2 Kings 3
1 Truly, Joram, the son of Ahab, reigned over Israel, in Samaria, in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah. And he reigned for twelve years.
Or Jehoram, figliuolo di Achab, cominciò a regnare sopra Israele a Samaria l’anno decimottavo di Giosafat, re di Giuda, e regnò dodici anni.
2 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, but not as his father and mother did. For he took away the statues of Baal, which his father had made.
Egli fece ciò ch’è male agli occhi dell’Eterno; ma non quanto suo padre e sua madre, perché tolse via la statua di Baal, che suo padre avea fatta.
3 Yet truly, he did adhere to the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin; neither did he withdraw from these.
Nondimeno egli rimase attaccato ai peccati coi quali Geroboamo figliuolo di Nebat, aveva fatto peccare Israele; e non se ne distolse.
4 Now Mesha, the king of Moab, raised many sheep. And he repaid to the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs, and one hundred thousand rams, with their fleece.
Or Mesha, re di Moab, allevava molto bestiame e pagava al re d’Israele un tributo di centomila agnelli e centomila montoni con le loro lane.
5 And when Ahab had died, he transgressed the pact that he had with the king of Israel.
Ma, morto che fu Achab, il re di Moab si ribellò al re d’Israele.
6 Therefore, king Joram departed on that day from Samaria, and he took a count of all of Israel.
Allora il re Jehoram uscì di Samaria e passò in rassegna tutto Israele;
7 And he sent to Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, saying: “The king of Moab has withdrawn from me. Come to battle with me against him.” And he responded: “I will go up. What is mine, is yours. My people are your people. And my horses are your horses.”
poi si mise in via, e mandò a dire a Giosafat, re di Giuda: “Il re di Moab mi si è ribellato; vuoi tu venire con me alla guerra contro Moab?” Quegli rispose: “Verrò; fa’ conto di me come di te stesso, del mio popolo come del tuo, de’ miei cavalli come dei tuoi.
8 And he said, “Along which way shall we ascend?” So he responded, “Along the desert of Idumea.”
E soggiunse: “Per che via saliremo?” Jehoram rispose: “Per la via del deserto di Edom”.
9 Therefore, the king of Israel, and the king of Judah, and the king of Idumea, traveled, and they went by a circuitous path for seven days. But there was no water for the army or for the beasts of burden which were following them.
Così il re d’Israele, il re di Giuda e il re di Edom si mossero; e dopo aver girato a mezzodì con una marcia di sette giorni, mancò l’acqua all’esercito e alle bestie che gli andavan dietro.
10 And the king of Israel said: “Alas, alas, alas! The Lord has gathered we three kings, so that he might deliver us into the hands of Moab.”
Allora il re d’Israele disse: “Ahimè, l’Eterno ha chiamati assieme questi tre re, per darli nelle mani di Moab!”
11 And Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not a prophet of the Lord here, so that we may appeal to the Lord through him?” And one of the servants of the king of Israel responded, “Elisha, the son of Shaphat, is here, who poured water upon the hands of Elijah.”
Ma Giosafat chiese: “Non v’ha egli qui alcun profeta dell’Eterno mediante il quale possiam consultare l’Eterno?” Uno dei servi del re d’Israele rispose: “V’è qui Eliseo, figliuolo di Shafat, il quale versava l’acqua sulle mani d’Elia”. E Giosafat disse:
12 And Jehoshaphat said, “The word of the Lord is with him.” And so, the king of Israel, with Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, and with the king of Idumea, descended to him.
“La parola dell’Eterno è con lui”. Così il re d’Israele, Giosafat e il re di Edom andarono a trovarlo.
13 Then Elisha said to the king of Israel: “What is there between you and me? Go to the prophets of your father and your mother.” And the king of Israel said to him, “Why has the Lord gathered these three kings, so that he might deliver them into the hands of Moab?”
Eliseo disse al re d’Israele: “Che ho io da far con te? Vattene ai profeti di tuo padre ed ai profeti di tua madre!” Il re d’Israele gli rispose: “No, perché l’Eterno ha chiamati insieme questi tre re per darli nelle mani di Moab”.
14 And Elisha said to him: “As the Lord of hosts lives, in whose sight I stand, if I was not humbled by the face of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, certainly I would neither have listened to you, nor have looked upon you.
Allora Eliseo disse: “Com’è vero che vive l’Eterno degli eserciti al quale io servo, se non avessi rispetto a Giosafat, re di Giuda, io non avrei badato a te né t’avrei degnato d’uno sguardo.
