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2 Kings 3
King James Version
2 Kings 3
King James Version
3 Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years.
2 And he wrought evil in the sight of the Lord; but not like his father, and like his mother: for he put away the image of Baal that his father had made.
3 Nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom.
4 And Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster, and rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand lambs, and an hundred thousand rams, with the wool.
5 But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.
6 And king Jehoram went out of Samaria the same time, and numbered all Israel.
7 And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle? And he said, I will go up: I am as thou art, my people as thy people, and my horses as thy horses.
8 And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way through the wilderness of Edom.
9 So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom: and they fetched a compass of seven days' journey: and there was no water for the host, and for the cattle that followed them.
10 And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the Lord hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab!
11 But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may enquire of the Lord by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which 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 And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the Lord hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab.
14 And Elisha said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee.
15 But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him.
16 And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of ditches.
17 For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts.
18 And this is but a light thing in the sight of the Lord: he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand.
19 And ye shall smite every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all wells of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.
20 And it came to pass in the morning, when the meat offering was offered, that, 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 were come up to fight against them, they gathered all that were able to put on armour, and upward, and stood in the border.
22 And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon 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 are surely slain, and they have smitten one another: now therefore, Moab, to the spoil.
24 And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them: but they went forward smiting the Moabites, even in their country.
25 And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the wells of water, and felled all the good trees: only in Kirharaseth left they the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it.
26 And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew swords, to break through even unto the king of Edom: but they could not.
27 Then 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 against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.
2 Kings 3
1599 Geneva Bible
2 Kings 3
1599 Geneva Bible
3 1 The reign of Jehoram. 6 He and Jehoshaphat go to war against Moab which rebelled. 13 Elisha reproveth him, 17 and giveth their hosts water. 24 The Moabites are overcome. 27 Their King sacrificeth his son.
1 Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria, the [a]eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat King of Judah, and reigned twelve years.
2 And he wrought evil in the sight of the Lord, but not like his father nor like his mother: for he took away the image of Baal that his father had made.
3 Nevertheless, he cleaved unto the [b]sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin, and departed not therefrom.
4 ¶ Then [c]Mesha king of Moab had store of sheep, and rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand rams with the wool.
5 But when Ahab was dead, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.
6 Therefore King Jehoram went out of Samaria the same season, and numbered all Israel,
7 And went, and sent to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me to battle against Moab? And he answered, I will go up: for [d]I am, as thou art, my people, as thy people, and mine horses, as thine horses.
8 Then said he, 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 [e]king of Edom, and when they had compassed the way seven days, they had no water for the host, nor for the cattle that [f]followed them.
10 Therefore the king of Israel said, Alas, that the Lord hath 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, 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, which [g]poured water on the hands of Elijah.
12 Then Jehoshaphat said, [h]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 unto the king of Israel, [i]What have I to do with thee? get thee to the Prophets of thy father, and to the Prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, [j]Nay: for the Lord hath called these three kings, to give them into the hand of Moab.
14 Then Elisha said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, in whose sight I stand, if it were not, that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would [k]not have looked toward thee, nor seen thee.
15 But now bring me a minstrel. And when the minstrel [l]played, the hand of the Lord came upon him.
16 And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of ditches.
17 For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall neither see wind nor see rain, yet the valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye and your cattle, and your beasts.
18 But this is a [m]small thing in the sight of the Lord: for he will give Moab into your hand.
19 And ye shall smite every strong town, and every chief city, and shall fell every fair tree, and shall stop all the fountains of water, and [n]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 were come up to fight against them, they gathered all that was able [o]to put on harness, and upward, and stood in their border.
22 And they rose early in the morning, when the Sun arose upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water over against them, as red as blood.
23 And they said, [p]This is blood: the kings are surely slain, and one hath smitten another: now therefore Moab, to the spoil.
24 And when they came to the host of Israel, the Israelites arose up, and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them, but they [q]invaded them, and smote Moab.
25 And they destroyed the cities: and on all the good field every man cast his stone, and filled them and they stopped all the fountains of water, and felled all the good trees: only in [r]Kir Haraseth left they the stones thereof: howbeit they went about it with slings, and smote it.
26 And when the King of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew the sword, to break through unto the king of Edom: but they could not.
27 Then he took his eldest son, that should have reigned in his stead, and [s]offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall: so that Israel was sore grieved, and they departed from him, and returned to their country.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 3:1 Read the annotation in the first chapter and seventh verse.
- 2 Kings 3:3 He sacrificed to the golden calves that Jeroboam had made.
- 2 Kings 3:4 This was done after that David had made the Moabites tributaries to his successors.
- 2 Kings 3:7 Read 1 Kings 22:4.
- 2 Kings 3:9 Meaning, the viceroy, or lieutenant of the king of Judah, read 1 Kings 22:47.
