2 Kings 3:9

THE MESSAGE

The king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom started out on what proved to be a looping detour. After seven days they had run out of water for both army and animals.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
So the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom set out. After they had traveled their indirect route for seven days, they had no water for the army or the animals with them.

Hebrew Names Version
So the king of Yisra'el went, and the king of Yehudah, and the king of Edom; and they made a circuit of seven days' journey: and there was no water for the host, nor for the animals that followed them.

King James Version
So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom: and they fetched a compass of seven days' journey: and there was no water for the host, and for the cattle that followed them.

English Standard Version
So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. And when they had made a circuitous march of seven days, there was no water for the army or for the animals that followed them.

New Century Version
So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. After they had marched seven days, there was no more water for the army or for their animals that were with them.

New English Translation
So 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.

Amplified Bible
So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. They made a circuit of seven days' journey, but there was no water for the army or for the cattle that followed them.

New American Standard Bible
So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom, and they made a circuit of seven days' journey. But there was no water for the army or for the cattle that followed them.

Geneva Bible (1587)
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.

Legacy Standard Bible
So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom; and they went around on a seven days' journey, and there was no water for the camp or for the cattle that followed them.

Contemporary English Version
So Joram, Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom led their troops out. But seven days later, there was no drinking water left for them or their animals.

Complete Jewish Bible
So the king of Isra'el set out, along with the king of Y'hudah and the king of Edom. After a roundabout journey of seven days, there was no water for either the army or the animals following them.

Darby Translation
And the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom, and they made a circuit of seven days' journey. And there was no water for the army, and for the cattle that followed them.

Easy-to-Read Version
So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. They traveled around for seven days. There was not enough water for the army or for their animals.

George Lamsa Translation
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.

Good News Translation
So King Joram and the kings of Judah and Edom set out. After marching seven days, they ran out of water, and there was none left for the men or the pack animals.

Lexham English Bible
So the king of Israel and the king of Judah and the king of Edom went around, a way of seven days, but there was no water for the army or for the animals which were with them.

Literal Translation
And the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom. And they made a circuit of seven days' journey. And there was no water for the army, and for the livestock that were at their feet.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
So the kynge of Israel, the kynge of Iuda, & the kynge of Edom wente forth. And whan they had gone aboute seue dayes iourney, ye hoost & the catell yt were amonge the had no water.

American Standard Version
So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom; and they made a circuit of seven days' journey: and there was no water for the host, nor for the beasts that followed them.

Bible in Basic English
So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom by a roundabout way for seven days: and there was no water for the army or for the beasts they had with them.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And so the king of Israel toke his iourney, and the king of Iuda, and the king of Edom: And when they had compassed the way seuen dayes, they had no water for the hoast, and for the cattayle that folowed them.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom; and they made a circuit of seven days' journey; and there was no water for the host, nor for the beasts that followed them.

King James Version (1611)
So the king of Israel went, and the king of Iudah, and the king of Edom: and they fetcht a compasse of seuen dayes iourney: and there was no water for the hoste, and for the cattell that followed them.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the king of Israel went, and the king of Juda, and the king of Edom: and they fetched a compass of seven days’ journey; and there was no water for the army, and for the cattle that went with them.

English Revised Version
So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom: and they made a circuit of seven days’ journey: and there was no water for the host, nor for the beasts that followed them.

Berean Standard Bible
So the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom set out, and after they had traveled a roundabout route for seven days, they had no water for their army or for their animals.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor the kyng of Israel, and the kyng of Juda, and the kyng of Edom, yeden forth, and cumpassiden bi the weie of seuene daies; and `watir was not to the oost, and to the beestis, that sueden hem.

Young's Literal Translation
And the king of Israel goeth, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom, and they turn round the way seven days, and there hath been no water for the camp, and for the cattle that [are] at their feet,

Update Bible Version
So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom; and they made a circuit of seven days' journey: and there was no water for the host, nor for the beasts that followed them.

Webster's Bible Translation
So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom: and they fetched a compass of seven days' journey: and there was no water for the army, and for the cattle that followed them.

World English Bible
So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom; and they made a circuit of seven days' journey: and there was no water for the host, nor for the animals that followed them.

New King James Version
So 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.

New Living Translation
The king of Edom and his troops joined them, and all three armies traveled along a roundabout route through the wilderness for seven days. But there was no water for the men or their animals.

New Life Bible
So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. They traveled around for seven days, but there was no water for the army or the cattle that followed them.

New Revised Standard
So the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom set out; and when they had made a roundabout march of seven days, there was no water for the army or for the animals that were with them.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then departed the king of Israel, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom, and went round, a journey of seven days, - and there was no water for the host, nor for the cattle that went with them.

Douay-Rheims Bible
So the king of Israel, and the king of Juda, and the king of Edom, went, and they fetched a compass of seven days journey, and there was no water for the army, and for the beasts, that followed them.

Revised Standard Version
So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. And when they had made a circuitous march of seven days, there was no water for the army or for the beasts which followed them.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom; and they made a circuit of seven days' journey, and there was no water for the army or for the cattle that followed them.

