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. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, though not like his father and his mother; and ^ahe took away the sacred pillar of Baal ^bwhich his father had made. 3 Nevertheless, ^ahe clung to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, ^bwhich he made Israel sin; he did not turn away from them.

4 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. 5 But it happened that ^awhen Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 6 And King Jehoram went out of Samaria ¹at that time and mustered all Israel. 7 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.” 8 And he said, “Which way shall we go up?” And he ¹answered, “The way of the wilderness of Edom.”

9 So ^athe king of Israel went with ^bthe king of Judah and ^cthe king of Edom; and they went around on a seven days’ journey, and there was no water for the camp or for the cattle that ¹followed them. 10 Then the king of Israel said, “Alas! For Yahweh has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.” 11 But Jehoshaphat said, “^aIs there not a prophet of Yahweh here, that we may inquire of Yahweh 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.” 12 And Jehoshaphat said, “The word of Yahweh is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

13 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 Yahweh has called these three kings together to give them into the hand of Moab.” 14 And Elisha said, “^aAs Yahweh 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. 15 So now ^abring me a musician.” And it came about, when the musician played, that ^bthe hand of Yahweh came upon him. 16 And he said, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Make this valley full of trenches.’ 17 For thus says Yahweh, ‘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 livestock and your cattle. 18 And this is but a ^alight thing in the sight of Yahweh; He will also give the Moabites into your hand. 19 ^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.’” 20 Then 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.

21 Now all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them. And they summoned all who were able to ¹put on armor and older, and they stood on the border. 22 Then 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. 23 Then they said, “This is blood; the kings have surely fought together, and they have struck down one another. So now, Moab, to the spoil!” 24 So they came to the camp of Israel. And the Israelites arose and struck the Moabites. So they fled before them; and they went forward ¹into the land, striking down the Moabites. 25 ^aThus they ¹tore down the cities; and each one threw a stone on every piece of good land and filled it. And they stopped all the springs of water and felled all the good trees, until in ^bKir-hareseth they let its stones remain; however, the slingers went about it and struck it. 26 Then the king of Moab saw that the battle was too strong for him, so he took with him 700 men who drew swords, to break through to the king of Edom; but they could not. 27 So 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 set out from him and returned to their own land.

Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria ^ain the ¹eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. 2 He did evil in the sight of the LORD, but not like his father and mother; for ^ahe put away the sacred pillar of Baal ^bthat his father had made. 3 Nevertheless, ^ahe continued in the idolatrous sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, ^bwho made Israel sin; he did not depart from them.

4 ¹Mesha the king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he used to ^apay an annual tribute to the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. 5 But ^awhen Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 6 So King Jehoram left Samaria at that time and assembled all the fighting men of Israel. 7 Then he went and sent word to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, saying, “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?” And he replied, “I will go; ^aI am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” 8 Jehoram said, “Which way shall we go up?” Jehoshaphat answered, “The way through the Wilderness of Edom.”

9 So ^athe king of Israel went with ^bthe king of Judah and ^cthe king of Edom. They made a circuit of seven days’ journey, but there was no water for the army or for the cattle that followed them. 10 Then the king of Israel said, “We are doomed, for the LORD has called these three kings to be handed over to Moab.” 11 But Jehoshaphat said, “^aIs there no prophet of the LORD here from whom we may inquire of the LORD?” One of the servants of the king of Israel answered, “^bElisha the son of Shaphat is here, ^cwho ¹used to pour water over Elijah’s hands.” 12 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 Elisha.

13 Now Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What business do you have with me? ^aGo to the prophets of your wicked father Ahab and to the prophets of your pagan mother Jezebel.” But the king of Israel said to him, “No, for the LORD has called these three kings together to be handed over to Moab.” 14 Elisha said, “^aAs the LORD of hosts (armies) lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I have regard for Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you nor see you king of Israel. 15 But now ^abring me a musician.” And it came about while the musician played, that ^bthe hand (power) of the LORD came upon Elisha. 16 He said, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Make this valley (the Arabah) full of trenches.’ 17 For thus says the LORD, ‘You will not see wind or rain, yet that valley ^awill be filled with water, so you and your cattle and your other animals may drink. 18 This is but a ^asimple thing in the sight of the LORD; He will also hand over the Moabites to you. 19 ^aYou shall strike every fortified city and every choice (principal) city, and cut down every good tree and stop up all sources of water, and ruin every good piece of land with stones.’” 20 It happened in the morning, ^awhen the sacrifice was offered, that suddenly water came miraculously from the area of Edom, and the country was filled with water.

21 Now all the Moabites heard that the three kings had come up to fight against them, and all ¹who were able to put on armor, as well as those who were older, were summoned and stood together in battle formation at the border. 22 When they got up early the next morning, the sun shone on the water, and the Moabites saw the water across from them as red as blood. 23 And they said, “This is blood! Clearly the kings have fought together, and have killed one another. Now then, Moab, to the spoil and the plunder of the dead soldiers!” 24 But 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, killing the Moabites as they went. 25 ^aThey destroyed the walls of the cities, and each man threw a stone on every piece of good land, covering it with stones. And they stopped up all the springs of water and cut down all the good trees, until they left nothing in ^bKir-hareseth Moab’s capital city but its stones. Then the stone slingers surrounded the city and destroyed it. 26 When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hundred swordsmen to break through to the king of Edom; but they could not. 27 Then the king of Moab took his ¹eldest son, who was to reign in his place, and ^2aoffered him publicly as a burnt offering to Chemosh on the city wall horrifying everyone. And there was great wrath against Israel, and Israel’s allies Judah and Edom withdrew from King Jehoram and returned to their own land.