2 Kings 3

Moab Rebels Against Israel

1 Now Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years.2 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, but not like his father and mother; for he put away the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had made.3 Nevertheless he persisted in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin; he did not depart from them.4 Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheepbreeder, and he regularly paid the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs and the wool of one hundred thousand rams.5 But it happened, when Ahab died, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.6 So King Jehoram went out of Samaria at that time and mustered all Israel.7 Then he went and sent to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?8 Then he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, By way of the Wilderness of Edom.9 So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom, and they marched on that roundabout route seven days; and there was no water for the army, nor for the animals that followed them.10 And the king of Israel said, Alas! For the Lord has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.11 But Jehoshaphat said, Is there no prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of the Lord by him? So one of the servants of the king of Israel answered and said, Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah.12 And Jehoshaphat said, 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 Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother. But the king of Israel said to him, No, for the Lord has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.14 And Elisha said, As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you, nor see you.15 But now bring me a musician.16 And he said, Thus says the Lord: Make this valley full of ditches.17 For thus says the Lord: You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you, your cattle, and your animals may drink.18 And this is a simple matter in the sight of the Lord; He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand.19 Also you shall attack every fortified city and every choice city, and shall cut down every good tree, and stop up every spring of water, and ruin every good piece of land with stones.20 Now it happened in the morning, when the grain offering was offered, that suddenly water came by way of Edom, and the land was filled with water.21 And when all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, all who were able to bear arms and older were gathered; and they stood at the border.22 Then they rose up early in the morning, and the sun was shining on the water; and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood.23 And they said, This is blood; the kings have surely struck swords and have killed one another; now therefore, Moab, to the spoil!24 So when they came to the camp of Israel, Israel rose up and attacked the Moabites, so that they fled before them; and they entered their land, killing the Moabites.25 Then they destroyed the cities, and each man threw a stone on every good piece of land and filled it; and they stopped up all the springs of water and cut down all the good trees. But they left the stones of Kir Haraseth intact. However the slingers surrounded and attacked 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 swords, to break through to the king of Edom, but they could not.27 Then he took his eldest son who would have reigned in his place, and offered him as a burnt offering upon the wall; and there was great indignation against Israel. So they departed from him and returned to their own land.

2 KINGS 3

King Joram of Israel

1 Joramt son of Ahab became king of Israel in Jehoshaphat's eighteenth year as king of Judah.t Joram ruled twelve years from Samaria 2 and disobeyed the [Lord] by doing wrong. He tore down the stone image his father had made to honor Baal, and so he wasn't as sinful as his parents.

3 But he kept doing the sinful things that Jeroboam son of Nebat had led Israel to do.t

The Country of Moab //Rebels against Israel

5 But soon after the death of Ahab, Mesha rebelled against Israel.
6 One day, Joram left Samaria and called together Israel's army.

7 He sent this message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah, “The king of Moab has rebelled. Will you go with me to attack him?”
“Yes, I will,” Jehoshaphat answered. “I'm on your side, and my soldiers and horses are at your command.

8 But which way should we go?”
“We will march through Edom Desert,” Joram replied.
9 So Joram, Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom led their troops out. But seven days later, there was no drinking water left for them or their animals.

10 Joram cried out, “This is terrible! The [Lord] must have led us out here to be captured by Moab's army.”

11 Jehoshaphat said, “Which of the [Lord]'s prophets is with us? We can find out from him what the [Lord] wants us to do.”
One of Joram's officers answered, “Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He was one of Elijah's closest followers.”

12 Jehoshaphat replied, “He can give us the [Lord]'s message.”
The three kings went over to Elisha,

13 and he asked Joram, “Why did you come to me? Go talk to the prophets of the foreign gods your parents worshiped.”t
“No,” Joram answered. “It was the [Lord] who led us out here, so that Moab's army could capture us.”
14 Elisha said to him, “I serve the [Lord] All-Powerful, and as surely as he lives, I swear I wouldn't even look at you if I didn't respect King Jehoshaphat.”

15 Then Elisha said, “Send for someone who can play the harp.”
The harpist began playing, and the [Lord] gave Elisha this message for Joram:
16 The [Lord] says that this dry riverbed will be filled with water.t

17 You won't feel any wind or see any rain, but there will be plenty of water for you and your animals.
18 That simple thing isn't all the [Lord] is going to do. He will also help you defeat Moab's army.

19 You will capture all their walled cities and important towns. You will chop down every good tree and stop up every spring of water, then ruin their fertile fields by covering them with rocks.

20 The next morning, while the sacrifice was being offered, water suddenly started flowing from the direction of Edom, and it flooded the land.
21 Meanwhile, the people of Moab had heard that the three kings were coming to attack them. They had called together all of their fighting men, from the youngest to the oldest, and these troops were now standing at their border, ready for battle. 22 When they got up that morning, the sun was shining across the water, making it look red. The Moabite troops took one look

23 and shouted, “Look at that blood! The armies of those kings must have fought and killed each other. Come on, let's go take what's left in their camp.”
24 But when they arrived at Israel's camp, the Israelite soldiers came out and attacked them, until they turned and ran away. Israel's army chased them all the way back to Moab, and even there they kept up the attack.t

25 The Israelites destroyed the Moabite towns. They chopped down the good trees and stopped up the springs of water, then covered the fertile fields with rocks.
Finally, the only city left standing was Kir-Hareseth, but soldiers armed with slings surrounded and attacked it. 26 King Mesha of Moab saw that he was about to be defeated. So he took along 700 soldiers with swords and tried to break through the front line where the Edomite troops were positioned. But he failed. 27 He then grabbed his oldest son who was to be the next king and sacrificed him as an offering on the city wall. The Israelite troops were so horrified thatt they left the city and went back home.