Kings IV 3

1 And Joram the son of Achaab began to reign in Israel in the eighteenth year of Josaphat king of Juda, and he reigned twelve years.

And Jehoram, the son of Ahab, became king over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of the rule of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah; and he was king for twelve years.

2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, only not as his father, nor as his mother: and he removed the pillars of Baal which his father had made.

He did evil in the eyes of the Lord; but not like his father and his mother, for he put away the stone pillar of Baal which his father had made.

3 Only he adhered to the sin of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin; he departed not from it.

But still he did the same sins which Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, did and made Israel do; he went on in them.

4 And Mosa king of Moab was a sheep-master, and he rendered to the king of Israel in the beginning [of the year], a hundred thousand lambs, and a hundred thousand rams, with the wool.

Now Mesha, king of Moab, was a sheep-farmer; and he gave regularly to the king of Israel the wool from a hundred thousand lambs and a hundred thousand sheep.

5 And it came to pass, after the death of Achaab, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

But when Ahab was dead, the king of Moab got free from the authority of the king of Israel.

6 And king Joram went forth in that day out of Samaria, and numbered Israel.

At that time, King Jehoram went out from Samaria and got all Israel together in fighting order.

7 And he went and sent to Josaphat king of Juda, saying, The king of Moab has rebelled against me: will you go with me against Moab to war? And he said, I will go up: you are as I, I am as you; as my people, so [is] your people, as my horses, so [are] your horses.

And he sent to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab has got free from my authority: will you go with me to make war on Moab? And he said, I will go with you: I am as you are, my people as your people, and my horses as your horses.

8 And he said, What way shall I go up? and he said, The way of the wilderness of Edom.

And he said, Which way are we to go? And he said in answer, By the waste land of Edom.

9 And the king of Israel went, and the king of Juda, and the king of Edom: and they fetched a compass of seven days' journey; and there was no water for the army, and for the cattle that went with them.

So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom by a roundabout way for seven days: and there was no water for the army or for the beasts they had with them.

10 And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the Lord should have called the three kings on their way, to give them into the hand of Moab.

And the king of Israel said, Here is trouble: for the Lord has got these three kings together to give them into the hands of Moab.

11 And Josaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may enquire of the Lord by him? And one of the servants of the king of Israel answered and said, [There is] here Elisaie son of Saphat, who poured water on the hands of Eliu.

But Jehoshaphat said, Is there no prophet of the Lord here, through whom we may get directions from the Lord? And one of the king of Israel's men said in answer, Elisha, the son of Shaphat, is here, who was servant to Elijah.

12 And Josaphat said, He has the word of the Lord. And the king of Israel, and Josaphat king of Juda, and the king of Edom, went down to him.

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 Elisaie said to the king of Israel, What have I to do with you? go to the prophets of your father, and the prophets of your mother. And the king of Israel said to him, Has the Lord called the three kings to deliver them into the hands of Moab?

But Elisha said to the king of Israel, What have I to do with you? go to the prophets of your father and your mother. And the king of Israel said, No; for the Lord has got these three kings together to give them up into the hands of Moab.

14 And Elisaie said, [As] the Lord of hosts before whom I stand lives, unless I regarded the presence of Josaphat the king of Juda, I would not have looked on you, nor seen you.

Then Elisha said, By the life of the Lord of armies whose servant I am, if it was not for the respect I have for Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, I would not give a look at you, or see you.

15 And now fetch me a harper. And it came to pass, as the harper harped, that the hand of the Lord came upon him.

But now, get me a player of music, and it will come about that while the man is playing, the hand of the Lord will come on me and I will give you the word of the Lord: and they got a player of music, and while the man was playing, the hand of the Lord was on him.

16 And he said, Thus says the Lord, Make this valley full of trenches.

And he said, The Lord says, I will make this valley full of water-holes.

17 For thus says the Lord, You shall not see wind, neither shall you see rain, yet this valley shall be filled with water, and you, and your flocks, and your cattle shall drink.

For the Lord says, Though you see no wind or rain, the valley will be full of water, and you and your armies and your beasts will have drink.

18 And this [is] a light [thing] in the eyes of the Lord: I will also deliver Moab into your hand.

And this will be only a small thing to the Lord: in addition he will give the Moabites into your hands.

19 And you shall strike every strong city, and you shall cut down every good tree, and you shall stop all wells of water, and spoil every good piece [of land] with stones.

And you are to put every walled town to destruction, cutting down every good tree, and stopping up every water-spring, and making all the good land rough with stones.

20 And it came to pass in the morning, when the sacrifice was offered, that, behold! waters came from the way of Edom, and the land was filled with water.

Now in the morning, about the time when the offering was made, they saw water flowing from the direction of Edom till the country was full of water.

21 And all Moab heard that the three kings were come up to fight against them; and they cried out on every [side, even] all that were girded with a girdle, and they said, Ho! and stood upon the border.

Now all Moab, hearing that the kings had come to make war against them, got together all who were able to take up arms and went forward to the edge of the country.

22 And they rose early in the morning, and the sun rose upon the waters, and Moab saw the waters on the opposite side red as blood.

And early in the morning they got up, when the sun was shining on the water, and they saw the water facing them as red as blood.

23 And they said, This [is] the blood of the sword; and the kings have fought, and each man has struck his neighbor; now then to the spoils, Moab.

Then they said, This is blood: it is clear that destruction has come on the kings; they have been fighting one another: now come, Moab, let us take their goods.

24 And they entered into the camp of Israel; and Israel arose and struck Moab, and they fled from before them; and they went on and struck Moab as they went.

But when they came to the tents of Israel, the Israelites came out and made a violent attack on the Moabites, so that they went in flight before them; and they went forward still attacking them;

25 And they razed the cities, and cast every man his stone on every good piece [of land] and filled it; and they stopped every well, and cut down every good tree, until they left [only] the stones of the wall cast down; and the slingers compassed [the land], and struck it.

Pulling down the towns, covering every good field with stones, stopping up all the water-springs, and cutting down all the good trees; they went on driving Moab before them till only in Kir-hareseth were there any Moabites; and the fighting-men went round the town raining stones on it.

26 And the king of Moab saw that the battle prevailed against him; and he took with him seven hundred men that drew sword, to cut through to the king of Edom: and they could not.

And when the king of Moab saw that the fight was going against him, he took with him seven hundred men armed with swords, with the idea of forcing a way through to the king of Aram, but they were not able to do so.

27 And he took his oldest son whom he had designed to reign in his stead, and offered him up for a whole burnt offering on the walls. And there was a great indignation against Israel; and they departed from him, and returned to their land.

Then he took his oldest son, who would have been king after him, offering him as a burned offering on the wall. So there was great wrath against Israel; and they went away from him, back to their country.