World English Bible · The divided kingdom
2 Kings 3
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Now the son of began to reign over Israel in in the eighteenth year of king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. He did that which was evil in sight, but not like his and like his mother, for he of that his had made. Nevertheless he held to the of the son of , with which he made Israel to . He didn't depart from them. Now king of was a sheep breeder; and he supplied the king of Israel with one hundred thousand lambs and the wool of one hundred thousand rams. But when was , the king of rebelled against the king of Israel. King went out of at that time, and mustered all Israel. He went and sent to the king of Judah, saying, "The king of has rebelled against me. Will you go with me against to battle?" He said, "I will go up. I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses." Then he said, "Which way shall we go up?" answered, " of of ." So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of , and they marched for seven days along a circuitous route. There was no water for the army or for the animals that followed them. The king of Israel said, "Alas! For has called these three kings together to them into the hand of ." But said, "Isn't there a of here, that we may inquire of by him?" One of the king of Israel's servants answered, " the son of Shaphat, who poured water on the hands of , is here." said, " word is with him." So the king of Israel and and the king of went down to him. said to the king of Israel, "What have I to do with you? Go to of your , and to of your mother." The king of Israel said to him, "No, for has called these three kings together to them into the hand of ." said, "As of Armies lives, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I respect the of the king of Judah, I would not look toward you, nor see you. But now bring me a musician." When the musician played, hand came on him. 16He said, " says, 'Make this valley full of trenches.' For says, 'You will not see wind, neither will you see , yet that valley will be filled with water, and you will drink, both you and your livestock and your other animals. This is an easy thing in sight. He will also the into your hand. You shall strike every fortified city and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all springs of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.'" In the morning, about the time of the , behold, water came by of , and the country was filled with water. Now when all the heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, they gathered themselves together, all who were able to put on armor, young and old, and stood on the border. 22They rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone on the water, and the saw the water opposite them as red as . They said, "This is . The kings are surely destroyed, and they have struck each other. Now therefore, , to the plunder!" When they came to the camp of Israel, the rose up and struck the , so that they fled before them; and they went forward into the land attacking the . They beat down the cities; and on every good piece of land each man cast his stone, and filled it. They also stopped all the springs of water and cut down all the good trees, until in all they left was its stones; however the men armed with slings went around it and attacked it. When the king of saw that the battle was too severe for him, he took with him seven hundred men who drew a , to break through to the king of ; but they could not. Then he took his oldest son who would have reigned in his place, and offered him for a burnt offering on the wall. There was great against Israel; and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · The divided kingdom, 931 BC to 745 BC ›
Israel in the north and Judah in the south, often at odds, with Aram of Damascus as the immediate threat and Assyria growing in the distance.
- Aram of Damascus
- The immediate enemy for most of two centuries, close enough to raid every campaigning season and strong enough to take territory. Most of the wars in Kings that read like national emergencies are border wars with Damascus.
- Assyria
- Growing steadily in the distance. Shalmaneser III fights a coalition at Qarqar in 853 BC and his own inscription lists King Ahab of Israel among his opponents with two thousand chariots, the earliest Assyrian mention of an Israelite king. A later monument shows Jehu bowing and paying tribute. Assyria is not yet the destroyer, but it is already taking notes.
- Egypt
- Divided and unreliable, capable of the occasional raid, such as Shishak stripping the temple in Rehoboam's fifth year, but no longer an empire that governs the Levant.
- Further afield
- The Greeks adopt the alphabet, hold the first Olympiad by tradition in 776 BC, and begin to compose the Homeric poems. Rome is founded by tradition in 753 BC, a village of huts at this point. This is the century in which the classical world begins.