Contextual Overview

⁸Joram of Israel Joram son of Ahab began his rule over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. He was king for twelve years. In God 's sight he was a bad king. But he wasn't as bad as his father and mother—to his credit he destroyed the obscene Baal stone that his father had made. But he hung on to the sinful practices of Jeroboam son of Nebat, the ones that had corrupted Israel for so long. He wasn't about to give them up. King Mesha of Moab raised sheep. He was forced to give the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and another 100,000 rams. When Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. So King Joram set out from Samaria and prepared Israel for war. His first move was to send a message to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: "The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Would you join me and fight him?" "I'm with you all the way," said Jehoshaphat. "My troops are your troops, my horses are your horses. Which route shall we take?" "Through the badlands of Edom." ⁹ The king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom started out on what proved to be a looping detour. After seven days they had run out of water for both army and animals. ¹⁰ The king of Israel said, "Bad news! God has gotten us three kings out here to dump us into the hand of Moab." ¹¹ But Jehoshaphat said, "Isn't there a prophet of God anywhere around through whom we can consult God ?" One of the servants of the king of Israel said, "Elisha son of Shaphat is around somewhere—the one who was Elijah's right-hand man." ¹² Jehoshaphat said, "Good! A man we can trust!" So the three of them—the king of Israel, Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom—went to meet him. ¹³ Elisha addressed the king of Israel, "What do you and I have in common? Go consult the puppet-prophets of your father and mother." "Never!" said the king of Israel. "It's God who has gotten us into this fix, dumping all three of us kings into the hand of Moab." ¹⁴Elisha said, "As God -of-the-Angel-Armies lives, and before whom I stand ready to serve, if it weren't for the respect I have for Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I wouldn't give you the time of day. But considering—bring me a minstrel." (When a minstrel played, the power of God came on Elisha.) ¹⁶He then said, " God 's word: Dig ditches all over this valley. Here's what will happen—you won't hear the wind, you won't see the rain, but this valley is going to fill up with water and your army and your animals will drink their fill. This is easy for God to do; he will also hand over Moab to you. You will ravage the country: Knock out its fortifications, level the key villages, clear-cut the orchards, clog the springs, and litter the cultivated fields with stones."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Edom: 1 Kings 22:27

no water: Exodus 15:22, Exodus 17:1, Numbers 20:2, Numbers 20:4, Numbers 21:5, Numbers 33:14

that followed them: Heb. at their feet, Exodus 11:8, *marg. Judges 4:10

Reciprocal: Genesis 21:15 - the water 1 Kings 22:47 - no king 2 Kings 3:26 - unto the king of Edom 2 Kings 8:20 - Edom 2 Chronicles 21:8 - and made Psalms 84:6 - the rain Proverbs 19:3 - foolishness Amos 2:1 - because

Cross-References

Genesis 3:12
The Man said, "The Woman you gave me as a companion, she gave me fruit from the tree, and, yes, I ate it." God said to the Woman, "What is this that you've done?"

Genesis 3:13
"The serpent seduced me," she said, "and I ate."

Genesis 3:17
He told the Man: "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree That I commanded you not to eat from, ‘Don't eat from this tree,' The very ground is cursed because of you; getting food from the ground Will be as painful as having babies is for your wife; you'll be working in pain all your life long. The ground will sprout thorns and weeds, you'll get your food the hard way, Planting and tilling and harvesting, sweating in the fields from dawn to dusk, Until you return to that ground yourself, dead and buried; you started out as dirt, you'll end up dirt."

Genesis 3:20
The Man, known as Adam, named his wife Eve because she was the mother of all the living.

Genesis 3:21
God made leather clothing for Adam and his wife and dressed them.

Genesis 4:9
God said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "How should I know? Am I his babysitter?"

Genesis 11:5
God came down to look over the city and the tower those people had built.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah,.... The way of the wilderness of Edom, proposed by the latter:

and the king of Edom; whom they took with them in their way, who was not properly a king, but a viceroy or deputy, see 1 Kings 22:47

and they fetched a compass of seven days journey; they went round the Dead Sea, and through the wilderness of Edom, and so to the borders of Moab:

and there was no water for the host, and for the cattle that followed them; neither for the soldiers in the army, nor the cattle that drew the carriages, being in a wilderness.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Seven days’ journey - The distance of the route probably followed is not much more than 100 miles. But the difficulties of the way are great; and the army might not be able to move along it at a faster rate than about 15 miles a day.

No water - The kings had probably expected to find sufficient water for both men and baggage animals in the Wady-el-Ahsy, which divides Edom from Moab, and which has a stream that is now regarded as perennial. But it was dried up - quite a possible occurrence with any of the streams of this region.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Kings 3:9. A compass of seven days' journey — By taking a circuitous route, to go round the southern part of the Dead Sea, they probably intended to surprise the Moabites; but it appears their journey was ill planned, as they at last got into a country in which it was impossible to obtain water, and they were brought in consequence to the utmost extremity.