“What should we do?” the king of Israel cried out. “The Lord has brought the three of us here to let the king of Moab defeat us.”
Parallel translations
- WEB The king of Israel said, “Alas! For Yahweh has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”
- KJV And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab!
- BSB “Alas,” said the king of Israel, “for the LORD has summoned these three kings to deliver them into the hand of Moab!”
- NKJV And the king of Israel said, “Alas! For the Lord has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”
- NASB Then the king of Israel said, “It is hopeless! For the Lord has called these three kings to hand them over to Moab!”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The king of Israel despairs, blaming Yahweh for gathering the kings only to hand them to Moab. His complaint reveals unbelief rather than repentance.
Overview
Jehoram interprets the crisis as Yahweh's abandonment, voicing fatalistic despair instead of seeking the Lord. His readiness to blame God exposes the spiritual emptiness of his reign. The contrast with Jehoshaphat's response in the next verse highlights the difference between unbelief and faith.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Prov 19:3The foolishness of man subverts his way; his heart rages against Yahweh.
- Isa 8:21They will pass through it, very distressed and hungry; and it will happen that when they are hungry, they will worry, and curse by their king and by their God. They will turn their faces upward,
- Ps 78:34–36When he killed them, then they inquired after him. They returned and sought God earnestly.
- Gen 4:13Cain said to Yahweh, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.
- 2 Kgs 6:33While he was still talking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him. Then he said, “Behold, this evil is from Yahweh. Why should I wait for Yahweh any longer?”
- Isa 51:20Your sons have fainted. They lie at the head of all the streets, like an antelope in a net. They are full of the Yahweh’s wrath, the rebuke of your God.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Amid the long decline toward exile, the promise to David's house refuses to die; the flickering lamp kept burning anticipates the coming King who will not fail or be cut off.
How 2 Kings 3:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.