The In-Dept Study of the Bible
Kings 03
1 Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began
to reign over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah,
and reigned twelve years.
2 He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s
sight, but not like his father and like his
mother, for he put away the pillar of Baal
that his father had made.
3 Nevertheless he held to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he
made Israel to sin. He didn’t depart from
them.
4 Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep
breeder; and he supplied the king of Israel
with one hundred thousand lambs and the
wool of one hundred thousand rams.
5 But when Ahab was dead, the king of
Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.
6 King Jehoram went out of Samaria at
that time, and mustered all Israel.
7 He went and sent to Jehoshaphat the
king of Judah, saying, “The king of Moab
has rebelled against me. Will you go with
me against Moab to battle?” He said, “I will go up. I am as you are, my
people as your people, my horses as your
horses.”
8 Then he said, “Which way shall we go
up?” Jehoram answered, “The way of the
wilderness of Edom.”
9 So the king of Israel went with the king
of Judah and the king of Edom, and they
marched for seven days along a circuitous
route. There was no water for the army or
for the animals that followed them.
10 The king of Israel said, “Alas! For Yahweh has called these three kings together
to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”
11 But Jehoshaphat said, “Isn’t there a
prophet of Yahweh here, that we may inquire of Yahweh by him?”
One of the king of Israel’s servants answered, “Elisha the son of Shaphat, who
poured water on the hands of Elijah, is
here.”
12 Jehoshaphat said, “Yahweh’s word 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, “What
have I to do with you? Go to the prophets
of your father, and to the prophets of your
mother.”The king of Israel said to him, “No, for
Yahweh has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of
Moab.”
14 Elisha said, “As Yahweh of Armies
lives, before whom I stand, surely, were
it not that I respect the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not
look toward you, nor see you.
15 But now bring me a musician.” When
the musician played, Yahweh’s hand came
on him.
16 He said, “Yahweh says, ‘Make this valley full of trenches.’
17 For Yahweh says, ‘You will not see
wind, neither will you see rain, yet that
valley will be filled with water, and you
will drink, both you and your livestock and
your other animals.
18 This is an easy thing in Yahweh’s sight.
He will also deliver the Moabites into your
hand.
19 You shall strike every fortified city and
every choice city, and shall fell every good
tree, and stop all springs of water, and mar
every good piece of land with stones.’ ”
20 In the morning, about the time of offering the sacrifice, behold, water came
by the way of Edom, and the country was
filled with water.
21 Now when all the Moabites heard that
the kings had come up to fight against
them, they gathered themselves together,
all who were able to put on armor, young
and old, and stood on the border.
22 They rose up early in the morning,
and the sun shone on the water, and the
Moabites saw the water opposite them as
red as blood.
23 They said, “This is blood. The kings
are surely destroyed, and they have struck
each other. Now therefore, Moab, to the
plunder!” 24 When they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and struck the
Moabites, so that they fled before them;
and they went forward into the land attacking the Moabites.
25 They beat down the cities; and on
every good piece of land each man cast
his stone, and filled it. They also stopped
all the springs of water and cut down all
the good trees, until in Kir Hareseth all
they left was its stones; however the men
armed with slings went around it and attacked it.
26 When the king of Moab saw that the
battle was too severe for him, he took
with him seven hundred men who drew
a sword, to break through to the king of
Edom; but they could not.
27 Then he took his oldest son who would
have reigned in his place, and offered him
for a burnt offering on the wall. There
was great wrath against Israel; and they
departed from him, and returned to their
own land.