2 Kings 3:26
in 2 Kings 3When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hundred swordsmen to break through to the king of Edom, but they could not prevail.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew sword, to break through unto the king of Edom; but they could not.
KJV
And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew swords, to break through even unto the king of Edom: but they could not.
⋯
This verse in 2 Kings 3
Commentary
6 notes on this verseSeven hundred men - These were no doubt the choice of all his troops, and being afraid of being hemmed up and perhaps taken by his enemies, whom he found on the eve of gaining possession of the city, he made a desperate sortie in order to regain the open country; and supposing that the quarter of the Edomites was weakest, or less carefully guarded, he endeavored to make his impression there; but they were so warmly received by the king of Edom that they failed in the attempt, and were driven back into the city.
This site's exposition
seven hundred men that drew swords
on 2 Kings 3:26-27
Mesha's sortie toward the king of Edom fails, and with the city about to fall he offers his own heir, the son who should have reigned in his stead, as a burnt offering on the wall where the besiegers can see it. What follows, there was great indignation against Israel, is a genuine crux and the readings differ on whose indignation it names. Wesley reads it as Israel's own horror and grief at having driven a father to this, ending the war in revulsion at what their siege had provoked; Barnes names the same possibility alongside another, that Judah and Edom were indignant at Israel specifically for causing the pollution of such a sacrifice; and the Hebrew word for wrath elsewhere names the LORD's own anger, at Num 1:53 and Josh 22:20, which Keil weighs as a live if unproven third reading. The text does not say which, and the campaign ends there, the kings withdrawing to their own land.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Therefore Mesha, who had lost all his hope in his armies, made an about-face to ask the gods for help, because he had seen that no human being could help him. Certain wise men of his country said to him that it was necessary to …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
3 Nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom. 4 And Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster, and rendered unto the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs, and a hundred thousand rams, with the wool. 5 But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:97%@v3-5
And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
To break through, even unto the king of Edom - Either because he thought that the king of Edom would connive at his escape or to take vengeance on him for having deserted his former allies (2Ki 3:8 note).
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּרְא֙ | vaiyar' | and he saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| מוֹאָ֔ב | moav | Moab | H4124 → | 181 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| חָזַ֥ק | chazak | it was [too] strong | H2388 → | 291 times |
| מִמֶּ֖נּוּ | mimenu | for him | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַמִּלְחָמָ֑ה | hamilchamah | the battle | H4421 → | 320 times |
| וַיִּקַּ֣ח | vaiyikach | and he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| א֠וֹתוֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H854 → | 929 times |
| שְׁבַע־ | sheva'- | seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| מֵא֨וֹת | meot | hundred<s> | H3967 → | 581 times |
| אִ֜ישׁ | ʾish | man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| שֹׁ֣לֵֽף | sholef | [who] drew | H8025 → | |
| חֶ֗רֶב | cherev | a sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| לְהַבְקִ֛יעַ | lehavkia' | to break through | H1234 → | 51 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֶ֥לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אֱד֖וֹם | ʾedom | Edom | H123 → | 99 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָכֹֽלוּ׃ | yakholu | they were able | H3201 → | 194 times |
וַיַּרְא֙and he saw
vaiyar'H7200 →1300 times
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
מוֹאָ֔בMoab
moavH4124 →181 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
חָזַ֥קit was [too] strong
chazakH2388 →291 times
מִמֶּ֖נּוּfor him
mimenuH4480 →1188 times
הַמִּלְחָמָ֑הthe battle
hamilchamahH4421 →320 times
וַיִּקַּ֣חand he took
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
א֠וֹתוֹ<obj.> him
ʾotoH854 →929 times
שְׁבַע־seven
sheva'-H7651 →394 times
מֵא֨וֹתhundred<s>
meotH3967 →581 times
אִ֜ישׁman
ʾishH376 →1663 times
שֹׁ֣לֵֽף[who] drew
sholefH8025 →
חֶ֗רֶבa sword
cherevH2719 →413 times
לְהַבְקִ֛יעַto break through
lehavkia'H1234 →51 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מֶ֥לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
אֱד֖וֹםEdom
ʾedomH123 →99 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יָכֹֽלוּ׃they were able
yakholuH3201 →194 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
Amos 2:1This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Moab, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because he burned to lime the bones of Edom’s king.
it leads to
- Zephaniah 2:8–9
“I have heard the reproach of Moab and the insults of the Ammonites, who have taunted My people and threatened their borders.
- Amos 1:3
This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Damascus, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they threshed Gilead with sledges of iron.
- Ezekiel 25:8–9
This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because Moab and Seir said, “Look, the house of Judah is like all the other nations,”
- 2 Kings 3:26–27
When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hundred swordsmen to break through to the king of Edom, but they could not prevail.
- Isaiah 25:10
For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain. But Moab will be trampled in his place as straw is trodden into the dung pile.
- Zephaniah 2:8–9
Through
2 Kings 3:9So the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom set out, and after they had traveled a roundabout route for seven days, they had no water for their army…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 22:47
And there was no king in Edom; a deputy served as king.
- Exodus 15:22
Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the Desert of Shur. For three days they walked in the desert without finding water.
- Numbers 21:5
and spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you led us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!”
- 1 Kings 22:47
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Kings

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PlaceTransjordanEdomThe highland nation descended from Esau that refused Israel passage on the King's Highway, and whose pride the prophets answered.
- PlaceTransjordanMoabThe high country east of the Dead Sea, home of Lot's descendants, where Balak hired Balaam, where Ruth was born, and where Moses l…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 3:25-27; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
