1   In the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Jehoram son of Ahab became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned for twelve years. 2   He did what was wrong in the eyes of the Lord, though not as his father and his mother had done; he did remove the sacred pillar of the Baal which his father had made. 3   Yet he persisted in the sins into which Jeroboam son of Nebat had led Israel, and did not give them up.

4   Mesha king of Moab was a sheep-breeder, and he used to supply the king of Israel regularly with the wool of a hundred thousand lambs and a hundred thousand rams. 5   When Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 6   Then King Jehoram came from Samaria and mustered all Israel. 7   He also sent this message to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: ‘The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you join me in attacking Moab?’ ‘I will,’ he replied; ‘what is mine is yours: myself, my people, and my horses.’ 8   ‘From which direction shall we attack?’ Jehoram asked. ‘Through the wilderness of Edom’, replied the other. 9   So the king of Israel set out with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. When they had been seven days on the march, they had no water left for the army or the pack-animals. 10   Then the king of Israel

Elisha and the end of the house of Ahab said, ‘Alas, the Lord has brought together three kings, only to put us at the mercy of the Moabites.’ 11   But Jehoshaphat said, ‘Is there not a prophet of the Lord here through whom we may seek guidance of the Lord?’ One of the officers of the king of Israel answered, ‘Elisha son of Shaphat is here, the man who poured water on Elijah's hands.’ 12   ‘The word of the Lord is with him’, said Jehoshaphat. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to Elisha. 13   Elisha said to the king of Israel, ‘Why do you come to me? Go to the prophets of your father and your mother.’ But the king of Israel said to him, ‘No; the Lord has called us three kings out to put us at the mercy of the Moabites.’ 14   ‘As the Lord of Hosts lives, whom I serve,’ said Elisha, ‘I would not spare a look or a glance for you, if it were not for my regard for Jehoshaphat king of Judah. 15   But now, fetch me a minstrel.’ They fetched a minstrel, ^note and while he was playing, the power of the Lord came upon Elisha and he said, 16   ‘This is the word of the Lord: “Pools will form all over this ravine.” 17   The Lord has decreed that you shall see neither wind nor rain, yet this ravine shall be filled with water for you and your army ^note and your pack-animals to drink. 18   But that is a mere trifle in the sight of the Lord; what he will also do, is to put Moab at your mercy. 19   You will raze to the ground every fortified town and every noble city; you will cut down all their fine trees; you will stop up all the springs of water; and you will spoil every good piece of land by littering it with stones.’ 20   In the morning at the hour of the regular sacrifice they saw water flowing in from the direction of Edom, and the land was flooded.

21   Meanwhile all Moab had heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, and every man, young and old, who could carry arms, was called out and stationed on the frontier. 22   When they got up next morning and the sun had risen over the water, the Moabites saw the water in front of them red like blood and cried out, ‘It is blood. 23   The kings must have quarrelled and attacked one another. Now to the plunder, Moab!’ 24   When they came to the Israelite camp, the Israelites turned out and attacked them and drove the Moabites headlong in flight, and themselves entered ^note the land of Moab, destroying as they went. 25   They razed the cities to the ground; they littered every good piece of land with stones, each man casting one stone on to it; they stopped up every spring of water; they cut down all their fine trees; and they harried Moab ^note until only in Kir-hareseth were any buildings left standing, and even this city the slingers surrounded and attacked.

26   When the king of Moab saw that the war had gone against him, he took seven hundred men with him, armed with swords, to cut a way

Elisha and the end of the house of Ahab through to the king of Aram, ^note but they failed in the attempt. 27   Then he took his eldest son, who would have succeeded him, and offered him as a whole-offering upon the city wall. The Israelites were filled with such consternation at this sight, ^note that they struck camp and returned to their own land.

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