Now Jehoram the son
of Ahab
became
king
over
Israel
at Samaria
ain the eighteenth
year
of Jehoshaphat
king
of Judah
, and reigned
twelve
years
.
He did evil
in the sight
of the LORD
, though
not like his father
and his mother
; for ahe put
away
the sacred pillar
of Baal
bwhich
his father
had made
.
Nevertheless, ahe clung
to the sins
of Jeroboam
the son
of Nebat
, bwhich
he made Israel
sin
; he did not depart
from them.
Now Mesha king
of Moab
was a sheep
breeder
, and aused to pay
the king
of Israel
100,000
lambs
and the wool
of 100,000
rams
.
But awhen Ahab died
, the king
of Moab
rebelled
against the king
of Israel
.
And King Jehoram
went
out of Samaria
1at that time
and mustered
all
Israel
.
Then he went and sent
word to Jehoshaphat
the king
of Judah
, saying
, "The king
of Moab
has rebelled
against me. Will you go
with me to fight
against
Moab
?" And he said
, "I will go
up; aI am as you are, my people
as your people
, my horses
as your horses
."
He said, "Which
way
shall we go
up?" And he 1answered
, "The way
of the wilderness
of Edom
."
So athe king of Israel
went
with bthe king
of Judah
and cthe king
of Edom
; and they made
a circuit
of seven
days'
journey
, and there was no
water
for the army
or for the cattle
that followed
them.
Then the king of Israel
said
, "Alas
! For the LORD
has called
these
three
kings
to give
them into the hand
of Moab
."
But Jehoshaphat said
, " aIs there
not a prophet
of the LORD
here
, that we may inquire
of the LORD
by him?" And one
of the king
of Israel's
servants
answered
and said
, " bElisha
the son
of Shaphat
is here
, cwho
used to pour
water
on the hands
of Elijah
."
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.
Now Elisha said
to the king
of Israel
, "What
do I have to do with you? aGo
to the prophets
of your father
and to the prophets
of your mother
." And the king
of Israel
said
to him, "No
, for the LORD
has called
these
three
kings
together to give
them into the hand
of Moab
."
Elisha said
, " aAs the LORD
of hosts
lives
, before
whom
I stand
, were it not that I regard
the presence
of Jehoshaphat
the king
of Judah
, I would not look
at you nor
see
you.
"But now abring
me a minstrel
." And it came
about, when the minstrel
played
, that bthe hand
of the LORD
came
upon him.
He said, "Thus
says
the LORD
, `Make
this
valley
full
of trenches
.'
"For thus says
the LORD
, `You shall not see
wind
nor
shall you see
rain
; yet that valley
ashall be filled
with water
, so that you shall drink
, both you and your cattle
and your beasts
.
`This is but a aslight
thing
in the sight
of the LORD
; He will also give
the Moabites
into your hand
.
` aThen you shall strike every
fortified
city
and every
choice
city
, and fell
every
good
tree
and stop
all
springs
of water
, and mar
every
good
piece
of land
with stones
.' "
It happened in the morning
aabout the time of offering
the sacrifice
, that behold
, water
came
by the way
of Edom
, and the country
was filled
with water
.
Now all the Moabites
heard
that the kings
had come
up to fight
against them. And all
who were able to 1put
on armor
and older
were summoned
and stood
on the border
.
They rose early
in the morning
, and the sun
shone
on the water
, and the Moabites
saw
the water
opposite
them as red
as blood
.
Then they said, "This
is blood
; the kings
have surely
fought
together
, and they have slain
one
another
. Now
therefore, Moab
, to the spoil
!"
But when they came to the camp
of Israel
, the Israelites
arose
and struck
the Moabites
, so that they fled
before
them; and they went
forward 1into the land, 2slaughtering
the Moabites
.
aThus they destroyed the cities
; and each
one
threw
a stone
on every
piece
of good
land
and filled
it. So they stopped
all
the springs
of water
and felled
all
the good
trees
, until
in bKir-hareseth
only they left
its stones
; however, the slingers
went
about
it and struck
it.
When the king of Moab
saw
that the battle
was too
fierce
for him, he took
with him 700
men
who drew
swords
, to break
through
to the king
of Edom
; but they could
not.
Then he took his oldest
son
who
was to reign
in his place
, and aoffered
him as a burnt
offering
on the wall
. And there came
great
wrath
against
Israel
, and they departed
from him and returned
to their own land
.