Read the Bible

¹ Nowe Iehoram the sonne of Ahab beganne to reigne ouer Israel in Samaria, the eighteenth yeere of Iehoshaphat King of Iudah, and reigned twelue yeeres.² And he wrought euill in the sight of the Lorde, but not like his father nor like his mother: for he tooke away the image of Baal that his father had made.³ Neuerthelesse, he cleaued vnto the sinnes of Ieroboam, the sonne of Nebat, which made Israel to sinne, and departed not therefrom.⁴ Then Mesha King of Moab had store of sheepe, and rendred vnto the King of Israel an hundreth thousande lambes, and an hundreth thousande rammes with the wooll.⁵ But when Ahab was dead, the king of Moab rebelled against the King of Israel.

⁶ Therefore King Iehoram went out of Samaria the same season, and nombred all Israel,⁷ And went, and sent to Iehoshaphat King of Iudah, saying, The King of Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou goe with me to battell against Moab? And he answered, I will goe vp: for I am, as thou art, my people, as thy people, and mine horses as thine horses.⁸ Then said he, What way shall we goe vp? And he answered, The way of the wildernesse of Edom.⁹ So went the King of Israel & the king of Iudah, and the King of Edom, and when they had compassed the way seuen dayes, they had no water for the hoste, nor for the cattell that followed them.¹⁰ Therefore the King of Israel sayde, Alas, that the Lord hath called these three Kings, to giue them into the hand of Moab.¹¹ But Iehoshaphat saide, Is there not here a Prophet of the Lorde, that we may inquire of the Lorde by him? And one of the King of Israels seruants answered, and said, Here is Elisha the sonne of Shaphat, which powred water on the handes of Eliiah.¹² Then Iehoshaphat saide, The worde of the Lorde is with him. Therefore the King of Israel, and Iehoshaphat, and the King of Edom went downe to him.¹³ And Elisha sayde vnto the King of Israel, What haue I to doe with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father and to the prophets of thy mother. And the King of Israel saide vnto him, Nay: for the Lord hath called these three Kings, to giue them into the hande of Moab.¹⁴ Then Elisha said, As the Lord of hostes liueth, in whose sight I stande, if it were not, that I regarde the presence of Iehoshaphat the King of Iudah, I woulde not haue looked towarde thee, nor seene thee.¹⁵ But nowe bring me a minstrel. And when the minstrel played, the hand of the Lord came vpon him.¹⁶ And he saide, Thus saith the Lorde, Make this valley full of ditches.¹⁷ For thus saith the Lorde, Ye shall neither see winde nor see raine, yet the valley shalbe filled with water, that ye may drinke, both ye and your cattel, and your beastes.¹⁸ But this is a small thing in the sight of the Lorde: for he will giue Moab into your hande.¹⁹ And ye shal smite euery strong towne and euery chiefe citie, and shall fell euery faire tree, & shall stoppe all the fountaines of water, & marre euery good fielde with stones.

²⁰ And in the morning whe the meat offring was offred, beholde, there came water by the way of Edom: and the countrey was filled with water.²¹ And when al the Moabites heard that the Kings were come vp to fight against them, they gathered all that was able to put on harnesse, & vpwarde, and stood in their border.²² And they rose earely in the morning, when the sunne arose vpon the water, and the Moabites saw the water ouer against them, as red as blood.²³ And they saide, This is blood the Kings are surely slaine, and one hath smitten another: now therefore, Moab, to the spoyle.²⁴ And when they came to the host of Israel, the Israelites arose vp, and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them, but they inuaded them, and smote Moab.²⁵ And they destroyed the cities: and on all the good field euery man cast his stone, and filled them and they stopt all the fountaines of water, and felled all the good trees: onely in Kirharaseth left they the stones thereof: howebeit they went about it with slings, and smote it.²⁶ And when the King of Moab saw that the battel was too sore for him, he tooke wt him seuen hudreth men yt drew the sword, to break through vnto the King of Edom: but they could not.²⁷ Then he tooke his eldest sonne, that should haue reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offring vpon the wall: so that Israel was sore grieued, and they departed from him, and returned to their countrey.