II Kings 3

¹Truly, Joram, the son of Ahab, reigned over Israel, in Samaria, in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah. And he reigned for twelve years.

²And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, but not as his father and mother did. For he took away the statues of Baal, which his father had made.

³Yet truly, he did adhere to the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin; neither did he withdraw from these.

⁴Now Mesha, the king of Moab, raised many sheep. And he repaid to the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs, and one hundred thousand rams, with their fleece.

⁵And when Ahab had died, he transgressed the pact that he had with the king of Israel.

⁶Therefore, king Joram departed on that day from Samaria, and he took a count of all of Israel.

⁷And he sent to Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, saying: “The king of Moab has withdrawn from me. Come to battle with me against him.” And he responded: “I will go up. What is mine, is yours. My people are your people. And my horses are your horses.”

⁸And he said, “Along which way shall we ascend?” So he responded, “Along the desert of Idumea.”

⁹Therefore, the king of Israel, and the king of Judah, and the king of Idumea, traveled, and they went by a circuitous path for seven days. But there was no water for the army or for the beasts of burden which were following them.

¹⁰And the king of Israel said: “Alas, alas, alas! The Lord has gathered we three kings, so that he might deliver us into the hands of Moab.”

¹¹And Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not a prophet of the Lord here, so that we may appeal to the Lord through him?” And one of the servants of the king of Israel responded, “Elisha, the son of Shaphat, is here, who poured water upon the hands of Elijah.”

¹²And Jehoshaphat said, “The word of the Lord is with him.” And so, the king of Israel, with Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, and with the king of Idumea, descended to him.

¹³Then Elisha said to the king of Israel: “What is there between you and me? Go to the prophets of your father and your mother.” And the king of Israel said to him, “Why has the Lord gathered these three kings, so that he might deliver them into the hands of Moab?”

¹⁴And Elisha said to him: “As the Lord of hosts lives, in whose sight I stand, if I was not humbled by the face of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, certainly I would neither have listened to you, nor have looked upon you.

¹⁵But now, bring a musician to me.” And while the musician was playing, the hand of the Lord fell upon him, and he said:

¹⁶“Thus says the Lord: Make, in the channel of this torrent, pit after pit.

¹⁷For thus says the Lord: You shall not see wind or rain. And yet this channel shall be filled with water. And you shall drink, you and your families, and your beasts of burden.

¹⁸And this is small in the sight of the Lord. So, in addition, he will also deliver Moab into your hands.

¹⁹And you shall strike every fortified town and every elect city. And you shall cut down every fruitful tree. And you shall obstruct all the sources of water. And you shall cover every excellent field with stones.”

²⁰Then it happened that, in the morning, when the sacrifices were usually to be offered, behold, water was arriving along the way of Idumea, and the land was filled with water.

²¹Then all the Moabites, hearing that the kings had ascended so that they might fight against them, gathered all who had been girded with a belt around them, and they stood at the borders.

²²And rising up in early morning, and when the sun was now rising before the waters, the Moabites saw the waters opposite them, which were red like blood.

²³And they said: “It is the blood of the sword! The kings have fought among themselves, and they have slain one another. Go now, Moab, to the spoils!”

²⁴And they went into the camp of Israel. But Israel, rising up, struck Moab, and they fled before them. And since they had prevailed, they went and struck down Moab.

²⁵And they destroyed the cities. And they filled up every excellent field, each one casting stones. And they obstructed all the sources of water. And they cut down all the fruitful trees, to such an extent that only brick walls remained. And the city was encircled by the slingers of stones. And a great part of it was struck down.

²⁶And when the king of Moab had seen this, specifically, that the enemies had prevailed, he took with him seven hundred men who draw the sword, so that he might break through to the king of Idumea. But they were unable.

²⁷And taking his firstborn son, who would have reigned in his place, he offered him as a holocaust upon the wall. And there was great indignation in Israel. And they promptly withdrew from him, and they turned back to their own land.

II Kings 3

¹And Joram the son of Achab, reigned over Israel, in Samaria, in the eighteenth year of Josaphat, king of Juda. And he reigned twelve years.

²And he did evil before the Lord, but not like his father and his mother: for he took away the statues of Baal, which his father had made.

³Nevertheless, he stuck to the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin, nor did he depart from them.

⁴Now Mesa, king of Moab, nourished many sheep, and he paid to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs, and a hundred thousand rams, with their fleeces.

⁵And when Achab was dead, he broke the league which he had made with the king of Israel.

⁶And king Joram went out that day from Samaria, and mustered all Israel.

⁷And he sent to Josaphat; king of Juda, saying: The king of Moab is revolted from me: come with me against him to battle. And he answered: I will come up: he that is mine, is thine: my people are thy people: and my horses, thy horses.

⁸And he said: Which way shall we go up? But he answered: By the desert of Edom.

⁹So the king of Israel, and the king of Juda, and the king of Edom, went, and they fetched a compass of seven days journey, and there was no water for the army, and for the beasts, that followed them.

¹⁰And the king of Israel said: Alas, alas, alas, the Lord hath gathered us three kings together, to deliver us into the hands of Moab.

¹¹And Josaphat said: Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may beseech the Lord by him? And one of the servants of the king of Israel answered: Here is Eliseus, the son of Saphat, who poured water on the hands of Elias.

¹²And Josaphat said: The word of the Lord is with him. And the king of Israel, and Josaphat, king of Juda, and the king of Edom, went down to him.

¹³And Eliseus said to the king of Israel: What have I to do with thee? go to the prophets of thy father, and thy mother. And the king of Israel said to him: Why hath the Lord gathered together these three kings, to deliver them into the hands of Moab?

¹⁴And Eliseus said to him: As the Lord of hosts liveth, in whose sight I stand, if I did not reverence the face of Josaphat, king of Juda, I would not have hearkened to thee, nor looked on thee.

¹⁵But now bring me hither a minstrel. And when the minstrel played, the hand of the Lord came upon him, and he said:

¹⁶Thus saith the Lord: Make the channel of this torrent full of ditches.

¹⁷For thus saith the Lord: You shall not see wind, nor rain: and yet this channel shall be filled with waters, and you shall drink, you and your families, and your beasts.

¹⁸And this is a small thing in the sight of the Lord: moreover, he will deliver, also, Moab into your hands.

¹⁹And you shall destroy every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall cut down every fruitful tree, and shall stop up all the springs of waters, and every goodly field you shall cover with stones.

²⁰And it came to pass, in the morning, when the sacrifices used to be offered, that behold, water came by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water.

²¹And all the Moabites hearing that the kings were come up to fight against them, gathered together all that were girded with a belt upon them, and stood in the borders.

²²And they rose early in the morning, and the sun being now up, and shining upon the waters, the Moabites saw the waters over against them red, like blood,

²³And they said: It is the blood of the sword: the kings have fought among themselves, and they have killed one another: go now, Moab, to the spoils.

²⁴And they went into the camp of Israel: but Israel rising up, defeated Moab, who fled before them. And they being conquerors, went and smote Moab.

²⁵And they destroyed the cities: And they filled every goodly field, every man casting his stone: and they stopt up all the springs of waters: and cut down all the trees that bore fruit, so that brick walls only remained: and the city was beset by the slingers, and a great part thereof destroyed.

²⁶And when the king of Moab saw this, to wit, that the enemies had prevailed, he took with him seven hundred men that drew the sword, to break in upon the king of Edom: but they could not.

²⁷Then he took his eldest son, that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall: and there was great indignation in Israel, and presently they departed from him, and returned into their own country.