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.

Now Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria ^ain the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned for twelve years. 2 He did evil in the sight of the LORD, though not like his father and his mother; for ^ahe removed the memorial stone of Baal ^bwhich his father had made. 3 Nevertheless, ^ahe clung to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, into ^bwhich he misled Israel; he did not abandon them.

4 Now Mesha the king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he ^aused to make tribute payments to the king of Israel of a hundred thousand lambs, and the wool of a hundred thousand rams. 5 However, ^awhen King Ahab died, the king of Moab broke with the ¹king of Israel. 6 So King Jehoram left Samaria for battle 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 broken away from me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?” And he said, “I will go up. ^1aConsider me yours, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” 8 Then 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 made a circuit of seven days’ journey. But there was no water for the army or for the cattle that ¹followed them. 10 Then the king of Israel said, “It is hopeless! For the LORD has called these three kings to hand them over to Moab!” 11 But Jehoshaphat said, “^aIs there no 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.” 12 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 Now Elisha said to the king of Israel, “¹What business do you have with me? ^aGo to your father’s prophets and your mother’s prophets.” But the king of Israel said to him, “No, for the LORD has called these three kings together to hand them over to Moab.” 14 Elisha said, “^aAs surely as the LORD of armies lives, before whom I stand, if I did not respect Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look at you nor see you. 15 But now ^abring me a ¹musician.” And it came about, when the ²musician played, that ^bthe hand of the LORD came upon him. 16 And he said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Make this valley ¹full of trenches.’ 17 For the LORD says this: ‘You will not see wind, nor will you see rain; yet that valley ^ashall be filled with water, so that you will drink, you, your livestock, and your other animals. 18 And this is an ^ainsignificant thing in the sight of the LORD; He will also give the Moabites into your hand. 19 ^aThen you shall strike every fortified city and every choice city, and ¹cut down every good tree and stop up all the springs of water, and spoil every good plot of land with stones.’” 20 And it happened in the morning ^aabout the time of offering the sacrifice, that behold, water came from the direction 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 all who were able to ¹put on armor and older were summoned and they took their positions on the border. 22 Then they got 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 So they said, “This is blood; the kings must have fought each other, and they have killed one another. Now then, Moab, to the spoils!” 24 But when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and struck the Moabites, so that they fled from them; and the Israelites invaded ¹the land, ²killing the Moabites. 25 ^aSo they destroyed the cities; and each one threw a stone on every plot of good land and filled it. So they stopped up every spring of water and ¹cut down every good tree, until in ^bKir-hareseth only they left its stones; however, the rock slingers surrounded it and struck it. 26 When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hundred men who drew swords, to break through to the king of Edom; but they could not. 27 Then the king of Moab took his oldest son who was to reign in his place, and ^aoffered him as a burnt offering on the wall. And great anger came upon Israel, and they departed from him and returned to their own land.

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 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. 3 Nevertheless, ^ahe clung to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, ^bwhich he made Israel sin; he did not depart 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 ^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 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 made a circuit of seven days’ journey, and there was no water for the army or for the cattle that followed them. 10 Then the king of Israel said, “Alas! For the LORD has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.” 11 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.” 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 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 the LORD has called these three kings together to give them into the hand of Moab.” 14 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. 15 But now ^abring me a minstrel.” And it came about, when the minstrel played, that ^bthe hand of the LORD came upon him. 16 He said, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Make this valley full of trenches.’ 17 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. 18 This is but a ^aslight thing in the sight of the LORD; 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 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 all who were able to ¹put on armor and older were summoned and stood on the border. 22 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 slain one another. Now therefore, Moab, to the spoil!” 24 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. 25 ^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. 26 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. 27 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.