- 2 Kings 3:9 Hebrew, that were at their feet.
- 2 Kings 3:11 That is, who was his servant.
- 2 Kings 3:12 He is able to instruct us what is God’s will in this point.
- 2 Kings 3:13 He knew that this wicked king would have but used his counsel to serve his turn, and therefore, he disdained to answer him.
- 2 Kings 3:13 The wicked esteem not the servants of God, but when they are driven by every necessity and fear of the present danger.
- 2 Kings 3:14 God suffereth his word to be declared to the wicked, because of the godly that are among them.
- 2 Kings 3:15 He sang songs to God’s glory, and so stirred up the Prophet’s heart to prophesy.
- 2 Kings 3:18 He will not only miraculously give you waters, but your enemies also into your hand.
- 2 Kings 3:19 Though God bestow his benefits for a time upon the enemies, yet he hath his seasons, when he will take them away to the intent they might see his vengeance which is prepared against them.
- 2 Kings 3:21 Hebrew, to gird himself with a girdle.
- 2 Kings 3:23 The sudden joy of the wicked is but a preparation to their destruction, which is at hand.
- 2 Kings 3:24 Meaning, they followed them into the towns.
- 2 Kings 3:25 Which was one of the principle cities of the Moabites, wherein they left nothing but the walls.
- 2 Kings 3:27 Some refer it to the king of Edom’s son, whom they say he had taken in that skirmish: but rather it seemed to be his own son, whom he offered to his gods to pacify them: which barbarous cruelty moved the Israelites’ hearts of pity to depart.
2 Kings 3
New International Version
2 Kings 3
New International Version
Moab Revolts
3 Joram[a](A) son of Ahab became king of Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned twelve years. 2 He did evil(B) in the eyes of the Lord, but not as his father(C) and mother had done. He got rid of the sacred stone(D) of Baal that his father had made. 3 Nevertheless he clung to the sins(E) of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn away from them.
4 Now Mesha king of Moab(F) raised sheep, and he had to pay the king of Israel a tribute of a hundred thousand lambs(G) and the wool of a hundred thousand rams. 5 But after Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled(H) against the king of Israel. 6 So at that time King Joram set out from Samaria and mobilized all Israel. 7 He also sent this message to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight(I) against Moab?”
“I will go with you,” he replied. “I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”
8 “By what route shall we attack?” he asked.
“Through the Desert of Edom,” he answered.
9 So the king of Israel set out with the king of Judah and the king of Edom.(J) After a roundabout march of seven days, the army had no more water for themselves or for the animals with them.
10 “What!” exclaimed the king of Israel. “Has the Lord called us three kings together only to deliver us into the hands of Moab?”
11 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, through whom we may inquire(K) of the Lord?”
An officer of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha(L) son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.[b](M)”
12 Jehoshaphat said, “The word(N) of the Lord is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.
13 Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Why do you want to involve me? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother.”
“No,” the king of Israel answered, “because it was the Lord who called us three kings together to deliver us into the hands of Moab.”
14 Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, if I did not have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not pay any attention to you. 15 But now bring me a harpist.”(O)
While the harpist was playing, the hand(P) of the Lord came on Elisha 16 and he said, “This is what the Lord says: I will fill this valley with pools of water. 17 For this is what the Lord says: You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water,(Q) and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink. 18 This is an easy(R) thing in the eyes of the Lord; he will also deliver Moab into your hands. 19 You will overthrow every fortified city and every major town. You will cut down every good tree, stop up all the springs, and ruin every good field with stones.”
20 The next morning, about the time(S) for offering the sacrifice, there it was—water flowing from the direction of Edom! And the land was filled with water.(T)
21 Now all the Moabites had heard that the kings had come to fight against them; so every man, young and old, who could bear arms was called up and stationed on the border. 22 When they got up early in the morning, the sun was shining on the water. To the Moabites across the way, the water looked red—like blood. 23 “That’s blood!” they said. “Those kings must have fought and slaughtered each other. Now to the plunder, Moab!”
24 But when the Moabites came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and fought them until they fled. And the Israelites invaded the land and slaughtered the Moabites. 25 They destroyed the towns, and each man threw a stone on every good field until it was covered. They stopped up all the springs and cut down every good tree. Only Kir Hareseth(U) was left with its stones in place, but men armed with slings surrounded it and attacked it.
26 When the king of Moab saw that the battle had gone against him, he took with him seven hundred swordsmen to break through to the king of Edom, but they failed. 27 Then he took his firstborn(V) son, who was to succeed him as king, and offered him as a sacrifice on the city wall. The fury against Israel was great; they withdrew and returned to their own land.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 3:1 Hebrew Jehoram, a variant of Joram; also in verse 6
- 2 Kings 3:11 That is, he was Elijah’s personal servant.
1599 Geneva Bible (GNV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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