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Read the Bible

Brenton's Septuagint

2 Kings 3:8

And he said, What way shall I go up? and he said, The way of the wilderness of Edom.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Edom;   Moabites;   Thompson Chain Reference - Jehoshaphat;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Deserts;   Kings;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Mesha;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Beersheba;   Moab;   Palestine;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Government;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Jehoram;   Jehoshaphat;   Moabite Stone;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Dibon;   Edom;   Judah, Kingdom of;   Holman Bible Dictionary - King, Kingship;   Kings, 1 and 2;   Kir-Hareseth;   Mesha;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Edom, Edomites;   Jehoshaphat;   Medeba;   Mesha;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Desert, Wilderness;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Joram, Jehoram;   Mesha ;   Moab, Moabites ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Kirharaseth;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Armor;   Arms;   Jehoshaphat;   Mesha;   Moab;   Samaria;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Eli'sha;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Israel;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Edox, Idumea;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
He asked, “Which route should we take?”
Hebrew Names Version
He said, Which way shall we go up? He answered, The way of the wilderness of Edom.
King James Version
And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way through the wilderness of Edom.
English Standard Version
Then he said, "By which way shall we march?" Jehoram answered, "By the way of the wilderness of Edom."
New Century Version
Jehoshaphat asked, "Which way should we attack?" Joram answered, "Through the Desert of Edom."
New English Translation
He then asked, "Which invasion route are we going to take?" Jehoram answered, "By the road through the Desert of Edom."
Amplified Bible
Jehoram said, "Which way shall we go up?" Jehoshaphat answered, "The way through the Wilderness of Edom."
New American Standard Bible
Then he said, "Which way shall we go up?" And he answered, "The way of the wilderness of Edom."
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then said he, What way shall we goe vp? And he answered, The way of the wildernesse of Edom.
Legacy Standard Bible
And he said, "Which way shall we go up?" And he answered, "The way of the wilderness of Edom."
Contemporary English Version
But which way should we go?" "We will march through Edom Desert," Joram replied.
Complete Jewish Bible
Which route should we take?" he added. "The road through the desert of Edom," answered Y'horam.
Darby Translation
And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he said, By way of the wilderness of Edom.
Easy-to-Read Version
Jehoshaphat asked Joram, "Which way should we go?" Joram answered, "We should go through the desert of Edom."
George Lamsa Translation
And he said to him, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, By the way of the wilderness of Edom.
Good News Translation
What route shall we take for the attack?" "We will go the long way through the wilderness of Edom," Joram answered.
Lexham English Bible
Then he said, "Which way shall we go up?" And he answered, "By way of the wilderness of Edom."
Literal Translation
And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way through the wilderness of Edom.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And sayde morouer: Which waye wil we go vp? He sayde: by the waye in the wyldernesse of Edom.
American Standard Version
And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way of the wilderness of Edom.
Bible in Basic English
And he said, Which way are we to go? And he said in answer, By the waste land of Edom.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he saide: What way shall we go vp? And he aunswered: The way through the wildernesse of Edom.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And he said: 'Which way shall we go up?' And he answered: 'The way of the wilderness of Edom.'
King James Version (1611)
And he said, Which way shall we goe vp? And he answered, The way through the wildernesse of Edom.
English Revised Version
And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way of the wilderness of Edom.
Berean Standard Bible
Then he asked, "Which way shall we go up?" "By way of the Desert of Edom," replied Joram.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And he seide, Bi what weie schulen we stie? And he answeride, Bi the deseert of Ydumee.
Young's Literal Translation
And he saith, `Where [is] this -- the way we go up?' and he saith, `The way of the wilderness of Edom.'
Update Bible Version
And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way of the wilderness of Edom.
Webster's Bible Translation
And he said, which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way through the wilderness of Edom.
World English Bible
He said, Which way shall we go up? He answered, The way of the wilderness of Edom.
New King James Version
Then he said, "Which way shall we go up?" And he answered, "By way of the Wilderness of Edom."
New Living Translation
Then Jehoshaphat asked, "What route will we take?" "We will attack from the wilderness of Edom," Joram replied.
New Life Bible
Then he said, "Which way should we go?" And he answered, "By the way of the desert of Edom."
New Revised Standard
Then he asked, "By which way shall we march?" Jehoram answered, "By the way of the wilderness of Edom."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And he said - Which way, then, shall we go up? And he said - The way of the wilderness of Edom.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And he said: Which way shall we go up? But he answered: By the desert of Edom.
Revised Standard Version
Then he said, "By which way shall we march?" Jeho'ram answered, "By the way of the wilderness of Edom."
THE MESSAGE
Joram of Israel Joram son of Ahab began his rule over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. He was king for twelve years. In God 's sight he was a bad king. But he wasn't as bad as his father and mother—to his credit he destroyed the obscene Baal stone that his father had made. But he hung on to the sinful practices of Jeroboam son of Nebat, the ones that had corrupted Israel for so long. He wasn't about to give them up. King Mesha of Moab raised sheep. He was forced to give the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and another 100,000 rams. When Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. So King Joram set out from Samaria and prepared Israel for war. His first move was to send a message to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: "The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Would you join me and fight him?" "I'm with you all the way," said Jehoshaphat. "My troops are your troops, my horses are your horses. Which route shall we take?" "Through the badlands of Edom."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
He said, "Which way shall we go up?" And he answered, "The way of the wilderness of Edom."

