2 Kings 3

1 And Joram son of Ahab became king in Israel in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned twelve years. [a] 2 And he did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord — only not as his father did, and not as his mother did; and he took away the pillars of Baal that his father had made. 3 Only he clung to the sin of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who made Israel sin; he did not turn away from it.

4 And Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and at the uprising he had been rendering to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs and a hundred thousand rams with their wool. [b] 5 And after Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 6 And King Joram went out from Samaria that day and counted Israel.

7 And he went and sent word to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, saying, “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to war against Moab?” And he said, “I will go up. I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” 8 And he said, “Which way shall I go up?” And he said, “By the way of the wilderness of Edom.” 9 So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom; and they went around by a journey of seven days. And there was no water for the camp, or for the cattle that went at their feet.

10 And the king of Israel said, “Oh — the Lord has called these three kings on their way, to give them into the hand of Moab!” 11 And Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, that we may seek the Lord through him?” And one of the servants of the king of Israel answered and said, “Elisha 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.” And the king of Israel went down to him, and Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and the king of Edom.

13 And Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What do I have to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father.” And the king of Israel said to him, “No — the Lord has called these three kings to hand them over to Moab.” [c] 14 And Elisha said, “As the Lord of armies lives, before whom I stand — if I did not have regard for the face of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you or see you. [d] 15 But now bring me someone who plays.” And as the player played, the hand of the Lord came on him,

16 and he said, “This is what the Lord says: Make this valley full of pits. [e] 17 For this is what the Lord says: You will not see wind and you will not see rain, and yet this valley will be filled with water, and you will drink — you and your flocks and your cattle. 18 And this is a light thing in the eyes of the Lord: I will also give Moab into your hand. 19 And you will strike every fortified city, and you will cut down every good tree, and you will stop up every spring of water, and you will ruin every good piece of land with stones.”

20 And in the morning, when the sacrifice was going up, look — water was coming from the way of Edom, and the land was filled with water. 21 And all Moab heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, and a cry went up from every man old enough to put on a belt, and older, and they took their stand at the border. [f] 22 And they rose early in the morning, and the sun rose over the water; and Moab saw the water opposite them, red as blood. 23 And they said, “This is the blood of the sword! The kings have fought, and each man has struck down his neighbor. And now — to the spoils, Moab!”

24 And they came into the camp of Israel; and Israel rose up and struck Moab, and they fled before them. And Israel came on in among them, striking Moab down, 25 and they tore down the cities; and on every good piece of land each man threw his stone until it was full, and they stopped up every spring of water and cut down every good tree, until they had left nothing standing but the stones of the wall thrown down. And the slingers surrounded the land and struck it. [g]

26 And the king of Moab saw that the battle was too strong for him, and he took with him seven hundred men who drew the sword, to cut a way through to the king of Edom; and they could not. 27 And he took his firstborn son, who had become king in his place, and offered him up as a whole burnt offering on the wall. And a great remorse came over Israel, and they pulled back from him and returned to their own land. [h]