2 Kings 3

1Jehoram son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned twelve years.

2He did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, though not like his father and his mother, for he removed the pillar of Baal that his father had made.

3Only, he clung to the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, with which he caused Israel to sin; he did not turn away from them.

4Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he used to pay the king of Israel a tribute of one hundred thousand lambs and the wool of one hundred thousand rams.

5And it happened, when Ahab died, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

6So King Jehoram went out from Samaria that day and mustered all Israel.

7So he went and sent word to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, saying, “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me against Moab for battle?” And he said, “I will go. I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”

8And he said, “Which way shall we go up?” And he said, “By the way of the wilderness of Edom.”

9So the king of Israel went, along with the king of Judah and the king of Edom, and they went around by a route of seven days; but there was no water for the camp or for the livestock that followed them.

10Then the king of Israel said, “Alas! Yahweh has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.”

11And Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no prophet of Yahweh here, that we may inquire of Yahweh by him?” Then one of the servants of the king of Israel answered and said, “Elisha son of Shaphat is here, who used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.”

12Jehoshaphat said, “The word of Yahweh is with him.” So the king of Israel, Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom went down to him.

13And Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What do I have to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother.” But the king of Israel said to him, “No, for Yahweh has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.”

14And Elisha said, "As Yahweh of hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you or see you."

15But now, bring me a musician. And as the musician played, the hand of Yahweh came upon him.

16And he said, “Thus says Yahweh: Make this wadi full of pits.”

17For thus says Yahweh: You will not see wind, nor will you see rain, yet that wadi will be filled with water, and you and your livestock and your animals will drink.

18And this is a small thing in the eyes of Yahweh; he will also give Moab into your hand.

19And you shall strike every fortified city and every choice city, and you shall fell every good tree, and stop up all springs of water, and ruin every good field with stones.

20And in the morning, at the offering up of the grain offering, behold, water came from the direction of Edom, and the land was filled with water.

21All Moab heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, and they were summoned together, from every man old enough to put on a belt and upward, and they stood at the border.

22They rose early in the morning, and the sun shone on the water; and Moab saw the water opposite them, red like blood.

23And they said, “This is blood! The kings have surely fought one another and struck down one another. Now then, Moab, to the spoil!”

24When they came to the camp of Israel, Israel rose up and struck Moab, and they fled before them. Then they went into it and kept striking Moab.

25They demolished the cities, and on every good piece of land each man threw his stone until they had filled it. They stopped up every spring of water and felled every good tree, until only its stones were left in Kir-hareseth; then the slingers surrounded it and attacked it.

26When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too strong for him, he took with him seven hundred men who drew the sword to break through to the king of Edom, but they could not.

27Then he took his firstborn son, who was to reign in his place, and offered him up as a burnt offering on the wall. And there came great wrath against Israel, so they withdrew from him and returned to their land.