2 Kings 3:19 And you shall attack every fortified city and every city of importance. You shall cut down every good tree, stop up every spring, and ruin every good field with stones."

◄ 2 Kings 3:19 ►

New International Version
You will overthrow every fortified city and every major town. You will cut down every good tree, stop up all the springs, and ruin every good field with stones.”

New Living Translation
You will conquer the best of their towns, even the fortified ones. You will cut down all their good trees, stop up all their springs, and ruin all their good land with stones.”

English Standard Version
and you shall attack every fortified city and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree and stop up all springs of water and ruin every good piece of land with stones.”

Berean Standard Bible
And you shall attack every fortified city and every city of importance. You shall cut down every good tree, stop up every spring, and ruin every good field with stones.”

King James Bible
And ye shall smite every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all wells of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.

New King James Version
Also you shall attack every fortified city and every choice city, and shall cut down every good tree, and stop up every spring of water, and ruin every good piece of land with stones.”

New American Standard Bible
Then you shall strike every fortified city and every choice city, and cut down every good tree and stop up all the springs of water, and spoil every good plot of land with stones.’”

NASB 1995
‘Then 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.’”

NASB 1977
‘Then 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.’”

Legacy Standard Bible
Then 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.’”

Amplified Bible
You 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.’”

Christian Standard Bible
Then you will attack every fortified city and every choice city. You will cut down every good tree and stop up every spring. You will ruin every good piece of land with stones.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Then you must attack every fortified city and every choice city. You must cut down every good tree and stop up every spring of water. You must ruin every good piece of land with stones.”

American Standard Version
And ye shall smite every fortified city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all fountains of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.

Contemporary English Version
You will capture all their walled cities and important towns. You will chop down every good tree and stop up every spring of water, then ruin their fertile fields by covering them with rocks.

English Revised Version
And ye shall smite every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all fountains of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
You will defeat every walled city and every important city. You will cut down every good tree, seal all the wells, and use rocks to ruin every good piece of land."

Good News Translation
You will conquer all their beautiful fortified cities; you will cut down all their fruit trees, stop all their springs, and ruin all their fertile fields by covering them with stones."

International Standard Version
Then you are to attack every fortified city and every significant city. Cut down every significant tree, fill in all of the water springs, and ruin every prime piece of land with stones."

Majority Standard Bible
And you shall attack every fortified city and every city of importance. You shall cut down every good tree, stop up every spring, and ruin every good field with stones.?

NET Bible
You will defeat every fortified city and every important city. You must chop down every productive tree, stop up all the springs, and cover all the cultivated land with stones."

New Heart English Bible
You shall strike every fortified city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all springs of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.'"

Webster's Bible Translation
And ye shall smite every fortified city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all wells of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.

World English Bible
You shall strike every fortified city and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all springs of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.’”

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
and you have struck every fortified city, and every choice city, and you cause every good tree to fall, and you stop all fountains of waters, and you mar every good portion with stones.”

Young's Literal Translation
and ye have smitten every fenced city, and every choice city, and every good tree ye cause to fall, and all fountains of waters ye stop, and every good portion ye mar with stones.'

Smith's Literal Translation
And strike ye every fortified city and every chosen city, and every good tree ye shall cause it to fall, and all the fountains of water ye shall shut up, and every good part ye shall mar with stones.

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
And 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.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And 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.”

New American Bible
You shall destroy every fortified city and every choice city, fell every fruit tree, stop up all the springs, and ruin every fertile field with stones.”

New Revised Standard Version
You shall conquer every fortified city and every choice city; every good tree you shall fell, all springs of water you shall stop up, and every good piece of land you shall ruin with stones.”

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
And you shall destroy every fortified city and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree and pollute all the springs of water and mar every good piece of land with stones.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And you shall destroy all the fortress cities, and all cities that are choice, and you shall fell all trees that are beautiful, and you shall stop up all springs of waters, and you shall fill every inheritance that is beautiful with stones.”

OT Translations

JPS Tanakh 1917
And ye shall smite every fortified city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all fountains of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.'

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And ye shall smite every strong city, and ye shall cut down every good tree, and ye shall stop all wells of water, and spoil every good piece of land with stones.

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

Joram Overcomes Moab's Rebellion
…18This is a simple matter in the sight of the LORD, and He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand. 19And you shall attack every fortified city and every city of importance. You shall cut down every good tree, stop up every spring, and ruin every good field with stones.” 20The next morning, at the time of the morning sacrifice, water suddenly flowed from the direction of Edom and filled the land.…

Berean Standard Bible · Download

Cross References

Isaiah 37:25
I have dug wells and drunk foreign waters. With the soles of my feet I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.”

Isaiah 7:23-25
And on that day, in every place that had a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels of silver, only briers and thorns will be found. / Men will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briers and thorns. / For fear of the briers and thorns, you will no longer traverse the hills once tilled by the hoe; they will become places for oxen to graze and sheep to trample.

