| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1Now Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned 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 like his father and mother; for he put away 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 persisted in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin; he did not depart 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 sheepbreeder, and he regularly paid the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs and the wool of one 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 it happened, when Ahab died, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. | 5When Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. |
| 6So King Jehoram went out of Samaria at that time and mustered all Israel. | 6At that time King Jehoram left Samaria and assembled all Israel for war. |
| 7Then he went and sent to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, saying, “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?” And he said, “I will go up; I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as 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 said, “Which way shall we go up?” And he answered, “By way of the Wilderness of Edom.” | 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 went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom, and they marched on that roundabout route seven days; and there was no water for the army, nor for the animals that followed them. | 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. |
| 10And the king of Israel said, “Alas! For the LORD has called these three kings together 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 said, “Is there no prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of the LORD by him?” So one of the servants of the king of Israel answered and said, “Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured 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." |
| 12And Jehoshaphat said, “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. |
| 13Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother.” But the king of Israel said to him, “No, for the LORD has called these three kings together 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." |
| 14And Elisha said, “As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you, nor see 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 musician.” Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him. | 15But now, get me a musician." When the musician played, the LORD energized him, |
| 16And he said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Make this valley full of ditches.’ | 16and he said, "This is what the LORD says, 'Make many cisterns in this valley,' |
| 17For thus says the LORD: ‘You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you, your cattle, and your animals may drink.’ | 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.' |
| 18And this is a simple matter in the sight of the LORD; 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. |
| 19Also 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.” | 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." |
| 20Now it happened in the morning, when the grain offering was offered, that suddenly water came by way of Edom, and the land was filled with water. | 20Sure enough, the next morning, at the time of the morning sacrifice, water came flowing down from Edom and filled the land. |
| 21And when all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, all who were able to bear arms and older were gathered; and they stood 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. |
| 22Then they rose up early in the morning, and the sun was shining on the water; and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood. | 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. |
| 23And they said, “This is blood; the kings have surely struck swords and have killed one another; now therefore, Moab, to the spoil!” | 23The Moabites said, "It's blood! The kings are totally destroyed! They have struck one another down! Now, Moab, seize the plunder!" |
| 24So when they came to the camp of Israel, Israel rose up and attacked the Moabites, so that they fled before them; and they entered their land, killing 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. |
| 25Then they destroyed the cities, and each man threw a stone on every good piece of land and filled it; and they stopped up all the springs of water and cut down all the good trees. But they left the stones of Kir Haraseth intact. However the slingers surrounded and attacked it. | 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. |
| 26And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hundred men who drew swords, to break through to the king of Edom, but they could not. | 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. |
| 27Then he took his eldest son who would have reigned in his place, and offered him as a burnt offering upon the wall; and there was great indignation against Israel. So they departed from him 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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