| Chapter
3 |
| 1 | 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 armor, 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. |
