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son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria in the eighteenth year of the reign of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned twelve years. 2 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, but not like his father and his mother, for he removed the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had made. 3 Nevertheless, Joram clung to the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit. He did not turn away from them.
4 Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder. He used to pay the king of Israel as tribute a hundred thousand lambs and the wool of a hundred thousand rams. 5 But when Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 6 So King Joram set out from Samaria at that time and mobilised all Israel. 7 He also sent a message to Jehoshaphat king of Judah:
“The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?”
He replied,
“I will go. I am as you are, my people as your people, and my horses as your horses.”
8 Then he asked, “Which route should we take?”
And Joram replied, “The road through the wilderness of Edom.”
9 So the king of Israel set out with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. After they had marched on a roundabout journey for seven days, there was no water left for the army or their animals.
10 Then the king of Israel said, “Alas! Has the Lord summoned us three kings together, only to deliver us into the hand of Moab?”
11 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of the Lord through him?”
One of the servants of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.”
12 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 But Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother.”
But the king of Israel replied, “No, because it was the Lord who has summoned us three kings together to deliver us into the hand of Moab.”
14 Elisha said, “As the Lord of Hosts lives, whom I serve, if I did not have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you or even notice you. 15 Now, bring me a musician.”
While the musician played, the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha. 16 Then he said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Make this valley full of ditches’. 17 For this is what the Lord says: ‘You will not see wind, and you will not see rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you will drink—you and your cattle and all your other animals’. 18 This is easy in the sight of the Lord, and He will also deliver Moab into your hands. 19 You will conquer every fortified city and every choice city. You will cut down every good tree, stop up every spring of water, and ruin every good piece of land with stones.”
20 The next morning, about the time of the grain offering, water suddenly flowed from the direction of Edom, and the land was filled with water!
21 All the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them. So every man who could bear arms, from the youngest to the oldest, was called up and they took their stand at the border. 22 When they got up early in the morning, the sun was shining on the water. To the Moabites on the other side the water looked red, like blood. 23 “This is blood!” they said. “Those kings must have fought among themselves and slaughtered each other. Now to the plunder, Moab!”
24 But when the Moabites came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and attacked them, and they fled from them. So the Israelites invaded the land and they struck down the Moabites. 25 They destroyed the cities, and each of them threw stones on every good field until it was covered. They stopped up all the springs of water and cut down every good tree. Only at Kir-hareseth did the stones walls remain intact, however men with slings surrounded it and attacked it.
26 When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took seven hundred swordsmen with him to break through to the king of Edom, but they could not. 27 So he took his firstborn son, who was to succeed him as king, and offered him up on the city wall as a burnt offering.
Then great wrath fell upon Israel, so they withdrew from him and returned to their own land.