and he reigned for twelve years. 2 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, but not as bad as his father and his mother. He removed the idol of Baal that his father had made. 3 Still, he clung to the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, causing Israel to sin. He did not turn away from them.
4 Mesha, the king of Moab, tended sheep. He had to give the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs and the wool from one hundred thousand sheep. 5 When Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.
6 King Joram went out from Samaria and he gathered together all of Israel. 7 He sent this message to Jehoshaphat, the king of Israel: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you not go out with me to fight against Moab?” He answered, “I will go. My people are your people, and my horses are your horses.” 8 He said, “By which way should we go up?” He answered, “By way of the Desert of Edom.”
9 The king of Israel went out with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. They wandered around for seven days, but there was no water for the army or the animals that followed them. 10 The king of Israel said, “What? Has the Lord called three kings together only to hand them over into the hands of Moab?” 11 Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not a prophet of the Lord so that we can inquire of the Lord through him?” A servant of the king of Israel answered, “There is Elisha, the son of Shaphat. He used to pour water onto the hands of Elijah.”[a] 12 Jehoshaphat said, “The word of the Lord is with him.”
So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him. 13 But Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What do you and I have to do with each other? Go to the prophets of your father and your mother.” The king of Israel said, “No, the Lord called together these three kings to deliver them into the hands of Moab.” 14 Elisha said, “As the Lord of hosts lives before whom I stand, if it were not for the presence of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, I would not even look at you or take notice of you. 15 Now, bring a harpist to me.” While the harpist was playing, the hand of the Lord came upon him. 16 He said, “Thus says the Lord: Fill this valley with ditches. 17 For thus says the Lord: You will see neither wind nor rain, but this valley will fill up with water for you and your animals to drink. 18 This will be easy for the Lord, and he will also hand over the Moabites into your hands. 19 You will overthrow every fortified city and every larger city. You will cut down every good tree, stop up every well, and scatter stones in every good field.”
20 In the morning while they were offering a sacrifice, water came flowing from Edom. The land was filled with water. 21 The Moabites heard that the kings were coming to fight against them, and they gathered together everyone who was old enough to put on armor and older and they stationed them on the border.
22 When they got up in the morning, the sun was shining on the water, and the Moabites saw that the water on the other side was as red as blood.[b] 23 They said, “This is blood. Surely the kings have attacked and killed one another. To the spoil, Moab!”
24 When they arrived at the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and defeated the Moabites who fled before them. They pushed forward, cutting down the Moabites. 25 They then destroyed the cities, and each cast his stone onto a good piece of land, filling it in. They stopped up all of the wells, and they cut down all of the good trees. But they left the stones of Kir-hareseth, although the slingers surrounded 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 break through to the king of Edom, but they could not. 27 They took his oldest son who would have reigned in his stead, and they offered him up as a burnt offering upon the wall. They were furious at Israel. They departed and returned to their own land.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 3:11 Pour water onto the hands of Elijah: the recommendation of Elisha, a prophet who might have served Elijah, was affirmed by Jehoshaphat to the kings of Edom and Israel in their search for a prophet of the Lord.
- 2 Kings 3:22 A mirage caused by the rays of the rising sun on the desert, or else a coloring due to the ocher or red clay that was so plentiful as to give the region its name (Edom means “red”).
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
