Then they destroyed the cities, and each man threw a stone on every good piece of land and filled it; and they stopped up all the springs of water and cut down all the good trees. But they left the stones of Kir Haraseth intact. However the slingers surrounded and attacked it.
Parallel translations
- WEB 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 felled all the good trees, until in Kir Hareseth all they left was its stones; however the men armed with slings went around it, and attacked it.
- KJV And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the wells of water, and felled all the good trees: only in Kirharaseth left they the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it.
- BSB They destroyed the cities, and each man threw stones on every good field until it was covered. They stopped up every spring and cut down every good tree. Only Kir-haraseth was left with stones in place, but men with slings surrounded it and attacked it as well.
- NASB So they destroyed the cities; and each one threw a stone on every plot of good land and filled it. So they stopped up every spring of water and cut down every good tree, until in Kir-hareseth only they left its stones; however, the rock slingers surrounded it and struck it.
- NLT They destroyed the towns, covered their good land with stones, stopped up all the springs, and cut down all the good trees. Finally, only Kir-hareseth and its stone walls were left, but men with slings surrounded and attacked it.
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
Israel devastates Moab's cities, fields, springs, and trees, leaving only Kir Hareseth besieged. The promised destruction is carried out in full.
Overview
The thorough ruin matches Elisha's earlier prophecy point for point, demonstrating the reliability of God's word. Only the fortified capital remains, now under assault. The fulfillment underscores that what God declares through His prophet surely comes to pass.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Isa 16:7Therefore Moab will wail for Moab. Everyone will wail. You will mourn for the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth, utterly stricken.
- 2 Kgs 3:19You 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.’”
- Jer 48:36Therefore my heart sounds for Moab like pipes, and my heart sounds like pipes for the men of Kir Heres. Therefore the abundance that he has gotten has perished.
- Jer 48:31Therefore I will wail for Moab. Yes, I will cry out for all Moab. They shall mourn for the men of Kir Heres.
- Isa 16:11Therefore my heart sounds like a harp for Moab, and my inward parts for Kir Heres.
- Gen 26:15Now all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped, and filled with earth.
- Isa 37:26–27Have you not heard how I have done it long ago, and formed it in ancient times? Now I have brought it to pass, that it should be yours to destroy fortified cities, turning them into ruinous heaps.
- Judg 9:45Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and killed the people in it. He beat down the city, and sowed it with salt.
- 2 Sam 8:2He struck Moab, and measured them with the line, making them to lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death, and one full line to keep alive. The Moabites became servants to David, and brought tribute.
- Gen 26:18Isaac dug again the wells of water, which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father. For the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham. He called their names after the names by which his father had called them.
- Deut 20:19–20When you shall besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them; for you may eat of them. You shall not cut them down; for is the tree of the field man, that it should be besieged by you?
- Deut 2:9Yahweh said to me, “Don’t bother Moab, neither contend with them in battle; for I will not give you any of his land for a possession; because I have given Ar to the children of Lot for a possession.”
- 2 Chr 32:4So, many people gathered together and they stopped all the springs and the brook that flowed through the middle of the land, saying, “Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find abundant water?”
- Isa 15:1The burden of Moab: for in a night, Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to nothing; for in a night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to nothing.
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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 3:25 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
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