CHAPTER 3
1 Forsooth Joram, [the] son of Ahab, reigned on Israel, in Samaria, in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. And he reigned twelve years,
2 and he did evil before the Lord, but not as his father and his mother; for he took away the images of Baal, which his father had made,
3 nevertheless he cleaved to the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, that made Israel to do sin; and he went not away from them.
4 Forsooth Mesha, king of Moab, nourished many beasts, and paid to the king of Israel an hundred thousand of lambs, and an hundred thousand wethers, with their fleeces.
5 And when Ahab was dead, he brake the bond of peace, which he had with the king of Israel.
6 Therefore king Joram went out of Samaria in that day, and numbered all Israel.
7 And he sent to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and said, The king of Moab hath gone away from me; come thou with me against him to battle. And Jehoshaphat answered, I shall go up with thee; he that is mine, is thine; my people is thy people; and mine horses be thine horses.
8 And he said, By what way shall we ascend [or go up]? And Joram answered, By the desert of Idumea.
9 Therefore the king of Israel, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom, went forth, and compassed by the way of seven days; and there was not water to the host, and to the beasts, that pursued [or followed] them.
10 And the king of Israel said, Alas! alas! alas! the Lord hath gathered together us three kings to betake us into the hand of Moab.
11 And Jehoshaphat said, Whether any prophet of the Lord is here, that we beseech the Lord by him? And one of the servants of the king of Israel answered, Elisha, the son of Shaphat, is here, that poured water upon the hands of Elijah.
12 And Jehoshaphat said, Is the word of the Lord at him? Which said, Yea or It is. And the king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and the king of Edom, went down to him.
13 And Elisha said to the king of Israel, What is to me and to thee, an idolater? Go thou to the prophets of thy father and of thy mother. And the king of Israel said to him, Why hath the Lord gathered together these three kings, to betake them into the hands of Moab?
14 And Elisha said to him, The Lord of hosts liveth, in whose sight I stand, if I were not ashamed of the cheer of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, truly I had not perceived, neither I had beheld thee.
15 Now forsooth bring ye to me a psalterer. And when the psalterer sang, the hand of the Lord was made upon Elisha,
16 and he said, The Lord saith these things, Make ye the womb, either the depth, of this strand [or stream], ditches and ditches.
17 For the Lord saith these things, Ye shall not see wind, neither rain, and this depth shall be filled with waters, and ye shall drink, and your families, and your beasts.
18 And this is little thing in the sight of the Lord. Furthermore also he shall betake Moab into your hands;
19 and ye shall smite each strength-ened city, and each chosen city, and ye shall cut down each tree bearing fruit, and ye shall stop all the wells of waters, and ye shall cover with stones each noble field.
20 Therefore it was done early, when sacrifice is wont to be offered, and, lo! waters came by the way of Edom, and the land was filled with waters.
21 Soothly all the men of Moab heard, that these kings had gone up to fight against them; and they called together all men, that were gird with a knight’s girdle above, and they stood in the terms.
22 And men of Moab rose full early, and when the sun was risen then even against the waters, they saw the waters red as blood even against them.
23 And they said, It is the blood of sword, that is, shed out by sword; [the] kings have fought against them-selves, and they be slain together; now go thou, Moab, to the prey.
24 And they went into the castles [or tents] of Israel; forsooth Israel rose, and smote Moab, and they fled before the men of Israel. Then they that had overcome, came, and smote Moab,
25 and destroyed their cities; and all men sending stones filled each best field, and stopped all the wells of waters, and cut down all the trees bearing fruit, so that only [the] earthen walls were left; and the city was encompassed of men setting engines, and it was smitten by great part thereof.
26 And when the king of Moab had seen this, that is, that the enemies had the mastery, he took with him seven hundred men drawing out swords, that they should break through into the king of Edom; and they might not.
27 And he took his first engendered son, that should reign for him, and offered him as a burnt sacrifice on the wall; and great indignation was made in Israel; and anon they went away from him, and turned again into their land.