Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

And stood in the border - On the north side of the wady, ready to defend their territory.

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible

THE DEFEAT OF THE MOABITES BY THE COALITION

"Now when the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them, they gathered themselves together, all that were able to put on armor, and upward, and stood on the border. And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water over against them as red as blood: and they said, This is blood; the kings are surely destroyed, and they have smitten each man his fellow: now therefore, Moab, to the spoil. And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them; and they went forward into the land, smiting the Moabites. And they beat down their cities; and on every good piece of land they cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the fountains of water, and felled all the good trees, until in Kir-hareseth only they left the stones thereof howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it."

This paragraph states merely that the victory over Moab was granted, even as the prophet had said and that the Israelites ruthlessly carried out their ancient equivalent of the "scorched earth" invasion. However, it was not in the will of God that Moab should again become tributary to Israel; and accordingly, there came an abrupt end of this destructive campaign, leaving Moab independent of Israel.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

And when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them,.... The kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom:

they gathered all that were able to put on armour, and upward; that were of an age capable of that, and all who were more grown; or "girt on a girdle"^F12חגר חגרה "eingente cingulo", Montanus. , a military one, with which the sword was girt, who were at age to wear and knew how to wield a sword: and stood in the border; of their land, between Edom and them, to defend themselves and their country against these invaders.

Wesley's Explanatory Notes

And when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them, they gathered all that were able to put on armour, and upward, and stood in the border.

The border — Of their country, to defend the passage.

John Trapp Complete Commentary

2 Kings 3:21 And when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them, they gathered all that were able to put on armour, and upward, and stood in the border.

Ver. 21. They gathered all that were able to put on armour.] In Scotland, they have an ancient custom, in cases of importance, to command the fire cross to be carried; that is, two firebrands set in fashion of a cross, and pitched upon the point of a spear, and proclamation is thereupon made that all men over sixteen years of age, and under sixty, shall come into the field against the common enemy. (a)

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

To put on armour, Heb. to gird on a girdle, i.e. a military girdle, to which the sword was fastened, 2 Samuel 20:8 1 Kings 2:5.

In the border, or, in that border, to wit, of their country, which was towards Edom, which way they understood the kings came. Here they stood probably to defend the passages into their country.

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments

2 Kings 3:21. All that were able to put on armour and upward — That is, from youths, that were but just able to put on armour, to those that were far advanced in life; so that none were exempted. And stood in the border —

Of their country, intending to defend themselves, but not to march out of their country to give the enemy battle.

George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary

Upon them. Hebrew, "and upward," both soldiers and those who were usually exempt from service.

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes

put on armour. Hebrew gird a girdle.

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged

And when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them, they gathered all that were able to put on armour, and upward, and stood in the border.

They gathered all that were able to put on armour [ mikol (Hebrew #3605) chogeer (Hebrew #2296) ch

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(21) And when . . . heard . . . they gathered.—Now all the Moabites had heard . . . and had gathered themselves: literally, had been summoned, called together (Judges 7:23).

All that were able to put on armour.—From every one girding on a girdle, and upwards—i.e., all of adult age, all who could bear arms. It was a levy en masse of the male population for the defence of the country.

Stood in.—Had taken their stand on the frontier.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

gathered

Heb. were cried together. put on armour. Heb. gird himself with a girdle.

1 Kings 20:11; Ephesians 6:14