Jeremiah 48:34
There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh; they raise their voices to Jahaz, from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim have dried up.

Jeremiah 48:8
The destroyer will move against every city, and not one town will escape. The valley will also be ruined, and the high plain will be destroyed, as the LORD has said.

Jeremiah 48:18
Come down from your glory; sit on parched ground, O daughter dwelling in Dibon, for the destroyer of Moab has come against you; he has destroyed your fortresses.

Jeremiah 48:41
Kirioth has been taken, and the strongholds seized. In that day the heart of Moab’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labor.

Jeremiah 48:36
Therefore My heart laments like a flute for Moab; it laments like a flute for the men of Kir-heres, because the wealth they acquired has perished.

Jeremiah 48:9
Put salt on Moab, for she will be laid waste; her cities will become desolate, with no one to dwell in them.

Jeremiah 48:15
Moab has been destroyed and its towns have been invaded; the best of its young men have gone down in the slaughter, declares the King, whose name is the LORD of Hosts.

Jeremiah 48:28
Abandon the towns and settle among the rocks, O dwellers of Moab! Be like a dove that nests at the mouth of a cave.

Jeremiah 48:39
“How shattered it is! How they wail! How Moab has turned his back in shame! Moab has become an object of ridicule and horror to all those around him.”

Jeremiah 48:31
Therefore I will wail for Moab; I will cry out for all of Moab; I will moan for the men of Kir-heres.

Jeremiah 48:40
For this is what the LORD says: “Behold, an eagle swoops down and spreads his wings against Moab.

Jeremiah 48:32
I will weep for you, O vine of Sibmah, more than I weep for Jazer. Your tendrils have extended to the sea; they reach even to Jazer. The destroyer has descended on your summer fruit and grape harvest.

Jeremiah 48:33
Joy and gladness are removed from the orchard and from the fields of Moab. I have stopped the flow of wine from the presses; no one treads them with shouts of joy; their shouts are not for joy.

Treasury of Scripture

And you shall smite every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all wells of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.

And ye

2 Kings 13:17
And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the LORD'S deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them.

Numbers 24:17
I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.

Judges 6:16
And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.

fell

Deuteronomy 20:19,20
When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an axe against them: for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of the field is man's life) to employ them in the siege: …

mar [heb] grieve

2 Kings 3:25
And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the wells of water, and felled all the good trees: only in Kirharaseth left they the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it.

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Choice City Fell Fenced Fortified Fountains Good Major Mar Overthrow Piece Smite Springs Stones Stop Strike Tree Water Wells

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2 Kings 3

1. Jehoram's reign
4. Mesha rebels
6. Jehoram, with Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom, being distressed for want of water,
13. by Elisha obtains water, and promise of victory
21. The Moabites, deceived by the colour of the water, coming to spoil, are overcome
26. The king of Moab sacrifices his son, and raises the siege

Study Bible

Book ◦ Chapter

And you shall attack every fortified city and every city of importance.
This command reflects the ancient Near Eastern warfare practices where conquering armies targeted fortified cities, which were centers of power and defense. Fortified cities often had walls and strongholds, making them strategic military targets. The phrase indicates a comprehensive military campaign against Moab, emphasizing the totality of the destruction intended. Historically, this reflects the common practice of ensuring that no place of refuge or resistance remains for the enemy. This command also echoes the divine instructions given to Israel in earlier conquests, such as the conquest of Canaan, where complete destruction was often mandated to prevent future threats and idolatry (Deuteronomy 20:16-18).

You shall cut down every good tree,
Cutting down trees was a tactic used to deprive the enemy of resources and to demoralize them. Trees provided food, shade, and materials for building and fuel. The destruction of "good" trees, likely fruit-bearing ones, would have a long-term impact on the land's productivity and the people's sustenance. This act also symbolizes the complete devastation intended for Moab, leaving the land barren and uninhabitable. In Deuteronomy 20:19-20, Israel was instructed not to cut down fruit trees during a siege, indicating the severity of this command against Moab, highlighting the totality of the judgment.

stop up every spring,
Water sources were vital for survival, agriculture, and sustaining a population. Stopping up springs would effectively cripple the enemy's ability to sustain themselves, leading to their eventual surrender or demise. This tactic ensured that the land could not support life, forcing the inhabitants to abandon it. The strategic importance of water in the arid regions of the Near East cannot be overstated, and this action would have been a significant blow to Moab. This mirrors the spiritual symbolism of water in the Bible, often representing life and blessing, and its removal signifies judgment and desolation.

and ruin every good field with stones.
Scattering stones on fields was a method to render the land unproductive, as it would hinder plowing and planting. This act of salting the earth, metaphorically speaking, ensured that the land could not be easily restored to fertility, prolonging the devastation. The phrase "good field" suggests that these were fertile and valuable lands, crucial for the sustenance of the Moabite economy and population. This destruction of agricultural resources reflects the thoroughness of the campaign against Moab, leaving no means for recovery. This action can be seen as a fulfillment of divine judgment, as the land itself bears the consequences of the people's rebellion against God.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Jehoram (Joram)
- The king of Israel during this time, son of Ahab and Jezebel. He sought help from Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, to fight against Moab.

