Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
2 Kings 3:10 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 10. 10And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab!
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence: “And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “The armies run out of water and seek Elisha.”
Empty skins finally create a hunger for a prophet
This verse is one part of that explanation in 2 Kings 3:9–14. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- 2 Kings 3:9–14
Read 2 Kings 3:10 with 3:9–14. The selected wording supplies one step in the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: After seven days without water, Jehoram interprets disaster, Jehoshaphat asks for a prophet, and Elisha receives them while rebuking Israel's king.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “The armies run out of water and seek Elisha,” 2 Kings 3:10 advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence through the wording “And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: 2 Kings 3:1–8 establishes this prior movement: Jehoram receives a mixed royal evaluation, Mesha withholds tribute, and Israel, Judah, and Edom take the wilderness route toward Moab. 2 Kings 3:9–14 responds to the pressure, need, word, or action already established; that evidenced relationship, rather than database adjacency alone, explains its placement.
Read 2 Kings 3:9–14 together
Why these verses belong together: 2 Kings 3:9–14 forms one scene or regnal notice: After seven days without water, Jehoram interprets disaster, Jehoshaphat asks for a prophet, and Elisha receives them while rebuking Israel's king.
Verse 9. 9 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.
Verse 10. 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!
Verse 11. 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.
Verse 12. 12 And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the LORD is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.
Verse 13. 13 And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab.
Verse 14. 14 And Elisha said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee.
Follow the Context
- After seven days without water, Jehoram interprets disaster, Jehoshaphat asks for a prophet, and Elisha receives them while rebuking Israel's king.
- The unit closes by establishing the result or tension named in “The armies run out of water and seek Elisha” before the next narrated movement.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
2 Kings 3:10 does not permit the wording “And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. Crisis does not prove God arranged a trap, and prophetic criticism does not permit humiliating people who seek help.
What Remains True
Divine mercy is received as gift rather than technique, entitlement, payment, spectacle, or a measure used to blame people whose outcome differs. This unit tests that truth through the narrated movement: After seven days without water, Jehoram interprets disaster, Jehoshaphat asks for a prophet, and Elisha receives them while rebuking Israel's king. In 2 Kings 3:10, the concrete line “And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver…” keeps that truth accountable to narrated evidence.
Teach It Back
In 70–220 words, explain 2 Kings 3:10's role in 3:9–14. Paraphrase “And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver…,” identify one agent or affected person, state one material source or historical limit, and name one conclusion the context does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read 2 Kings 3:9–14 — The armies run out of water and seek ElishaSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: 2 Kings 3:9–14, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 2 Kings
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, royal formulas, clause relationships, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/2Kgs.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 3:9–14
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: 2 Kings with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: A unit-bounded translation comparison plus only the lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, or older-English notes actually printed for these verses; silence is not treated as evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible 2 Kings PDF, printed pp. 629–631, translation and translator notes for 3:9–14
Open source ↗