2 Kings 3:8-18

8 He said, "Which * way shall we go up?" And he answered, "The way of the wilderness of Edom."

9 So ¹the king of Israel went with ²the king of Judah and ³the 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.

10 Then the king of Israel said, "Alas! For the LORD has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab."

11 But Jehoshaphat said, "⁴Is there not a prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of the LORD by him?" And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, "⁵Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, ⁶who 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 Now Elisha said to the king of Israel, "What do I have to do with you? ⁷Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother." And the king of Israel said to him, "No, for the LORD has called these three kings together to give them into the hand of Moab."

14 Elisha said, "⁸As 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 at you nor see you.

15 "But now ⁹bring me a minstrel." And it came about, when the minstrel played, that ¹⁰the hand of the LORD came upon him.

16 He said, "Thus says the LORD, 'Make this valley full of trenches.'

17 "For thus says the LORD, 'You shall not see wind nor shall you see rain; yet that valley ¹¹shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, both you and your cattle and your beasts.

18 'This is but a ¹²slight thing in the sight of the LORD; He will also give the Moabites into your hand.

2 Kings 3:8-18 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 3

This chapter gives the character of Jehoram king of Israel, 2Ki 3:1-3, relates the rebellion of the king of Moab against him, 2Ki 3:4,5, the war that he and his allies entered into on that account, 2Ki 3:6-9 the distress the combined army were in for want of water, their application upon this to Elisha, who promised them water, and they had it in a wonderful manner, 2Ki 3:10-20 and the chapter is concluded with the rout of the Moabites, and the barbarity of their king to his eldest son, 2Ki 3:21-27.

Cross References

• 1. 2 Kings 3:1
• 2. 2 Kings 3:7
• 3. 1 Kings 22:47
• 4. 1 Kings 22:7
• 5. 2 Kings 2:25
• 6. 1 Kings 19:21; John 13:4, 5, 13, 14
• 7. 1 Kings 18:19; 1 Kings 22:6-11, 22-25
• 8. 1 Kings 17:1; 2 Kings 5:16
• 9. 1 Samuel 16:23; 1 Chronicles 25:1
• 10. 1 Kings 18:46; Ezekiel 1:3
• 11. Psalms 107:35
• 12. Jeremiah 32:17, 27; Mark 10:27; Luke 1:37

Footnotes

• [a] Lit "said"