2 Kings 3

3Now ^aJehoram 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 ^bthat his father had made. ³Nevertheless he cleaved unto ^cthe sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, ^dwhich made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom. ⁴And Mesha king of Moab was a ^esheepmaster, and rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand ^flambs, and an hundred thousand rams, with the wool. ⁵But it came to pass, when ^gAhab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. ⁶And 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: ⁱI am as thou art, my people as thy people, and my horses as thy horses. ⁸And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way through the wilderness of Edom. ⁹So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and ^kthe 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. ¹⁰And the king of Israel said, ^lAlas! that the Lord hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab! ¹¹But ^mJehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may inquire of the Lord by him? And ⁿone of the king of Israel’s servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, ^owhich poured water on the hands of Elijah. ¹²And 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. ¹³And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, ^pWhat have I to do with thee? ^qget thee to the prophets of thy father, and to ^rthe 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. ¹⁴And Elisha said, ^sAs the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I ^tregard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee. ¹⁵But now bring me ^ua minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that ^wthe hand of the Lord came upon him. ¹⁶And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of ^xditches. ¹⁷For 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. ¹⁸And this is but ^ya light thing in the sight of the Lord: he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand. ¹⁹And 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. ²⁰And it came to pass in the morning, when ^zthe meat offering was offered, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water.

²¹And 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. ²²And 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: ²³And they said, This is blood: the kings are surely ^†slain, and they have smitten one another: now therefore, Moab, to the spoil. ²⁴And 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. ²⁵And they beat down the cities, and ^aon 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 ^bKir-haraseth left they the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it. ²⁶And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men ^cthat drew swords, to break through even unto the king of Edom: but they could not. ²⁷Then ^dhe 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 ^ereturned to their own land.