2 Kings 3:10

10 "We're done for!" King Joram exclaimed. "The Lord has put the three of us at the mercy of the king of Moab!"

2 Kings 3:10 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 3:10

And the king of Israel said, alas!
&c.] Lamenting their sad case, as being desperate; and the rather he was the more concerned, as he was the principal who had drawn the other kings into this affair, though he throws it upon the Lord and his providence:

that the Lord hath called these three kings together, to deliver them
into the hands of Moab;
into whose hands they must inevitably fall, if they could have no water to refresh them; since they would be so weak as not to be able to stand a battle with them, and be dispersed here and there in search of water, and so fall into their hands. Extreme thirst is intolerable. It is reported ^F5 of Lysimachus, that he delivered himself and his army into the hands of the enemy for a draught of water. Leo Africanus ^F6 relates, that in the desert of Azaoad stand two marble pillars, testifying that a rich merchant bought of a carrier of wares a cup of water at the price of 10,000 ducats; but there not being water sufficient neither for the one nor the other, they were both died with thirst.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F5 Plutarch. in Apothegm.
F6 Descriptio Africae, l. 1. p. 75.

2 Kings 3:10 In-Context

8 What route shall we take for the attack?" "We will go the long way through the wilderness of Edom," Joram answered.

9 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.

10 "We're done for!" King Joram exclaimed. "The Lord has put the three of us at the mercy of the king of Moab!"

11 King Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there a prophet here through whom we can consult the Lord?" An officer of King Joram's forces answered, "Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He was Elijah's assistant."

12 "He is a true prophet," King Jehoshaphat said. So the three kings went to Elisha.