2 Kings 3

1Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years.

2And 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.footnote a

3Nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom.

4And 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.

5But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

6And king Jehoram went out of Samaria the same time, and numbered all Israel.

7And 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.

8And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way through the wilderness of Edom.

9So 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.footnote b

10And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab!

11But 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.

12And 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.

13And 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.

14And 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.

15But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.

16And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Make this valley full of ditches.

17For 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.

18And this is but a light thing in the sight of the LORD: he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand.

19And 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.footnote c

20And 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.

21And 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.footnote dfootnote e

22And 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:

23And they said, This is blood: the kings are surely slain, and they have smitten one another: now therefore, Moab, to the spoil.footnote f

24And 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.footnote g

25And 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 Kir-haraseth left they the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it.footnote h

26And 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.

27Then 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.

Moab’s Rebellion

1In the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat’s reign over Judah, Jehoramfootnote a son of Ahab became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria twelve years. 2And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as his father and mother had done. He removed the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had made.

3Nevertheless, he clung to the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn away from them.

4Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder,footnote b and he would render to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs and the wool of a hundred thousand rams. 5But after the death of Ahab, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 6So at that time King Jehoram set out from Samaria and mobilized all Israel. 7And he sent a message to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?”
“I will go,” replied Jehoshaphat. “I am as you are, my people are your people, and my horses are your horses.” 8Then he asked, “Which way shall we go up?”
“By way of the Desert of Edom,” replied Joram.

9So the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom set out, and after they had traveled a roundabout route for seven days, they had no water for their army or for their animals.

10“Alas,” said the king of Israel, “for the LORD has summoned these three kings to deliver them into the hand of Moab!”

11But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of the LORD here? Let us inquire of the LORD through him.”
And one of the servants of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.footnote c”

12Jehoshaphat affirmed, “The word of the LORD is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

13Elisha, however, said to the king of Israel, “What have we to do with each other? Go to the prophets of your father and of your mother!”
“No,” replied the king of Israel, “for it is the LORD who has summoned these three kings to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”

14Then Elisha said, “As surely as the LORD of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not for my regard for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you or acknowledge you. 15But now, bring me a harpist.footnote d”
And while the harpist played, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha 16and he said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Dig this valley full of ditches.’ 17For the LORD says, ‘You will not see wind or rain, but the valley will be filled with water, and you will drink—you and your cattle and your animals.’ 18This is a simple matter in the sight of the LORD, and He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand. 19And you shall attack every fortified city and every city of importance. You shall cut down every good tree, stop up every spring, and ruin every good field with stones.”

20The next morning, at the time of the morning sacrifice, water suddenly flowed from the direction of Edom and filled the land.

21Now all the Moabites had heard that the kings had come up to fight against them. So all who could bear arms, young and old, were summoned and stationed at the border. 22When they got up early in the morning, the sun was shining on the water, and it looked as red as blood to the Moabites across the way.

23“This is blood!” they exclaimed. “The kings have clashed swords and slaughtered one another. Now to the plunder, Moab!”

24But when the Moabites came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and attacked them, and they fled before them. So the Israelites invaded their land and struck down the Moabites. 25They destroyed the cities, and each man threw stones on every good field until it was covered. They stopped up every spring and cut down every good tree. Only Kir-haraseth was left with stones in place, but men with slings surrounded it and attacked it as well.

26When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hundred swordsmen to break through to the king of Edom, but they could not prevail. 27So he took his firstborn son, who was to succeed him, and offered him as a burnt offering on the city wall.
And there was great fury against the Israelites,footnote e so they withdrew and returned to their own land.