1   And Ioram the sonne of Achab reigned ouer Israel in Samaria the eightenth yeare of Iosaphat the king of Iuda. And he reigned twelue yeares.

2   And he did euil before our Lord, but not as his father and mother: for he tooke away the statues of Baal, which his father had made.

3   Neuertheles in the sinnes of Ieroboam the sonne of Nabat, who made Israel to sinne, he stucke fast, and departed not from them.

4   Moreouer Mesa the king of Moab, nourished manie sheepe, and he payed to the king of Israel an hundred thousand lambes, and a hundred thousand rammes with their fleeces.

5   And when Achab was dead, he brake the league, which he had made with the king of Israel.

6   Therfore king Ioram went forth that day out of Samaria, and mustered al Israel.

7   And he sent to Iosaphat the king of Iuda, saying: The king of Moab is reuolted from me, come with me against him to battel. Who answered: I wil come vp: he that is mine, is thine: my people, thy people: & my horses thy horses.

8   And he said: What way shal we goe vp? but he answered: By the desert of Idumea.

9   Therfore the king of Israel, and the king of Iuda, and the king of Edom went forward, and compassed seuen daies iourney, neither was there water for the armie, and the beastes, that folowed them.

10   And the king of Israel said: Alas alas alas, our Lord hath gathered vs three kinges

Of Iuda Iosaphat. of Isr. Ioram. together, that he might deliuer vs into the handes of Moab.

11   And Iosaphat said: Is there not here a prophet of our Lord, that we may besech our Lord by him? And one of the seruantes of the king of Israel answered: Here is Eliseus the sonne of Saphat, which powred water vpon the handes of Elias.

12   And Iosaphat sayd: The word of our Lord is with him. And the king of Israel went downe to him, and Iosaphat the king of Iuda, and the king of Edom.

13   And Eliseus said to the king of Israel: What is to me and thee? goe to the prophetes of thy father, and thy mother. And the king of Israel said to him: Why hath our Lord gathered together these three kinges, that he might deliuer them into the handes of Moab?

14   And Eliseus said to him: The Lord of hostes liueth, in whose sight I stand, If I did not reuerence the face of Iosaphat the king of Iuda, I would not certes haue harkened to thee, nor looked on thee.

15   But now bring me hither a plaier on instrumentes. And when the player sang, the hand of our Lord came vpon him, and he said:

16   Thus saith our Lord: Make the chanel of this torrent diches and diches.

17   For thus saith our Lord: You shal not see winde, nor raine: and this chanel shal be filled with waters, & you shal drinke, and your families, & your beastes.

18   And this is a smal thing in the sight of our Lord: morcouer he wil deliuer also Moab into your handes.

19   And you shal strike euerie fensed citie, and euerie principal citie, and ^note shal cut downe al fruitcful trees, and shal stoppe vp al fountaines of waters, and euerie goodlie field you shal couer with stones.

20   It came to passe therfore in the morning, when they vsed to offer the sacrifice, and behold, water came by the way of Edom, and the ground was filled with waters.

21   But al the Moabites hearing that the kinges were come vp to fight against them, they called together al that were girded with a belt vpon them, and they stoode in the borders.

22   And rysing early in the morning, and the sunne being now risen ouer against the waters, the Moabites saw the waters ouer against them red, as it were bloud,

23   and said: It is the bloud of the sword: the kinges haue fought among them selues, and are slaine one of an other: now goe on forward to the pray, Moab.

24   And they went forward into the campe of Israel: Moreouer Israel rysing vp, stroke Moab: but they fled before them. They therfore that had ouercome, came and stroke Moab,

25   and

of Isr. Ioram. Eliseus. destroyed the cities: & euerie principal field they filled euerie man casting stones: and they stopt vp al the fountaines of waters: and cut downe al trees that bare fruite, so that there remained onlie brike walles: and the citie was besette of the slingers, and for a great part therof was strooken.

26   Which when the king of Moab had seene, to witte, that the enemies had preuayled, he tooke with him seuen hundred men that drew sword, to breake in vpon the king of Edom: and they could not.

27   And taking his first begotten sonne, that should haue reigned for him, he offered him an holocaust vpon the wal: and there was great indignation in Israel, and forthwith they retyred from him, and returned into their countrie.

Previous section

Next section