| Berean Study Bible | NET Bible |
| 1In the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat’s reign over Judah, Jehoram son of Ahab became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria twelve years. | 1In the eighteenth year of King Jehoshaphat's reign over Judah, Ahab's son Jehoram became king over Israel in Samaria; he ruled for twelve years. |
| 2And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as his father and mother had done. He removed the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had made. | 2He did evil in the sight of the LORD, but not to the same degree as his father and mother. He did remove the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had made. |
| 3Nevertheless, he clung to the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn away from them. | 3Yet he persisted in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who encouraged Israel to sin; he did not turn from them. |
| 4Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he would render to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs and the wool of a hundred thousand rams. | 4Now King Mesha of Moab was a sheep breeder. He would send as tribute to the king of Israel 100,000 male lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. |
| 5But after the death of Ahab, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. | 5When Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. |
| 6So at that time King Jehoram set out from Samaria and mobilized all Israel. | 6At that time King Jehoram left Samaria and assembled all Israel for war. |
| 7And he sent a message to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?” “I will go,” replied Jehoshaphat. “I am like you, my people are your people, and my horses are your horses.” | 7He sent this message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah: "The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you fight with me against Moab?" Jehoshaphat replied, "I will join you in the campaign; my army and horses are at your disposal." |
| 8Then he asked, “Which way shall we go up?” “By way of the Desert of Edom,” replied Joram. | 8He then asked, "Which invasion route are we going to take?" Jehoram answered, "By the road through the Desert of Edom." |
| 9So the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom set out, and after they had traveled a roundabout route for seven days, they had no water for their army or for their animals. | 9So the kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom set out together. They wandered around on the road for seven days and finally ran out of water for the men and animals they had with them. |
| 10“Alas,” said the king of Israel, “for the LORD has summoned these three kings to deliver them into the hand of Moab!” | 10The king of Israel said, "Oh no! Certainly the LORD has summoned these three kings so that he can hand them over to the king of Moab!" |
| 11But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of the LORD here? Let us inquire of the LORD through him.” And one of the servants of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.” | 11Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there no prophet of the LORD here that we might seek the LORD's direction?" One of the servants of the king of Israel answered, "Elisha son of Shapat is here; he used to be Elijah's servant." |
| 12Jehoshaphat affirmed, “The word of the LORD is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him. | 12Jehoshaphat said, "The LORD speaks through him." So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to visit him. |
| 13Elisha, however, said to the king of Israel, “What have we to do with each other? Go to the prophets of your father and of your mother!” “No,” replied the king of Israel, “for it is the LORD who has summoned these three kings to deliver them into the hand of Moab.” | 13Elisha said to the king of Israel, "Why are you here? Go to your father's prophets or your mother's prophets!" The king of Israel replied to him, "No, for the LORD is the one who summoned these three kings so that he can hand them over to Moab." |
| 14Then Elisha said, “As surely as the LORD of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not for my regard for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you or acknowledge you. | 14Elisha said, "As certainly as the LORD who rules over all lives (whom I serve), if I did not respect King Jehoshaphat of Judah, I would not pay attention to you or acknowledge you. |
| 15But now, bring me a harpist.” And while the harpist played, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha | 15But now, get me a musician." When the musician played, the LORD energized him, |
| 16and he said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Dig this valley full of ditches.’ | 16and he said, "This is what the LORD says, 'Make many cisterns in this valley,' |
| 17For the LORD says, ‘You will not see wind or rain, but the valley will be filled with water, and you will drink—you and your cattle and your animals.’ | 17for this is what the LORD says, 'You will not feel any wind or see any rain, but this valley will be full of water and you and your cattle and animals will drink.' |
| 18This is a simple matter in the sight of the LORD, and He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand. | 18This is an easy task for the LORD; he will also hand Moab over to you. |
| 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.” | 19You 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." |
| 20The next morning, at the time of the morning sacrifice, water suddenly flowed from the direction of Edom and filled the land. | 20Sure enough, the next morning, at the time of the morning sacrifice, water came flowing down from Edom and filled the land. |
| 21Now all the Moabites had heard that the kings had come up to fight against them. So all who could bear arms, young and old, were summoned and stationed at the border. | 21Now all Moab had heard that the kings were attacking, so everyone old enough to fight was mustered and placed at the border. |
| 22When they got up early in the morning, the sun was shining on the water, and it looked as red as blood to the Moabites across the way. | 22When they got up early the next morning, the sun was shining on the water. To the Moabites, who were some distance away, the water looked red like blood. |
| 23“This is blood!” they exclaimed. “The kings have clashed swords and slaughtered one another. Now to the plunder, Moab!” | 23The Moabites said, "It's blood! The kings are totally destroyed! They have struck one another down! Now, Moab, seize the plunder!" |
| 24But when the Moabites came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and attacked them, and they fled before them. So the Israelites invaded their land and struck down the Moabites. | 24When they approached the Israelite camp, the Israelites rose up and struck down the Moabites, who then ran from them. The Israelites thoroughly defeated Moab. |
| 25They destroyed the cities, and each man threw stones on every good field until it was covered. They stopped up every spring and cut down every good tree. Only Kir-haraseth was left with stones in place, but men with slings surrounded it and attacked it as well. | 25They tore down the cities and each man threw a stone into every cultivated field until they were covered. They stopped up every spring and chopped down every productive tree. Only Kir Hareseth was left intact, but the slingers surrounded it and attacked it. |
| 26When 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 prevail. | 26When the king of Moab realized he was losing the battle, he and 700 swordsmen tried to break through and attack the king of Edom, but they failed. |
| 27So he took his firstborn son, who was to succeed him, and offered him as a burnt offering on the city wall. And there was great fury against the Israelites, so they withdrew and returned to their own land. | 27So he took his firstborn son, who was to succeed him as king, and offered him up as a burnt sacrifice on the wall. There was an outburst of divine anger against Israel, so they broke off the attack and returned to their homeland. |
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