2 Kings 3:10
in 2 Kings 3“Alas,” said the king of Israel, “for the LORD has summoned these three kings to deliver them into the hand of Moab!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the king of Israel said, Alas! for Jehovah hath 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!
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This verse in 2 Kings 3
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThe Lord hath called these three kings together - That is, This is a Divine judgment; God has judicially blinded us, and permitted us to take this journey to our destruction.
This site's exposition
fetched a compass of seven days’ journey
on 2 Kings 3:9-10
Seven days through the wilderness of Edom leave three armies and their cattle without water, and the crisis exposes the difference between the two kings before Elisha ever speaks. Jehoram's response is fatalism dressed as piety, alas, that the LORD hath called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab, blaming God for a route his own alliance chose. It is the same reflex Ahab showed toward Elijah at 1 Ki 18:17, trouble laid at the prophet's door rather than the king's.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
After the death of Ahab, his son Ahaziah died too, and since he had no children, his brother Jehoram took his place. Therefore the Scripture reports that he moved with his army against the king of Moab. He went to war because Mesha, king of …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
. it was he that had called these kings together; yet he charges it upon Providence, and reflects upon that as unkind: The Lord has called them together.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
And the king of Israel said, alas!....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
They were disappointed by finding the wady of this valley, the brook Zered (De 2:13-18) [ROBINSON], dry. But the pious mind of Jehoshaphat inquired for a prophet of the Lord; and, on being informed that Elisha was at hand, the three kings "went down to him"; that is, to his tent, which was either in the camp, or close by it.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
To hand them over, etc. For they will die of thirst. 6 The three kings will be handed over to Moav because either they will die of thirst, or if they scatter across the countryside in search for water, they will be in an unprotected and vulnerable position.—Radak
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Who poured water on the hands of Eliyahu. On Mount Carmel, 7 See I Melochim:34 and Rashi there.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֖אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אֲהָ֕הּ | ʾahah | alas! | H162 → | 15 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| קָרָ֣א | kara' | he has summoned | H7121 → | 733 times |
| יְהוָ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לִשְׁלֹ֙שֶׁת֙ | lishloshet | <to> [the] three | H7969 → | 432 times |
| הַמְּלָכִ֣ים | hamelakhim | the kings | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| הָאֵ֔לֶּה | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | 746 times |
| לָתֵ֥ת | latet | to give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אוֹתָ֖ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּיַד־ | beyad- | in [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| מוֹאָֽב׃ | moav | Moab | H4124 → | 181 times |
וַיֹּ֖אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אֲהָ֕הּalas!
ʾahahH162 →15 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
קָרָ֣אhe has summoned
kara'H7121 →733 times
יְהוָ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לִשְׁלֹ֙שֶׁת֙<to> [the] three
lishloshetH7969 →432 times
הַמְּלָכִ֣יםthe kings
hamelakhimH4428 →2525 times
הָאֵ֔לֶּה<the> these
haelehH428 →746 times
לָתֵ֥תto give
latetH5414 →2011 times
אוֹתָ֖ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
בְּיַד־in [the] hand of
beyad-H3027 →1618 times
מוֹאָֽב׃Moab
moavH4124 →181 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 19:3A man’s own folly subverts his way, yet his heart rages against the LORD.
it leads to
- Revelation 16:9–11
And the people were scorched by intense heat, and they cursed the name of God, who had authority over these plagues; yet they did not repent and give Him glory.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 37:7
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men prosper in their ways, when they carry out wicked schemes.
- Proverbs 11:3
The integrity of the upright guides them, but the perversity of the faithless destroys them.
- 2 Chronicles 16:9–10
For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in…
- 1 Samuel 22:13–23
And Saul asked him, “Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me? You gave him bread and a sword and inquired of God for him so that he could rise up…
- Revelation 16:9–11
Through
2 Kings 6:33While Elisha was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him. And the king said, “This calamity is from the LORD. Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?”
it leads to
- Job 2:9
Then Job’s wife said to him, “Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die!”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 8:21
They will roam the land, dejected and hungry. When they are famished, they will become enraged; and looking upward, they will curse their king and their God.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Job 2:9
Through
Isaiah 8:21They will roam the land, dejected and hungry. When they are famished, they will become enraged; and looking upward, they will curse their king and their God.
it leads to
- Proverbs 19:3
A man’s own folly subverts his way, yet his heart rages against the LORD.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 19:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 3:9; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.