| International Standard Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Ahab's son Jehoram ascended to the throne of Israel at Samaria during the eighteenth year of the reign of Judah's king Jehoshaphat. He reigned for twelve years, | 1Joram son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria during the eighteenth year of Judah's King Jehoshaphat and reigned 12 years. |
| 2practicing evil in the LORD's presence, only not to the extent that his mother and father had done —he forced abolition of the sacred pillar to Baal that his father had crafted. | 2He did what was evil in the LORD's sight, but not like his father and mother, for he removed the sacred pillar of Baal his father had made. |
| 3Even so, he kept on committing the sins that Nebat's son Jeroboam had done, which ensnared Israel in sin—he never abandoned them. | 3Nevertheless, Joram clung to the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit. He did not turn away from them. |
| 4Meanwhile, Moab's king Mesha was a sheep breeder. He used to pay 100,000 lambs and the wool from 100,000 rams to the king of Israel as tribute. | 4King Mesha of Moab was a sheep breeder. He used to pay the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams, |
| 5After Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. | 5but when Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. |
| 6So king Jehoram left Samaria at that time and mustered the entire army of Israel. | 6So King Joram marched out from Samaria at that time and mobilized all Israel. |
| 7As he was going out, he sent this message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah: "The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight Moab?" "I'm coming," Jehoshaphat replied. "I'm like you! My army will act like your army and my cavalry like your cavalry," Then Jehoshaphat added: | 7Then he sent a message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah: "The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?" Jehoshaphat said, "I will go. I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses." |
| 8"What road do we take?" Jehoram answered, "We'll go along the Edom desert road." | 8Then he asked, "Which route should we take?" Joram replied, "The route of the Wilderness of Edom." |
| 9So the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom made a complete circuit on the road for seven days, but there was no water for the army or for the livestock that accompanied them. | 9So the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom set out. After they had traveled their indirect route for seven days, they had no water for the army or their animals. |
| 10Then the king of Israel remarked, "Oh no! The LORD has summoned us three kings so he can hand us over to Moab, hasn't he?" | 10Then the king of Israel said, "Oh no, the LORD has summoned three kings, only to hand them over to Moab." |
| 11Jehoshaphat asked, "Isn't there a prophet who belongs to the LORD and through whom we can ask the LORD a question?" One of the king of Israel's attendants replied, "Shaphat's son Elisha lives here. He used to be Elijah's personal attendant." | 11But Jehoshaphat said, "Isn't there a prophet of the LORD here? Let's inquire of Yahweh through him." One of the servants of the king of Israel answered, "Elisha son of Shaphat, who used to pour water on Elijah's hands, is here." |
| 12Jehoshaphat answered, "He receives messages from the LORD." So the king of Israel, Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom went to visit Elisha. | 12Jehoshaphat affirmed, "The LORD's words are with him." So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went to him. |
| 13Elisha asked the king of Israel, "What do I have in common with you? Go visit your parents' prophets." The king of Israel replied, "No! The LORD has summoned these three kings so he can hand them over to Moab!" | 13However, Elisha said to King Joram of Israel, "We have nothing in common. Go to the prophets of your father and your mother!" But the king of Israel replied, "No, because it is the LORD who has summoned these three kings to hand them over to Moab." |
| 14But Elisha responded, "As the LORD of the Heavenly Armies lives, in whose presence I stand, I would never pay attention to you or even look in your direction were it not for my continuous respect for the presence of King Jehoshaphat of Judah. | 14Elisha responded, "As the LORD of Hosts lives, I stand before Him. If I did not have respect for King Jehoshaphat of Judah, I would not look at you; I wouldn't take notice of you. |
| 15Now bring me a musician." As the musician played, the hand of the LORD rested on Elisha, | 15Now, bring me a musician." While the musician played, the LORD's hand came on Elisha. |
| 16so he said, "This is what the LORD says: 'Fill this valley with trench after trench!' | 16Then he said, "This is what the LORD says: 'Dig ditch after ditch in this wadi.' |
| 17This is what the LORD says: 'Though you won't see wind or storm, nevertheless that river will overflow with water so that you, your cattle, and your livestock may drink.' | 17For the LORD says, 'You will not see wind or rain, but the wadi will be filled with water, and you will drink--you and your cattle and your animals.' |
| 18And this is the easy part for the LORD —he's also going to hand the Moabites over to you! | 18This is easy in the LORD's sight. He will also hand Moab over to you. |
| 19Then 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." | 19Then 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." |
| 20The very next day, about the time of the morning offering, water suddenly appeared, coming from the direction of Edom, and the land overflowed with water! | 20About the time for the grain offering the next morning, water suddenly came from the direction of Edom and filled the land. |
| 21Meanwhile, all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to attack them, so everyone old enough to wear battle armor was mustered to stand guard at the border. | 21All Moab had heard that the kings had come up to fight against them. So all who could bear arms, from the youngest to the oldest, were summoned and took their stand at the border. |
| 22As the Moabites arose early that morning, the sun cast its rays on the water, and to the Moabites, the water across from them appeared to be red like blood. | 22When they got up early in the morning, the sun was shining on the water, and the Moabites saw that the water across from them was red like blood." |
| 23So they concluded, "This must be blood! The kings must have had one mighty big fight and each man killed the other! So let's go get the battle spoil, Moab!" | 23This is blood!" they exclaimed. "The kings have clashed swords and killed each other. So, to the spoil, Moab!" |
| 24But when the Moabites arrived at the Israeli encampment, the Israelis got up and attacked them. The Moabites ran away from the Israelis, who followed them into the land as they continued their pursuit against Moab. | 24However, when the Moabites came to Israel's camp, the Israelites attacked them, and they fled from them. So Israel went into the land and struck down the Moabites. |
| 25They destroyed their cities, and all of them threw stones onto every piece of farm land, ruining the fields. Then they filled in all the water wells and chopped down all of the useful trees. Stone walls remained surrounding Kir-hareseth only, until the archers surrounded and attacked that city. | 25They destroyed the cities, and each of them threw stones to cover every good piece of land. They stopped up every spring of water and cut down every good tree. In the end, only the buildings of Kir-hareseth were left. Then men with slings surrounded the city and attacked it. |
| 26When the king of Moab realized that the battle was going strongly against him, he took 700 expert swordsmen to attempt to break through to the king of Edom, but was unable to do so. | 26When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took 700 swordsmen with him to try to break through to the king of Edom, but they could not do it. |
| 27So he took his firstborn son, whom he intended to reign after him, and offered him up as a burnt offering on the wall. There subsequently came great anger against Israel, so they abandoned the attack and returned to their homeland. | 27So he took his firstborn son, who was to become king in his place, and offered him as a burnt offering on the city wall. Great wrath was on the Israelites, and they withdrew from him and returned to their land. |
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