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¹ Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years.² And he did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, but not like his father, and like his mother; for he put away the pillar of Baal that his father had made.³ Nevertheless he cleaved to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin; he did not depart therefrom.⁴ Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep-master; and he rendered to the king of Israel the wool of a hundred thousand lambs, and of a hundred thousand rams.⁵ But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

⁶ And king Jehoram went out of Samaria at that time, and mustered all Israel.⁷ And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab has rebelled against me: will you go with me against Moab to battle? And he said, I will go up: I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.⁸ And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way of the wilderness of Edom.⁹ 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.¹⁰ And the king of Israel said, Alas! for Yahweh 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 Yahweh, that we may inquire of Yahweh by him? And one of the king of Israel's slaves answered and said, Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah.¹² And Jehoshaphat said, The word of Yahweh 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, No; for Yahweh has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.¹⁴ And Elisha said, As Yahweh of hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely, 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, that the hand of Yahweh came on him.¹⁶ And he said, Thus says Yahweh, Make this valley full of trenches.¹⁷ For thus says Yahweh, You shall not see wind, neither shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, and you shall drink, both you and your cattle and your beasts.¹⁸ And this is but a light thing in the sight of Yahweh: he will also deliver the Moabites into your hand.¹⁹ And you shall smite every fortified city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all fountains of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.

²⁰ And it came to pass in the morning, about the time of offering the oblation, that, look, water came by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water.²¹ Now when all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, they gathered themselves together, all that were able to put on armor, and upward, and stood on the border.²² And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone on the water, and the Moabites saw the water across from them as red as blood:²³ and they said, This is blood; the kings are surely destroyed, and they have smitten each man his fellow: 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; and they went there and smote the Moabites.²⁵ And they beat down the cities; and on every good piece of land they cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the fountains of water, and felled all the good trees, until they left [only] its stones in Kir-hareseth; nevertheless the slingers went about it, and smote it.²⁶ And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too intense for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew sword, to break through to the king of Syria; but they could not.²⁷ Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt-offering on the wall. And there was great wrath against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.