< 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,
Joram, son of Ahab, became king of Israel in the eighteenth year of the reign of King Jehoshaphat of Judah. He reigned in Samaria 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;
He did evil in the Lord's sight, but not like his father and mother had done, for he got rid of the stone image of Baal that 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.
However, he still held on to the sins that Jeroboam, son of Nebat, had made Israel commit—he did not give them up.
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,
Mesha, king of Moab, was a sheep breeder. He used to provide a tribute to the king of Israel of one hundred thousand lambs and the wool of one hundred thousand rams.
5 and it comes to pass at the death of Ahab, that the king of Moab transgresses against the king of Israel.
But after Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.
6 And King Jehoram goes out from Samaria in that day, and inspects all Israel,
Immediately King Joram called up the whole Israelite army and left Samaria.
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.”
On his way he sent a message to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, saying, “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you join me in an attack on Moab?” Jehoshaphat replied, “Yes, I will join you. You and I are as one, my men and your men are as one, and my horses and your horses are as one.”
8 And he says, “Where [is] this—the way we go up?” And he says, “The way of the wilderness of Edom.”
Then he asked, “Which way shall we go?” “We'll take the road through the desert of Edom,” he replied.
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,
So the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom set off. Having followed an indirect route for seven days, they ran out of water for their army and for their animals.
10 and the king of Israel says, “Aah! For YHWH has called for these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.”
“What are we doing?” complained the king of Israel. “The Lord has brought us three kings here to hand us over to the Moabites!”
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.”
But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn't there a prophet of the Lord here with us? Let us consult the Lord through him.” One of the king of Israel's officers answered, “Elisha, son of Shaphat, is here. He was Elijah's assistant.”
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.
Jehoshaphat agreed, “The Lord communicates by him.” So the king of Israel, Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom went to see 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.”
Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What have I got to do with you? Go to your own prophets, those of your father and your mother.” But the king of Israel said to him, “No—because it's the Lord who has brought these three kings here to hand them over to the Moabites!”
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;
Elisha replied, “As the Lord Almighty lives, the one I serve, if I didn't respect the fact that Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, is here, I wouldn't even look in your direction or acknowledge 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,
Now bring me a musician.” While the musician played, the Lord's power came upon Elisha,
16 and he says, “Thus said YHWH: Make this valley ditches—ditches;
and he announced, “This is what the Lord says: This valley will be filled with pools of water. For the Lord says:
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.
You won't see any wind, you won't see any rain, but even so this valley will be filled with water. You will drink, and your cattle, and your animals.
18 And this has been light in the eyes of YHWH, and he has given Moab into your hand,
The Lord views this as something trivial to do; and he will also make you victorious over the Moabites.
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.”
You will conquer every fortified town, and every important town. You will chop down every good tree, block up every spring, and spoil every good field by throwing stones on them.”
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,
The next day, around the time of the morning sacrifice, water suddenly flowed from the direction of Edom, filling the whole countryside 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.
All the Moabites had heard that the kings had come to attack them. So everyone who could wear a sword, young and old, was called up and went to guard the border.
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,
But the next morning when they got up the sun was shining on the water, and to the Moabites on the other side it looked blood red.
23 and say, “This [is] blood; the kings have been surely destroyed, and they each strike his neighbor; and now for spoil, Moab!”
“This is blood!” they said. “The kings and their armies must have attacked and killed each other! Moabites, let's grab the plunder!”
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,
But when the Moabites arrived at the Israelite camp, the Israelites ran out and attacked them, and they ran away from them. So the Israelites invaded their country and killed the Moabites.
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.
They destroyed the towns, and each soldier threw stones on every good field until it was covered. They blocked up every spring and chopped down every good tree. Only Kir-haraseth still had its walls, but soldiers using slingshots surrounded it and attacked it as well.
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,
When the king of Moab realized he'd lost the battle, he led seven hundred swordsmen in an attempt to break through and attack the king of Edom, but they weren't able to do so.
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.
So the king of Moab took his firstborn son, who was meant to succeed him, and sacrificed him as a burnt offering on the town wall. Great anger came upon the Israelites, so they left and went back to their own country.