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. Elisha said to the king of Israel, ‘Why do you want to involve me? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother.’‘No,’ the king of Israel answered, ‘because it was the Lord who called us three kings together to deliver us into the hands of Moab.’
14. Elisha said, ‘As surely as the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, if I did not have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not pay any attention to you.
15. But now bring me a harpist.’While the harpist was playing, the hand of the Lord came on Elisha
16. and he said, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will fill this valley with pools of water.
17. For this is what the Lord says: you will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink.
18. This is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord; he will also deliver Moab into your hands.
19. You will overthrow every fortified city and every major town. You will cut down every good tree, block up all the springs, and ruin every good field with stones.’
20. The next morning, about the time for offering the sacrifice, there it was – water flowing from the direction of Edom! And the land was filled with water.
21. Now all the Moabites had heard that the kings had come to fight against them; so every man, young and old, who could bear arms was called up and stationed on the border.
22. When they got up early in the morning, the sun was shining on the water. To the Moabites across the way, the water looked red – like blood.
23. ‘That’s blood!’ they said. ‘Those kings must have fought 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 fought them until they fled. And the Israelites invaded the land and slaughtered the Moabites.
25. They destroyed the towns, and each man threw a stone on every good field until it was covered. They stopped up all the springs and cut down every good tree. Only Kir Hareseth was left with its stones in place, but men armed with slings surrounded it and attacked it.
26. When the king of Moab saw that the battle had gone against him, he took with him seven hundred swordsmen to break through to the king of Edom, but they failed.
27. Then he took his firstborn son, who was to succeed him as king, and offered him as a sacrifice on the city wall. The fury against Israel was great; they withdrew and returned to their own land.