2. Jehoshaphat
- The king of Judah, known for his faithfulness to God, who allied with Jehoram to fight against the Moabites.

3. Moabites
- The people of Moab, led by King Mesha, who rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.

4. Elisha
- The prophet of God who provided guidance and assurance of victory to the kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom.

5. Edom
- A region and its king who joined the alliance with Israel and Judah against Moab.

Teaching Points

God's Sovereignty in Judgment
The command to destroy Moab's resources demonstrates God's control over nations and His ability to execute judgment according to His will.

The Role of Prophetic Guidance
Elisha's involvement underscores the importance of seeking God's direction through His prophets or, in contemporary terms, through Scripture and prayer.

The Consequences of Rebellion
Moab's rebellion against Israel serves as a reminder of the consequences of turning against God's chosen people and His ordained order.

Unity Among God's People
The alliance between Israel, Judah, and Edom illustrates the strength found in unity, especially when facing common threats.

The Importance of Obedience
The detailed instructions given to the allied forces highlight the necessity of obedience to God's commands, even when they seem harsh or difficult.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(19) And ye shall smite . . . shall fell . . .--These verbs are continuative of those in the last verse, i.e., they do not command a course of action, but foretell it. (Comp. 2Kings 8:12-13.) Taken as commands, they appear to conflict with Deuteronomy 20:19, where the felling of an enemy's fruit trees for the purposes of siege-works is forbidden. Keil, however, explains that the law relates to Canaanite territory which the Israelites were to occupy, whereas Moab's was an enemy's country, and therefore not to be spared.

Fenced city . . . choice city.--There is a paronomasia, or play on words of similar sound, in the Hebrew: 'ir mibc?r . . . 'ir mibhor.

Every good tree--i.e., fruit-bearing trees.

Stop.--Genesis 26:15; Genesis 26:18. . . .

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 19. - And ye shall smite every fenced city, and every choice city. The LXX. omit the second clause, perhaps because they could not reproduce in Greek the assonance of the Hebrew, where the words for "fenced" and "choice" (מִבְצֶר and מִבְחור) have nearly the same sound. And shall fell every good tree. It has been said that the Law forbade this, and argued

(1) that Elisha did not here utter a command, but only a prediction (Pool), not bidding the Israelites to cut down the trees, but only telling them they would do so;

(2) that Elisha intentionally excepted the Moabites from the merciful provision of the Law (Deuteronomy 20:19, 20), having authority to do so, and regarding the Moabites as exceptionally wicked (Keil); and

(3) that the Mosaic Law was not observed under the kings, and that Elisha himself had forgotten the provision about fruit trees (Geddes). But a careful examination of the passage in Deuteronomy will show . . .

Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

And you shall attack
וְהִכִּיתֶ֞ם (wə·hik·kî·ṯem)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 5221: To strike

every
כָּל־ (kāl-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

fortified
מִבְצָר֙ (miḇ·ṣār)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4013: A fortification, castle, fortified city, a defender

city
עִ֤יר (‘îr)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 5892: Excitement

and every
וְכָל־ (wə·ḵāl)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

city
עִ֣יר (‘îr)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 5892: Excitement

of importance.
מִבְח֔וֹר (miḇ·ḥō·wr)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4004: Select, well fortified

You shall cut down
תַּפִּ֔ילוּ (tap·pî·lū)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 5307: To fall, lie

every
וְכָל־ (wə·ḵāl)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

good
טוֹב֙ (ṭō·wḇ)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 2896: Pleasant, agreeable, good

tree,
עֵ֥ץ (‘êṣ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6086: Tree, trees, wood

stop up
תִּסְתֹּ֑מוּ (tis·tō·mū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 5640: To stop up, to repair, to keep secret

every
וְכָל־ (wə·ḵāl)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

spring,
מַעְיְנֵי־ (ma‘·yə·nê-)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 4599: A fountain, a source

and ruin
תַּכְאִ֖בוּ (taḵ·’i·ḇū)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 3510: To feel pain, to grieve, to spoil

every
וְכֹל֙ (wə·ḵōl)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

good
הַטּוֹבָ֔ה (haṭ·ṭō·w·ḇāh)
Article | Adjective - feminine singular
Strong's 2896: Pleasant, agreeable, good

field
הַחֶלְקָ֣ה (ha·ḥel·qāh)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 2513: Smoothness, flattery, an allotment

with stones.”
בָּאֲבָנִֽים׃ (bā·’ă·ḇā·nîm)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 68: A stone

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OT History: 2 Kings 3:19 You shall strike every fortified city (2Ki iiKi ii ki 2 kg 2kg)