2 Kings 3

1 And Joram the son of Achab reigned over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Josaphat king of Juda. And he reigned twelve years.

In the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat’s reign over Judah, Jehoram son of Ahab became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria twelve years.

2 And he did evil before the Lord, but not like his father and his mother: for he took away the statues of Baal, which his father had made.

And 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.

3 Nevertheless he stuck to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin, nor did he depart from them.

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

4 Now Mesa, king of Moab, nourished many sheep, and he paid to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs, and a hundred thousand rams with their fleeces.

Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he would render to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs and the wool of a hundred thousand rams.

5 And when Achab was dead, he broke the league which he had made with the king of Israel.

But after the death of Ahab, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

6 And king Joram went out that day from Samaria, and mustered all Israel.

So at that time King Jehoram set out from Samaria and mobilized all Israel.

7 And he sent to Josaphat king of Juda, saying: The king of Moab is revolted from me, come with me against him to battle. And he answered: I will come up: he that is mine, is thine: my people, thy people: and my horses, thy horses.

And 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 like you, my people are your people, and my horses are your horses.”

8 And he said: Which way shall we go up? But he answered: By the desert of Edom.

Then he asked, “Which way shall we go up?” “By way of the Desert of Edom,” replied Joram.

9 So the king of Israel, and the king of Juda, and the king of Edom went, and they fetched a compass of seven days’ journey, and there was no water for the army, and for the beasts, that followed them.

So 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 And the king of Israel said: Alas, alas, alas, the Lord hath gathered us three kings together, to deliver us into the hands of Moab!

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

11 And Josaphat said: Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may beseech the Lord by him? And one of the servants of the king of Israel answered: Here is Eliseus the son of Saphat, who poured water on the hands of Elias.

But 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.”

12 And Josaphat said: The word of the Lord is with him. And the king of Israel, and Josaphat king of Juda, and the king of Edom went down to him.

Jehoshaphat 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.

13 And Eliseus said to the king of Israel: What have I to do with thee? go to the prophets of thy father, and thy mother. And the king of Israel said to him: Why hath the Lord gathered together these three kings, to deliver them into the hands of Moab?

Elisha, 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.”

14 And Eliseus said to him: As the Lord of hosts liveth, in whose sight I stand, if I did not reverence the face of Josaphat king of Juda, I would not have hearkened to thee, nor looked on thee.

Then 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.

15 But now bring me hither a minstrel. And when the minstrel played, the hand of the Lord came upon him, and he said:

But now, bring me a harpist.” And while the harpist played, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha

16 Thus saith the Lord: Make the channel of this torrent full of ditches.

and he said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Dig this valley full of ditches.’

17 For thus saith the Lord: You shall not see wind, nor rain: and yet this channel shall be filled with waters, and you shall drink, you and your families, and your beasts.

For 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.’

18 And this is a small thing in the sight of the Lord: moreover he will deliver also Moab into your hands.

This is a simple matter in the sight of the LORD, and He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand.

19 And you shall destroy every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall cut down every fruitful tree, and shall stop up all the springs of waters, and every goodly field you shall cover with stones.

And 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.”

20 And it came to pass in the morning, when the sacrifices used to be offered, that behold, water came by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water.

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

21 And all the Moabites hearing that the kings were come up to fight against them, gathered together all that were girded with a belt upon them, and stood in the borders.

Now 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.

22 And they rose early in the morning, and the sun being now up, and shining upon the waters, the Moabites saw the waters over against them red, like blood,

When 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 And they said: It is the blood of the sword: the kings have fought among themselves, and they have killed one another: go now, Moab, to the spoils.

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

24 And they went into the camp of Israel: but Israel rising up defeated Moab, who fled before them. And they being conquerors, went and smote Moab.

But 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.

25 And they destroyed the cities: and they filled every goodly field, every man casting his stone: and they stopt up all the springs of waters: and cut down all the trees that bore fruit, so that brick walls only remained: and the city was beset by the slingers, and a great part thereof destroyed.

They 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.

26 And when the king of Moab saw this, to wit, that the enemies had prevailed, he took with him seven hundred men that drew the sword, to break in upon the king of Edom: but they could not.

When 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.

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 in Israel, and presently they departed from him, and returned into their own country.

So 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, so they withdrew and returned to their own land.