15 But now, bring a musician to me.” And while the musician was playing, the hand of the Lord fell upon him, and he said:
Ma ora conducetemi qua un sonatore d’arpa”. E, mentre il sonatore arpeggiava, la mano dell’Eterno fu sopra Eliseo,
16 “Thus says the Lord: Make, in the channel of this torrent, pit after pit.
che disse: “Così parla l’Eterno: Fate in questa valle delle fosse, delle fosse.
17 For thus says the Lord: You shall not see wind or rain. And yet this channel shall be filled with water. And you shall drink, you and your families, and your beasts of burden.
Poiché così dice l’Eterno: Voi non vedrete vento, non vedrete pioggia, e nondimeno questa valle si riempirà d’acqua; e berrete voi, il vostro bestiame e le vostre bestie da tiro.
18 And this is small in the sight of the Lord. So, in addition, he will also deliver Moab into your hands.
E questo è ancora poca cosa agli occhi dell’Eterno; perché egli darà anche Moab nelle vostre mani.
19 And you shall strike every fortified town and every elect city. And you shall cut down every fruitful tree. And you shall obstruct all the sources of water. And you shall cover every excellent field with stones.”
E voi distruggerete tutte le città fortificate e tutte le città ragguardevoli, abbatterete tutti i buoni alberi, turerete tutte le sorgenti d’acqua, e guasterete con delle pietre ogni buon pezzo di terra”.
20 Then it happened that, in the morning, when the sacrifices were usually to be offered, behold, water was arriving along the way of Idumea, and the land was filled with water.
La mattina dopo, nell’ora in cui s’offre l’oblazione, ecco che l’acqua arrivò dal lato di Edom e il paese ne fu ripieno.
21 Then all the Moabites, hearing that the kings had ascended so that they might fight against them, gathered all who had been girded with a belt around them, and they stood at the borders.
Ora tutti i Moabiti, avendo udito che quei re eran saliti per muover loro guerra, avevan radunato tutti quelli ch’erano in età di portare le armi, e occupavano la frontiera.
22 And rising up in early morning, and when the sun was now rising before the waters, the Moabites saw the waters opposite them, which were red like blood.
La mattina, come furono alzati, il sole splendeva sulle acque, e i Moabiti videro, là dirimpetto a loro, le acque rosse come sangue;
23 And they said: “It is the blood of the sword! The kings have fought among themselves, and they have slain one another. Go now, Moab, to the spoils!”
e dissero: “Quello è sangue! Quei re son di certo venuti alle mani fra loro e si son distrutti fra loro; or dunque, Moab, alla preda!”
24 And they went into the camp of Israel. But Israel, rising up, struck Moab, and they fled before them. And since they had prevailed, they went and struck down Moab.
E si avanzarono verso il campo d’Israele; ma sorsero gl’Israeliti e sbaragliarono i Moabiti, che fuggirono d’innanzi a loro. Poi penetrarono nel paese, e continuarono a battere Moab.
25 And they destroyed the cities. And they filled up every excellent field, each one casting stones. And they obstructed all the sources of water. And they cut down all the fruitful trees, to such an extent that only brick walls remained. And the city was encircled by the slingers of stones. And a great part of it was struck down.
Distrussero le città; ogni buon pezzo di terra lo riempirono di pietre, ciascuno gettandovi la sua; turarono tutte le sorgenti d’acque e abbatterono tutti i buoni alberi. Non rimasero che le mura di Kir-Hareseth, e i frombolieri la circondarono e l’attaccarono.
26 And when the king of Moab had seen this, specifically, that the enemies had prevailed, he took with him seven hundred men who draw the sword, so that he might break through to the king of Idumea. But they were unable.
Il re di Moab, vedendo che l’attacco era troppo forte per lui, prese seco settecento uomini, per aprirsi, a spada tratta, un varco, fino al re di Edom; ma non poterono.
27 And taking his firstborn son, who would have reigned in his place, he offered him as a holocaust upon the wall. And there was great indignation in Israel. And they promptly withdrew from him, and they turned back to their own land.
Allora prese il suo figliuolo primogenito, che dovea succedergli nel regno, e l’offerse in olocausto sopra le mura. A questa vista, un profondo orrore s’impadronì degli Israeliti, che s’allontanarono dal re di Moab e se ne tornarono al loro paese.