Contextual Overview

6 And king Joram went forth in that day out of Samaria, and numbered Israel. 7 And he went and sent to Josaphat king of Juda, saying, The king of Moab has rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against Moab to war? And he said, I will go up: thou art as I, I am as thou; as my people, so is thy people, as my horses, so are thy horses. 8 And he said, What way shall I go up? and he said, The way of the wilderness of Edom. 9 And the king of Israel went, and the king of Juda, and the king of Edom: and they fetched a compass of seven days’ journey; and there was no water for the army, and for the cattle that went with them. 10 And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the Lord should have called the three kings on their way, to give them into the hand of Moab. 11 And Josaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may enquire of the Lord by him? And one of the servants of the king of Israel answered and said, There is here Elisaie son of Saphat, who poured water on the hands of Eliu. 12 And Josaphat said, He has the word of the Lord. And the king of Israel, and Josaphat king of Juda, and the king of Edom, went down to him. 13 And Elisaie said to the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? go to the prophets of thy father, and the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said to him, Has the Lord called the three kings to deliver them into the hands of Moab? 14 And Elisaie said, As the Lord of hosts before whom I stand lives, unless I regarded the presence of Josaphat the king of Juda, I would not have looked on thee, nor seen thee. 15 And now fetch me a harper. And it came to pass, as the harper harped, that the hand of the Lord came upon him.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the wilderness of Edom: The wilderness of Edom was probably the same as that of Zin or Kadesh, through which the children of Israel passed; extending southward from the Dead Sea, to the eastern branch of the Red Sea. See note on Numbers 13:21. Numbers 21:4, Malachi 1:2, Malachi 1:3

Cross-References

Genesis 3:1
And the two were naked, both Adam and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Genesis 3:2
Now the serpent was the most crafty of all the brutes on the earth, which the Lord God made, and the serpent said to the woman, Wherefore has God said, Eat not of every tree of the garden?
Genesis 3:3
And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden,
Genesis 3:10
And the Lord God called Adam and said to him, Adam, where art thou?
Genesis 3:12
And God said to him, Who told thee that thou wast naked, unless thou hast eaten of the tree concerning which I charged thee of it alone not to eat?
Genesis 3:21
And Adam called the name of his wife Life, because she was the mother of all living.
Genesis 3:22
And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife garments of skin, and clothed them.
Deuteronomy 4:33
if a nation have heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard and hast lived;
Deuteronomy 5:25
And now let us not die, for this great fire will consume us, if we shall hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, and we shall die.
Deuteronomy 23:14
Because the Lord thy God walks in thy camp to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemy before thy face; and thy camp shall be holy, and there shall not appear in thee a disgraceful thing, and so he shall turn away from thee.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he said, which way shall we go up.... That is, Jehoram said so to Jehoshaphat, consulting with him which was the best way to take to the land of Moab, whether the shortest way, over Jordan; or some other:

and he answered, the way through the wilderness of Edom; which bordered upon it, and the same through which the Israelites passed; for Kadesh was on the extreme border of Edom, whither they came, Numbers 20:1 and this Jehoshaphat proposed, partly that they might come upon Moab unawares, and attack them where they were weakest, and not on their guard; and partly, to take the king of Edom with them, who was no other than Jehoshaphat's deputy, and so be assisting to them, and prevent him from revolting, which otherwise he might take this opportunity of doing.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The readiest and most natural “way” was across the Jordan near Jericho into the Arboth-Moab, and then along the eastern shore of the Dead Sea to Moab proper, the tract south of the Arnon. But the way chosen was that which led to the Edomite country, namely, round the southern extremity of the Dead Sea, and across the Arabah, or continuation of the Jordan and Dead Sea valley. Thus would be effected a junction with the forces of Edom, which had resumed its dependence on Judah, though the year before it had been in alliance with Moab 2 Chronicles 20:22; and they would come upon the Moabites unprepared.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Kings 3:8. Through the wilderness of Edom. — Because he expected the king of Edom to join them, as we find he did; for, being tributary to Judah, he was obliged to do it.


 
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