Open English Translation 2KI Chapter 3

3 Ahab’s son Yehoram (Jehoram) became king over Israel in the eighteenth year of King Yehoshafat’s reign over Yehudah, and he reigned from Shomron (Samaria) for twelve years. 2 He did what Yahweh had said was evil, but not as bad as his father and mother had been, and he did remove the pillar of Baal that his father had made. 3 However, he committed similar sins to those of Nebat’s son Yarave’am who had caused Israel to sin and didn’t stop doing them. 4 Now Moab’s King Mesha was a sheep breeder, and he would pay an annual tribute to Israel’s king of a hundred thousand young rams, plus the wool of a hundred thousand rams. 5 However, after King Ahab died, Moab’s king rebelled against Israel’s control over them. 6 So King Yehoram set out from Shomron and mustered all of Israel’s fighters. 7 Then he sent this message to King Yehoshafat of Yehudah, “Moab’s king has rebelled against me. Will you join in battle with me against them?”

“I’ll join you,” he replied. “You and me are together. My people are your people, and my horses are your horses.” 8 “What’s our strategy? Which way should we go in?” he asked.

“Through the Edom wilderness,” he replied.

9 So the kings of Israel, Yehudah, and Edom took their armies on a seven day trip circling around, but they didn’t find enough water for the men or their animals, 10 and Israel’s king complained, “Oh dear, it seems that Yahweh has sent in us three kings to allow Moab to defeat us.” 11 But Yehoshafat asked, “Isn’t there one of Yahweh’s prophets here, so we might inquire from Yahweh through him?”

“There’s Elisha,” one of the servants of Israel’s king answered, “Shafat’s son, the prophet who was Eliyyah’s assistant.”

12 “Yes, he receives Yahweh’s messages,” said Yehoshafat.

So the kings of Israel, Yehudah, and Edom, went to see him. 13 But Elisha asked Israel’s king, “What do you and me have in common? Go and inquire from your father’s prophets and your mother’s prophets.”

“No,” the king of Israel said. “We came because Yahweh has called for us three kings to allow us to be defeated by Moab.”

14 “As army commander Yahweh lives,” Elisha responded, “the one who I serve, I wouldn’t be talking to you or even face you, if I hadn’t recognised King Yehoshafat of Yehudah. 15 So now bring me a musician.

Then while the musician played, Yahweh spoke to him 16 and he said, “Yahweh says that this valley will store lots of water[fn] 17 He says that you all won’t see any wind or rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you and your animals will have plenty to drink. 18 That’s a piece of cake for Yahweh. What’s more, he’ll give you victory over Moab. 19 You’ll all attack every important city, including their fortified ones. You can chop down their fruit trees, block up their springs, and ruin their good land with stones.”

20 The next day at the time of the morning sacrifice, to their amazement there was water flowing from Edom and covering the ground.

21 By then, the people of Moab had heard that the kings had come to battle them, so they summoned everyone who could wear a sword and stationed them beside the border. 22 But when they got up early the next morning and the sun rose, from the direction where they were, the water appeared to be red like blood. 23 “That’s blood,” they exclaimed. “Those three kings must have turned against each other and killed each other. So let’s go, Moab, and collect the spoil.”

24 But when they reached the allied camp, the allies attacked and they fled away. Then the allies entered Moab and attacked there. 25 They tore down the cities, and each person threw a stone onto the good land, making it useless. They blocked up every spring, and they chopped down every good tree. Eventually, only their capital city of Kir-Hareset remained standing with its stone walls, but they attacked that as well using slingshots.

26 When Moab’s king saw that the attackers were stronger than them, he took a team of seven hundred swordsmen to try to break through to the king of Edom, but they failed. 27 So he took his oldest son (who would have become the next king) and sacrificed him publicly on top of the city wall. This made their people crazy furious against Israel, so they left and returned home.