2 Kings 3:9

Esau Judah Edom

⁷ And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle? And he said, I will go up: I am as thou art, my people as thy people, and my horses as thy horses.

⁸ And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way through the wilderness of Edom.

So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom: and they fetched a compass of seven days’ journey: and there was no water for the host, and for the cattle that followed them.

¹⁰ And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab!

¹¹ But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may enquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel’s servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: So 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 or for their animals.
KJV: So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom: and they fetched a compass of seven days’ journey: and there was no water for the host, and for the cattle that followed them.
WEB: So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom, and they marched for seven days along a circuitous route. There was no water for the army or for the animals that followed them.
ASV: So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom; and they made a circuit of seven days` journey: and there was no water for the host, nor for the beasts that followed them.
DARBY: And the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom, and they made a circuit of seven days' journey. And there was no water for the army, and for the cattle that followed them.
BLB: And the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom, and they circled around the way seven days, and there was no water for the army and for the animals that [were] at their feet.

ÅB: Så dro Israels konge og Judas konge og Edoms konge avsted, og da de hadde faret syv dagsreiser omkring, fantes det ikke vann, hverken for hæren eller for buskapen som de hadde med seg.
OTB: Så dro kongen av Israel, kongen av Juda og kongen av Edom ut. Etter en omvei på syv dager var det ikke vann for hæren eller for dyrene som fulgte dem.
B1930: Så drog Israels konge og Judas konge og Edoms konge avsted, og da de hadde faret syv dagsreiser omkring, fantes det ikke vann, hverken for hæren eller for buskapen som de hadde med sig.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

1 Kings 22:47
There was then no king in Edom: a deputy was king.
Read in context
Exodus 17:1
And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.
Read in context
Numbers 20:2
And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.
Read in context
Numbers 33:14
And they removed from Alush, and encamped at Rephidim, where was no water for the people to drink.
Read in context
1 Kings 22:27
And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace.
Read in context
Numbers 20:4
And why have ye brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there?
Read in context
Numbers 21:5
And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.
Read in context
Exodus 15:22
So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.
Read in context