2 Kings 3

Revised Geneva Translation

3 Now Jehoram, the son of Ahab, began to reign over Israel in Samaria, in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and reigned for twelve years.

² And he worked evil in the sight of the LORD, but not like his father or like his mother. For he took away the image of Baal that his father had made.

³ Nevertheless, he clung to the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, and did not depart from them.

⁴ Then Mesha, king of Moab, had store of sheep and rendered a hundred thousand rams to the king of Israel, with the wool.

⁵ But after Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

⁶ Therefore, King Jehoram went out of Samaria in the same season, and counted all Israel.

⁷ And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, saying, “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to battle against Moab?” And he answered, “I will go up. I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”

⁸ Then he said, “What way shall we go up?” And he answered, “The way of the wilderness of Edom.”

⁹ So went the king of Israel and the king of Judah and the king of Edom. And after they had traveled on the way for seven days, they had no water for the army or for the cattle that followed them.

¹⁰ Therefore the king of Israel said, “Alas! For the LORD has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab!”

¹¹ But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here a Prophet of the LORD, so that we may inquire of the LORD by him?” And one of the king of Israel’s servants answered, and said, “Here is Elisha, the son of Shaphat, who poured water on the hands of Elijah.”

¹² Then Jehoshaphat said, “The Word of the LORD is with him.” Therefore, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

¹³ And Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father, and to the prophets of your mother.” And the king of Israel said to him, “No. For the LORD has called these three kings, to give them into the hand of Moab.”

¹⁴ Then Elisha said, “As the LORD of Hosts lives, in Whose sight I stand, if it were not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, I would not have looked toward you, nor seen you.

¹⁵ “But now, bring me a minstrel.” And when the minstrel played, the Hand of the LORD came upon him.

¹⁶ And he said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Make this valley full of ditches.’

¹⁷ “For thus says the LORD: ‘You shall neither see wind nor see rain. Yet the valley shall be filled with water, so that you may drink, you and your cattle and your beasts.’

¹⁸ “But, this is a small thing in the sight of the LORD. For He will give Moab into your hand.

¹⁹ “And you shall strike every strong town, and every chief city, and shall fell every fair tree, and shall stop all the fountains of water and mar every good field with stones.”

²⁰ And in the morning, when the Meat Offering was offered, 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 had come up to fight against them, they gathered all who were able to put on harness, and upward, and stood at the border.

²² And they rose early in the morning, when the Sun arose upon the water. And the Moabites saw the water opposite them, as red as blood.

²³ And they said, “This is blood! The kings are surely killed, and one has strickten another! Now, therefore, Moab, to the spoil!”

²⁴ And when they came to the army of Israel, the Israelites rose up and struck the Moabites, so that they fled before them. But they invaded them and struck Moab.

²⁵ And they destroyed the cities. And every man cast his stone on all the good fields and filled them. And they stopped all the fountains of water and felled all the good trees. Only in Kir Haraseth did they leave its stones. However, they went around it with slings and struck it.

²⁶ And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hundred men who drew the sword, to break through to the king of Edom. But they could not.

²⁷ Then, he took his eldest son, who should have reigned in his place, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall, so that Israel was very grieved. And they departed from him and returned to their country.