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¹ NOW Joram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned twelve years.² And he did evil in the sight of the LORD; but not like his father and like his mother; for he put away the statue of Baal which his father had made.³ Nevertheless he clung to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin; he did not turn aside from them.⁴ Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster, and he used to bring up to the king of Israel a hundred thousand fat lambs and a hundred thousand rams, with their wool.⁵ But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

⁶ And King Joram went out of Samaria at the same time and numbered all Israel.⁷ Then he went on and sent to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab has rebelled against me; come with me, let us go to war against Moab. And Jehoshaphat said, I will go up as you go, my people as your people and my horses as your horses.⁸ And he said to him, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, By the way of the wilderness of Edom.⁹ So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom, and traveled seven days journey; and there was no water for the army and for the people who were with them.¹⁰ And the king of Israel said, Alas! truly for this the LORD has called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab!¹¹ But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may inquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israels servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, who used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.¹² And 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.¹³ And Elisha said to the king of Israel, What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother. And the king of Israel said to him, Truly for this the LORD has called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab.¹⁴ And Elisha said, As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward you nor see you.¹⁵ But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, the hand of the LORD came upon him.¹⁶ And he said, Thus says the LORD: Let this valley be made full of cisterns.¹⁷ For thus says the LORD: You shall not see wind, neither shall you see rain; yet this valley shall be filled with water, that you may drink, both you and your cattle and your beasts.¹⁸ And this is but a small thing in the sight of the LORD; he will deliver the Moabites also into your hands.¹⁹ And you shall destroy every fortified city and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree and pollute all the springs of water and mar every good piece of land with stones.

²⁰ And it came to pass in the morning, when the sacrifice was offered, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the land was covered with water.²¹ And when all the Moabites saw that the kings were come up to fight against them, they called out all that were able to gird themselves with the sword and stood on the border.²² And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood;²³ And they said. This is blood; the kings are surely slain, and they have killed one another; now therefore, Moab, to the spoil.²⁴ And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them; but they continued attacking them, and they devastated Moab.²⁵ And they destroyed the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone and filled it; and they polluted every spring of water and felled all the good trees, till the stones in the walls of the capital city were left demolished; and the slingers surrounded it and destroyed it.²⁶ And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men who drew swords, to break through to the king of Edom; but he could not.²⁷ Then he took his eldest son who was to reign in his stead and offered him as a burnt offering upon the wall. And there was great indignation against Israel; and kings departed from Moab and returned to their own country.