Font Size
2 Kings 3
Contemporary English Version
2 Kings 3
Contemporary English Version
King Joram of Israel
3 Joram[a] son of Ahab became king of Israel in Jehoshaphat's eighteenth year as king of Judah.[b] Joram ruled twelve years from Samaria 2 and disobeyed the Lord by doing wrong. He tore down the stone image his father had made to honor Baal, and so he wasn't as sinful as his parents. 3 But he kept doing the sinful things that Jeroboam son of Nebat had led Israel to do.[c]
The Country of Moab Rebels against Israel
4 For many years the country of Moab had been controlled by Israel and was forced to pay taxes to the kings of Israel. King Mesha of Moab raised sheep, so he paid the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool from 100,000 rams. 5 But soon after the death of Ahab, Mesha rebelled against Israel.
6 One day, Joram left Samaria and called together Israel's army. 7 He sent this message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah, “The king of Moab has rebelled. Will you go with me to attack him?”
“Yes, I will,” Jehoshaphat answered. “I'm on your side, and my soldiers and horses are at your command. 8 But which way should we go?”
“We will march through Edom Desert,” Joram replied.
9 So Joram, Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom led their troops out. But seven days later, there was no drinking water left for them or their animals. 10 Joram cried out, “This is terrible! The Lord must have led us out here to be captured by Moab's army.”
11 Jehoshaphat said, “Which of the Lord's prophets is with us? We can find out from him what the Lord wants us to do.”
One of Joram's officers answered, “Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He was one of Elijah's closest followers.”
12 Jehoshaphat replied, “He can give us the Lord's message.”
The three kings went over to Elisha, 13 and he asked Joram, “Why did you come to me? Go talk to the prophets of the foreign gods your parents worshiped.”[d]
“No,” Joram answered. “It was the Lord who led us out here, so that Moab's army could capture us.”
14 Elisha said to him, “I serve the Lord All-Powerful, and as surely as he lives, I swear I wouldn't even look at you if I didn't respect King Jehoshaphat.” 15 Then Elisha said, “Send for someone who can play the harp.”
The harpist began playing, and the Lord gave Elisha this message for Joram:
16 The Lord says that this dry riverbed will be filled with water.[e] 17 You won't feel any wind or see any rain, but there will be plenty of water for you and your animals.
18 That simple thing isn't all the Lord is going to do. He will also help you defeat Moab's army. 19 You will capture all their walled cities and important towns. You will chop down every good tree and stop up every spring of water, then ruin their fertile fields by covering them with rocks.
20 The next morning, while the sacrifice was being offered, water suddenly started flowing from the direction of Edom, and it flooded the land.
21 Meanwhile, the people of Moab had heard that the three kings were coming to attack them. They had called together all of their fighting men, from the youngest to the oldest, and these troops were now standing at their border, ready for battle. 22 When they got up that morning, the sun was shining across the water, making it look red. The Moabite troops took one look 23 and shouted, “Look at that blood! The armies of those kings must have fought and killed each other. Come on, let's go take what's left in their camp.”
24 But when they arrived at Israel's camp, the Israelite soldiers came out and attacked them, until they turned and ran away. Israel's army chased them all the way back to Moab, and even there they kept up the attack.[f] 25 The Israelites destroyed the Moabite towns. They chopped down the good trees and stopped up the springs of water, then covered the fertile fields with rocks.
Finally, the only city left standing was Kir-Hareseth, but soldiers armed with slings surrounded and attacked it. 26 King Mesha of Moab saw that he was about to be defeated. So he took along 700 soldiers with swords and tried to break through the front line where the Edomite troops were positioned. But he failed. 27 He then grabbed his oldest son who was to be the next king and sacrificed him as an offering on the city wall. The Israelite troops were so horrified that[g] they left the city and went back home.
Footnotes
- 3.1 Joram: See the note at 1.17.
- 3.1 Joram … Judah: See 1.17 and the note there; see also 8.16.
- 3.3 the sinful things … to do: When Jeroboam became king of Israel, he made two gold statues of calves and put them in the towns of Bethel and Dan, so the people of Israel could worship them (see 1 Kings 12.26-30).
- 3.13 the prophets … worshiped: These were prophets of the Canaanite god Baal and the goddess Asherah (see 1 Kings 16.30-33; 18.19).
- 3.16 that … water: Or “to dig holes everywhere in this riverbed.”
- 3.24 chased … attack: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 3.27 The Israelite … that: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
2 Kings 3
New International Version
2 Kings 3
New International Version
Moab Revolts
3 Joram[a](A) son of Ahab became king of Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned twelve years. 2 He did evil(B) in the eyes of the Lord, but not as his father(C) and mother had done. He got rid of the sacred stone(D) of Baal that his father had made. 3 Nevertheless he clung to the sins(E) of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn away from them.
4 Now Mesha king of Moab(F) raised sheep, and he had to pay the king of Israel a tribute of a hundred thousand lambs(G) and the wool of a hundred thousand rams. 5 But after Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled(H) against the king of Israel. 6 So at that time King Joram set out from Samaria and mobilized all Israel. 7 He also sent this message to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight(I) against Moab?”
“I will go with you,” he replied. “I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”
8 “By what route shall we attack?” he asked.
“Through the Desert of Edom,” he answered.
9 So the king of Israel set out with the king of Judah and the king of Edom.(J) After a roundabout march of seven days, the army had no more water for themselves or for the animals with them.
10 “What!” exclaimed the king of Israel. “Has the Lord called us three kings together only to deliver us into the hands of Moab?”
11 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, through whom we may inquire(K) of the Lord?”
An officer of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha(L) son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.[b](M)”
12 Jehoshaphat said, “The word(N) of the Lord is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.
13 Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Why do you want to involve me? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother.”
“No,” the king of Israel answered, “because it was the Lord who called us three kings together to deliver us into the hands of Moab.”
14 Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, if I did not have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not pay any attention to you. 15 But now bring me a harpist.”(O)
While the harpist was playing, the hand(P) of the Lord came on Elisha 16 and he said, “This is what the Lord says: I will fill this valley with pools of water. 17 For this is what the Lord says: You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water,(Q) and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink. 18 This is an easy(R) thing in the eyes of the Lord; he will also deliver Moab into your hands. 19 You will overthrow every fortified city and every major town. You will cut down every good tree, stop up all the springs, and ruin every good field with stones.”
20 The next morning, about the time(S) for offering the sacrifice, there it was—water flowing from the direction of Edom! And the land was filled with water.(T)
21 Now all the Moabites had heard that the kings had come to fight against them; so every man, young and old, who could bear arms was called up and stationed on the border. 22 When they got up early in the morning, the sun was shining on the water. To the Moabites across the way, the water looked red—like blood. 23 “That’s blood!” they said. “Those kings must have fought and slaughtered each other. Now to the plunder, Moab!”
24 But when the Moabites came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and fought them until they fled. And the Israelites invaded the land and slaughtered the Moabites. 25 They destroyed the towns, and each man threw a stone on every good field until it was covered. They stopped up all the springs and cut down every good tree. Only Kir Hareseth(U) was left with its stones in place, but men armed with slings surrounded it and attacked it.
26 When the king of Moab saw that the battle had gone against him, he took with him seven hundred swordsmen to break through to the king of Edom, but they failed. 27 Then he took his firstborn(V) son, who was to succeed him as king, and offered him as a sacrifice on the city wall. The fury against Israel was great; they withdrew and returned to their own land.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 3:1 Hebrew Jehoram, a variant of Joram; also in verse 6
- 2 Kings 3:11 That is, he was Elijah’s personal servant.
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.