4 Kings 3
3
1And Joram the son of Achab reigned over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Josaphat king of Juda. And he reigned twelve years.
2And 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.
3Nevertheless he stuck to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin, nor did he depart from them.
4Now 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.
5And when Achab was dead, he broke the league which he had made with the king of Israel.
6And king Joram went out that day from Samaria, and mustered all Israel.
7And 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.
8And he said: Which way shall we go up? But he answered: By the desert of Edom.
9So 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.
10And the king of Israel said: Alas, alas, alas, the Lord hath gathered us three kings together, to deliver us into the hands of Moab!
11And 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.
12And 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.
13And 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?
14And 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.
15But now bring me hither a minstrel. And when the minstrel played, the hand of the Lord came upon him, and he said:
16Thus saith the Lord: Make the channel of this torrent full of ditches.
17For 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.
18And this is a small thing in the sight of the Lord. Moreover he will deliver also Moab into your hands.
19And 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.
20And 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.
21And 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.
22And 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,
23And 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.
24And 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.
25And 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.
26And 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.
27Then 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.
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
2 Kings 3
3
King Joram of Israel
1Joram,#3:1 In the Masoretic Text this king of Israel is also called Jehoram, a longer form of Joram. son of Ahab, became king of Israel in Samaria during Jehoshaphat’s eighteenth year as king of Judah. He ruled for 12 years. 2He did what the Lord considered evil, but he didn’t do what his father or mother had done. He put away the sacred stone that his father had set up and dedicated to Baal. 3But he would not give up the sins that Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) led Israel to commit. Joram would not turn away from those sins.
King Mesha of Moab Defeated
4King Mesha of Moab raised sheep. ⌞Each year⌟ he had to pay the king of Israel 100,000 male lambs and the wool from 100,000 rams. 5But when Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the ⌞new⌟ king of Israel. 6King Joram immediately left Samaria to prepare Israel’s army for war. 7He sent this message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you fight Moab with me?”
Jehoshaphat answered, “I’ll go. I will do what you do. My troops will do what your troops do. My horses will do what your horses do.”
8Joram asked, “Which road should we take?”
Jehoshaphat answered, “The road through the desert of Edom.”
9So the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom took an indirect route ⌞to Moab⌟. After seven days they ran out of water for the army and the animals. 10The king of Israel said, “Oh no! The Lord has put the three of us at the mercy of ⌞the people of⌟ Moab.”
11But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn’t there a prophet of the Lord whom we could ask?”
One of the officials of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha, the son of Shaphat, is here. He used to be Elijah’s assistant.” #3:11 Or “He used to pour water on Elijah’s hands.”
12Jehoshaphat said, “The Lord’s word is with him.” So King Jehoshaphat of Judah, the king of Israel, and the king of Edom went to Elisha.
13Elisha asked the king of Israel, “Why did you come to me? Go to your father’s prophets or your mother’s prophets.”
The king of Israel answered him, “No. The Lord has called the three of us in order to put us at Moab’s mercy.”
14Elisha answered, “I solemnly swear, as the Lord of Armies whom I serve lives, I wouldn’t even bother to look at you or notice you if it weren’t for my respect for King Jehoshaphat of Judah. 15But get me someone to play some music.”
While the musician was playing, the Lord’s power came over Elisha. 16He said, “This is what the Lord says: Make this valley full of ditches. 17You will not see wind or rain, but this valley will be filled with water. You, your cattle, and your other animals will drink. 18The Lord considers that an easy thing to do. In addition, he will put Moab at your mercy. 19You will defeat every walled city and every important city. You will cut down every good tree, seal all the wells, and use rocks to ruin every good piece of land.”
20That is what happened in the morning. At the time of the grain offering, water flowed from Edom and filled the countryside.
21All the people of Moab heard that the kings had come to fight them. So all men old enough to bear arms were called to fight. They stood at the border. 22When the Moabites got up early in the morning as the sun was rising over the water, they saw the water from a distance. It was as red as blood. 23They said, “It’s blood! The kings have been fighting one another and have killed each other. Now, Moabites, let’s take their goods!”
24So when the Moabites came to Israel’s camp, the Israelites attacked them, and they fled from the Israelites. Israel went after the Moabites and defeated them. 25Then Israel tore down the cities, each man throwing rocks on every good field until it was covered. They sealed every well and cut down every good tree. Only the stones ⌞in the walls⌟ of Kir Hareseth were left. Soldiers surrounded Kir Hareseth and attacked it with slings and stones. 26When the king of Moab saw he was losing the battle, he took 700 swordsmen to try to break through to the king of Edom. But they couldn’t do it. 27Then he took his firstborn son, who would have succeeded him as king, and sacrificed him on the wall as a burnt offering. There was bitter anger against the Israelites. So they went home to their own country.
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