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 evil in the sight of the Lord, though not like his father and his mother; for he removed the memorial stone of Baal which his father had made. 3Nevertheless, he clung to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel; he did not abandon them. Now Mesha the king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he used to make tribute payments to the king of Israel of a hundred thousand lambs, and the wool of a hundred thousand rams. 5However, when King Ahab died, the king of Moab broke with the king of Israel. 6So King Jehoram left Samaria for battle at that time and mustered all Israel.

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

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

Cross-references for 2 Kings 3:4

• Genesis 13:2Now Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold.
• Genesis 26:13and the man became rich, and continued to grow richer until he became very wealthy;
• 2 Chronicles 26:10He also built towers in the wilderness and carved out many cisterns, for he had much livestock, both in the lowland and in the plain. He also had plowmen and vinedressers in the hill country and the fertile fields, for he loved the soil.
• Job 1:3His possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and very many servants; and that man was the greatest of all the men of the east.
• Job 42:12The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand female donkeys.
• 2 Samuel 8:2And He defeated Moab, and measured them with the line, making them lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death, and a full line to keep alive. And the Moabites became servants to David, bringing tribute.
• 1 Chronicles 18:2And he defeated Moab, and the Moabites became servants to David, bringing tribute.
• Psalms 60:8Moab is My washbowl; I will throw My sandal over Edom; Shout loud, Philistia, because of Me!”
• Psalms 108:9Moab is My washbowl; I will throw My sandal over Edom; I will shout aloud over Philistia.”
• Isaiah 16:1Send the tribute lamb to the ruler of the land, From Sela by way of the wilderness to the mountain of the daughter of Zion.

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
• Colour
• Compass
• Indignation
• Jehoram
• Jehoshaphat
• Mesha
• Moabite Stone
• Omri

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