2 Kings 3:4

2 Kings 3:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster, and rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand lambs, and an hundred thousand rams, with the wool.
• New International Version (NIV)Now Mesha king of Moab raised sheep, and he had to pay the king of Israel a tribute of a hundred thousand lambs and the wool of a hundred thousand rams.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he had to deliver to the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheepbreeder, and he regularly paid the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs and the wool of one hundred thousand rams.

Context of 2 Kings 3:4

2He did things that the Lord said were evil. But he was not as bad as his father and his mother had been. Jehoram did throw away the stone pillar where people worshipped Baal. His father Ahab had made that pillar. 3But Jehoram continued to do the same bad things that Nebat's son Jeroboam had done. Jeroboam had caused many people in Israel to do those sins, and Jehoram did not stop doing them himself. Mesha, the king of Moab, was a sheep farmer. Every year he had to pay the king of Israel 100,000 male lambs and the wool from 100,000 male sheep. 5But after King Ahab died, the king of Moab turned against the king of Israel. 6So King Jehoram left Samaria to bring all Israel's army together. They were ready to attack Moab.

2 Kings 3:4 word by word

וּמֵישַׁ֥ע מֶֽלֶךְ־מוֹאָ֖ב הָיָ֣ה נֹקֵ֑ד וְהֵשִׁ֤יב לְמֶֽלֶךְ־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ מֵאָה־אֶ֣לֶף כָּרִ֔ים וּמֵ֥אָה אֶ֖לֶף אֵילִ֥ים צָֽמֶר׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Meshaמֵישַׁעmêysha‛ · MeshaH4338
• kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of Moabמוֹאָבmô'âb · MoabH4124
• was a sheepmasterנֹקֵדnôqêd · shepherdH5349
• and renderedשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• an hundredמֵאָהmê'âh mê'yâh · hundredH3967
• thousandאֶ֫לֶף'eleph · thousandH505
• lambsכַּרkar · ramH3733
• ramsאַ֫יִל'ayil · ramH352
• with the woolצֶ֫מֶרtsemer · woolH6785

Cross-references for 2 Kings 3:4

• Genesis 13:2Abram had many valuable things. He had many cows, and much silver and gold.
• Genesis 26:13Isaac became rich. His riches continued to grow so that he became a very important person.
• 2 Chronicles 26:10He also built towers in the desert. He dug holes in the ground to contain water. He needed water for his animals on the low hills and in the valleys, because he had many of them. He also enjoyed growing crops. He had men who worked in the fields and in the vineyards. These were on the hills and in places where crops would grow well.
• Job 1:3He had 7,000 sheep and 3,000 camels. He had 500 pairs of oxen and 500 donkeys. He also had many servants. He was the richest person in the east part of the world.
• Job 42:12After this, the Lord blessed Job more than in the beginning of his life. All these animals belonged to Job: 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 pairs of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.
• 2 Samuel 8:2David also won a battle against the Moabites. He made the Moabite prisoners lie down on the ground. Then he used a piece of rope to measure them into groups. When he had measured two groups, he would tell his men to kill all those prisoners. When he measured the next group, he would let those prisoners stay alive. So the Moabites were now under David's authority and they began to pay taxes to him.
• 1 Chronicles 18:2David also won a battle against the Moabites. They were now under David's authority and they paid taxes to him.
• Psalms 60:8But Moab is the place where I wash my hands. Edom is my servant. I can throw my shoes at him! I will shout loudly, because I have won against the Philistines.’
• Psalms 108:9But Moab is the place where I wash my hands. Edom is my servant. I can throw my shoes at him! I will shout aloud, because I have won against the Philistines.’
• Isaiah 16:1We must send sheep as gifts to the ruler of our land. Send them from Sela across the desert. Send them to Mount Zion in Jerusalem.

Commentaries on 2 Kings 3:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Was a sheepmaster - The original is נקד naked, of which the Septuagint could make nothing, and therefore retained the Hebrew word : but the Chaldee has גיתי מרי marey githey, "a sheepmaster;" Aquila has ; and Symmachus, ; all to the same sense. The original signifies one who marks or brands, probably from the marking of sheep. He fed many sheep, etc., and had them all marked in a particular way, in order to ascertain his property. A hundred thousand lambs…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Moab, the region immediately east of the Dead Sea and of the lower Jordan, though in part suited for agriculture, is in the main a great grazing country. Mesha resembled a modern Arab Sheikh, whose wealth is usually estimated by the number of his flocks and herds. His tribute of the wool of 100,000 lambs was a tribute in kind, the ordinary tribute at this time in the East. Mesha is the monarch who wrote the inscription on the “Moabite stone” (2 Kings 1:1…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-5The Moabite rebellion (see 2 Kings 1:1) started when they stopped paying their yearly tribute. The Moabite Stone (Mesha Stela) describes how Israel controlled northern Moab during the time of Omri and Ahab. This control continued under the rule of Ahaziah and Joram.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 4-64-6. Mesha king of Moab, &c.--As his dominions embraced an extensive pasture country, he paid, as annual tribute, the wool of a hundred thousand lambs and a hundred thousand rams. It is still common in the East to pay custom and taxes in the fruits or natural produce of the land.Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Kings 3:4

• Mesha
• Sheep

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Moab
• Moab; Moabites
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Moab, Moabite
• Colour
• Compass
• Indignation
• Jehoram

Commentaries on 2 Kings 3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings