2 Kings 3
Living Bible
3 Ahab’s son Joram began his reign over Israel during the eighteenth year of the reign of King Jehoshaphat[a] of Judah; and he reigned twelve years. His capital was Samaria. 2 He was a very evil man, but not as wicked as his father and mother had been, for he at least tore down the pillar to Baal that his father had made. 3 Nevertheless he still clung to the great sin of Jeroboam (the son of Nebat), who had led the people of Israel into the worship of idols.
4 King Mesha of Moab and his people were sheep ranchers. They paid 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 Israel. 6-8 So King Joram mustered the Israeli army and sent this message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you help me fight him?”
“Of course I will,” Jehoshaphat replied. “My people and horses are yours to command. What are your battle plans?”
“We’ll attack from the wilderness of Edom,” Joram replied.
9 So their two armies, now joined also by troops from Edom, moved along a roundabout route through the wilderness for seven days; but there was no water for the men or their pack animals.
10 “Oh, what shall we do?” the king of Israel cried out. “The Lord has brought us here to let the king of Moab defeat us.”
11 But Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, asked, “Isn’t there a prophet of the Lord with us? If so, we can find out what to do!”
“Elisha is here,” one of the king of Israel’s officers replied. Then he added, “He was Elijah’s assistant.”
12 “Fine,” Jehoshaphat said. “He’s just the man we want.”[b] So the kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom went to consult Elisha.
13 “I want no part of you,” Elisha snarled at King Joram of Israel. “Go to the false prophets of your father and mother!”
But King Joram replied, “No! For it is the Lord who has called us here to be destroyed by the king of Moab!”
14 “I swear by the Lord God that I wouldn’t bother with you except for the presence of King Jehoshaphat of Judah,” Elisha replied. 15 “Now bring me someone to play the lute.” And as the lute was played, the message of the Lord came to Elisha:
16 “The Lord says to fill this dry valley with trenches to hold the water he will send. 17 You won’t see wind nor rain, but this valley will be filled with water, and you will have plenty for yourselves and for your animals! 18 But this is only the beginning, for the Lord will make you victorious over the army of Moab! 19 You will conquer the best of their cities—even those that are fortified—and ruin all the good land with stones.”
20 And sure enough, the next day at about the time when the morning sacrifice was offered—look! Water! 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 could fight, old and young, and stationed themselves along their frontier. 22 But early the next morning the sun looked red as it shone across the water!
23 “Blood!” they exclaimed. “The three armies have attacked and killed each other! Let’s go and collect the loot!”
24 But when they arrived at the Israeli camp, the army of Israel rushed out and began killing them; and the army of Moab fled. Then the men of Israel moved forward into the land of Moab, destroying everything as they went. 25 They destroyed the cities, threw stones on every good piece of land, stopped up the wells, and felled the fruit trees; finally, only Fort Kir-hareseth was left, but even that finally fell to them.[c]
26 When the king of Moab saw that the battle had been lost, he led 700 of his swordsmen in a last desperate attempt to break through to the king of Edom; but he failed. 27 Then he took his oldest son, who was to have been the next king, and to the horror of the Israeli army, killed him and sacrificed him as a burnt offering upon the wall. So the army of Israel turned back in disgust to their own land.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 3:1 the reign of King Jehoshaphat. 1:17 says King Jehoram was the king of Judah at this time. Possibly there was a co-regency.
- 2 Kings 3:12 He’s just the man we want, literally, “The word of the Lord is with him.”
- 2 Kings 3:25 even that finally fell to them, literally, “the slingers surrounded and conquered it.”
2 Kings 3
New King James Version
Moab Rebels Against Israel
3 Now (A)Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. 2 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, but not like his father and mother; for he put away the sacred pillar of Baal (B)that his father had made. 3 Nevertheless he persisted in (C)the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin; he did not depart from them.
4 Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheepbreeder, and he (D)regularly paid the king of Israel one hundred thousand (E)lambs and the wool of one hundred thousand rams. 5 But it happened, when (F)Ahab died, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.
6 So King Jehoram went out of Samaria at that time and mustered all Israel. 7 Then he went and sent to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, saying, “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?”
And he said, “I will go up; (G)I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” 8 Then he said, “Which way shall we go up?”
And he answered, “By way of the Wilderness of Edom.”
9 So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom, and they marched on that roundabout route seven days; and there was no water for the army, nor for the animals that followed them. 10 And the king of Israel said, “Alas! For the Lord has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”
11 But (H)Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of the Lord by him?”
So one of the servants of the king of Israel answered and said, “Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who (I)poured[a] 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 (J)went down to him.
13 Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, (K)“What have I to do with you? (L)Go to (M)the prophets of your father and the (N)prophets of your mother.”
But the king of Israel said to him, “No, for the Lord has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”
14 And Elisha said, (O)“As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you, nor see you. 15 But now bring me (P)a musician.”
Then it happened, when the musician (Q)played, that (R)the hand of the Lord came upon him. 16 And he said, “Thus says the Lord: (S)‘Make this valley full of [b]ditches.’ 17 For thus says the Lord: ‘You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you, your cattle, and your animals may drink.’ 18 And this is a simple matter in the sight of the Lord; He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand. 19 Also you shall attack every fortified city and every choice city, and shall cut down every good tree, and stop up every spring of water, and ruin every good piece of land with stones.”
20 Now it happened in the morning, when (T)the grain offering was offered, that suddenly water came by way of Edom, and the land was filled with water.
21 And when all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, all who were able to bear arms and older were [c]gathered; and they stood at the border. 22 Then they rose up early in the morning, and the sun was shining on 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 have surely struck swords and have killed one another; now therefore, Moab, to the spoil!”
24 So when they came to the camp of Israel, Israel rose up and attacked the Moabites, so that they fled before them; and they entered their land, killing the Moabites. 25 Then they destroyed the cities, and each man threw a stone on every good piece of land and filled it; and they stopped up all the springs of water and cut down all the good trees. But they left the stones of (U)Kir Haraseth intact. However the slingers surrounded and attacked it.
26 And 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 (V)he took his eldest son who would have reigned in his place, and offered him as a burnt offering upon the wall; and there was great [d]indignation against Israel. (W)So they departed from him and returned to their own land.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 3:11 Was the personal servant of
- 2 Kings 3:16 water canals
- 2 Kings 3:21 summoned
- 2 Kings 3:27 wrath
2 Kings 3
English Standard Version
Moab Rebels Against Israel
3 (A)In the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned twelve years. 2 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, though not like his father and mother, for he put away the (B)pillar of Baal (C)that his father had made. 3 Nevertheless, he clung to (D)the sin of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, (E)which he made Israel to sin; he did not depart from it.
4 Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, (F)and he had to deliver to the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. 5 But (G)when Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 6 So King Jehoram marched out of Samaria at that time and mustered all Israel. 7 And he went and sent word to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to battle against Moab?” And he said, “I will go. (H)I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” 8 Then he said, “By which way shall we march?” Jehoram answered, “By the way of the wilderness of Edom.”
9 So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and (I)the king of Edom. And when they had made a circuitous march of seven days, there was no water for the army or for the animals that followed them. 10 Then the king of Israel said, “Alas! (J)The Lord has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.” 11 (K)And Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, through whom we may inquire of the Lord?” Then one of the king of Israel's servants answered, (L)“Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, (M)who 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 to the king of Israel, (N)“What have I to do with you? Go to (O)the prophets of your father and to (P)the prophets of your mother.” But the king of Israel said to him, “No; it is (Q)the Lord who has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.” 14 And Elisha said, (R)“As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I have regard for Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would neither look at you nor see you. 15 But now (S)bring me a musician.” And when the musician played, (T)the hand of the Lord came upon him. 16 And he said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘I will make this dry streambed full of pools.’ 17 For thus says the Lord, ‘You shall not see wind or rain, but that streambed shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, you, your livestock, and your animals.’ 18 This is a light thing in the sight of the Lord. He will also give the Moabites into your hand, 19 and you shall attack every fortified city and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree and stop up all springs of water (U)and ruin every good piece of land with stones.” 20 The next morning, about the time of (V)offering the sacrifice, behold, water came from the direction of Edom, till the country was filled with water.
21 When all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, all who were able to put on armor, from the youngest to the oldest, were called out and were drawn up at the border. 22 And when they rose early in the morning and the sun shone on the water, the Moabites saw the water opposite them as red as blood. 23 And they said, “This is blood; the kings have surely fought together and struck one another down. Now then, Moab, to the spoil!” 24 But when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose and struck the Moabites, till they fled before them. And they went forward, striking the Moabites as they went.[a] 25 And they overthrew the cities, and (W)on every good piece of land every man threw a stone until it was covered. They stopped every spring of water and felled all the good trees, till only its stones were left in (X)Kir-hareseth, and the slingers surrounded and attacked it. 26 When the king of Moab saw that the battle was going against him, he took with him 700 (Y)swordsmen to break through, opposite the king of Edom, but they could not. 27 Then he took his oldest son who was to reign in his place (Z)and offered him for a burnt offering on the wall. And there came great wrath against Israel. And they withdrew from him and returned to their own land.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 3:24 Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
