2 Kings 3

1 And Jehoram son of Ahab has reigned over Israel, in Samaria, in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigns twelve years,

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.

2 and does evil in the eyes of YHWH, only not like his father, and like his mother, and he turns aside the standing-pillar of Ba‘al that his father made;

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.

3 surely he has cleaved to the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat that he caused Israel to sin; he has not turned aside from it.

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.

4 And Mesha king of Moab was a sheep-master, and he rendered to the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs and one hundred thousand rams, [with] wool,

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.

5 and it comes to pass at the death of Ahab, that the king of Moab transgresses against the king of Israel.

And when Ahab had died, he transgressed the pact that he had with the king of Israel.

6 And King Jehoram goes out from Samaria in that day, and inspects all Israel,

Therefore, king Joram departed on that day from Samaria, and he took a count of all of Israel.

7 and goes and sends to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, saying, “The king of Moab has transgressed against me; do you go with me to Moab for battle?” And he says, “I go up, as I, so you; as my people, so your people; as my horses, so your horses.”

And he sent to Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, saying: “The king of Moab has withdrawn from me.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.”

8 And he says, “Where [is] this—the way we go up?” And he says, “The way of the wilderness of Edom.”

And he said, “Along which way shall we ascend?” So he responded, “Along the desert of Idumea.”

9 And the king of Israel goes, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom, and they turn around the way seven days, and there has been no water for the camp, and for the livestock that [are] at their feet,

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.

10 and the king of Israel says, “Aah! For YHWH has called for these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.”

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.”

11 And Jehoshaphat says, “Is there not a prophet of YHWH here, and we seek YHWH by him?” And one of the servants of the king of Israel answers and says, “Here [is] Elisha son of Shaphat, who poured water on the hands of Elijah.”

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.”

12 And Jehoshaphat says, “The word of YHWH is with him”; and the king of Israel goes down to him, and Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom.

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.

13 And Elisha says to the king of Israel, “And what do I [have to do] with you? Go to the prophets of your father, and to the prophets of your mother”; and the king of Israel says to him, “No, for YHWH has called for these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.”

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?”

14 And Elisha says, “YHWH of Hosts lives, before whom I have stood; for unless I am lifting up the face of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I do not look to you, nor see you;

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.

15 and now, bring a musician to me”; and it has been, at the playing of the musician, that the hand of YHWH is on him,

But now, bring a musician to me.” And while the musician was playing, the hand of the Lord fell upon him, and he said:

16 and he says, “Thus said YHWH: Make this valley ditches—ditches;

“Thus says the Lord: Make, in the channel of this torrent, pit after pit.

17 for thus said YHWH: You do not see wind, nor do you see rain, and that valley is full of water, and you have drunk—you, and your livestock, and your beasts.

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.

18 And this has been light in the eyes of YHWH, and he has given Moab into your hand,

And this is small in the sight of the Lord. So, in addition, he will also deliver Moab into your hands.

19 and you have struck every fortified city, and every choice city, and you cause every good tree to fall, and you stop all fountains of waters, and you mar every good portion with stones.”

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.”

20 And it comes to pass in the morning, at the ascending of the [morning] present, that behold, waters are coming in from the way of Edom, and the land is filled with the waters,

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.

21 and all of Moab has heard that the kings have come up to fight against them, and they are called together, from everyone girding on a girdle and upward, and they stand by the border.

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.

22 And they rise early in the morning, and the sun has shone on the waters, and the Moabites see, from opposite [them], [that] the waters [are] red as blood,

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.

23 and say, “This [is] blood; the kings have been surely destroyed, and they each strike his neighbor; and now for spoil, Moab!”

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!”

24 And they come to the camp of Israel, and Israel rises, and strikes the Moabites, and they flee from their face; and they enter into Moab, so as to strike Moab,

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.

25 and they break down the cities, and they each cast his stone [on] every good portion, and have filled it, and they stop every fountain of water, and they cause every good tree to fall—until one had left its stones in Kir-Haraseth, and the slingers go around and strike it.

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.

26 And the king of Moab sees that the battle has been too strong for him, and he takes with him seven hundred men drawing sword, to cleave through to the king of Edom, and they have not been able,

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.

27 and he takes his son, the firstborn who reigns in his stead, and causes him to ascend [as] a burnt-offering on the wall, and there is great wrath against Israel, and they journey from off him, and return to the land.

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.