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
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
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.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.