1. Joram, Ahab’s son, became king of Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat, Judah’s king. He ruled for twelve years.
2. He did what was evil in the Lord’s eyes, but he wasn’t as bad as his father and mother. He removed the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had made.
3. But he nevertheless clung to the sins that Jeroboam, Nebat’s son, had caused Israel to commit. He didn’t deviate from them.
4. Now Moab’s King Mesha kept sheep. He would pay Israel’s king one hundred thousand lambs and the wool from one hundred thousand rams.
5. But when Ahab died, Moab’s king rebelled against Israel’s king.
6. So King Joram set out from Samaria at once. He prepared all Israel for war.
7. He sent word to Judah’s King Jehoshaphat, "Moab’s king has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?"Jehoshaphat responded, "Yes, I’ll go. We’ll fight as one: you and I, our troops and our horses."
8. "Which road should we take?" Joram asked.Jehoshaphat responded, "The road that goes through the Edomite wilderness."
9. So Israel’s and Judah’s kings set out with the king of Edom. They marched around for seven days until there was no water left for the army or for the animals with them.
10. Israel’s king said, "This is terrible! Has the Lord brought us three kings together only to hand us over to Moab?"