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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)King Mesha of Moab was a sheep breeder. He used to pay the king of Israel an annual tribute of 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams.

Context of 2 Kings 3:4

2He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, but not as his father and mother had done. He got rid of the sacred stone of Baal that his father had made. 3Nevertheless he clung to the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn away from them. 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. 5But after Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 6So at that time King Joram set out from Samaria and mobilized 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

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 become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.
• Genesis 26:13The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy.
• 2 Chronicles 26:10He also built towers in the wilderness and dug many cisterns, because he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain. He had people working his fields and vineyards in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil.
• Job 1:3and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
• Job 42:12The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys.
• 2 Samuel 8:2David also defeated the Moabites. He made them lie down on the ground and measured them off with a length of cord. Every two lengths of them were put to death, and the third length was allowed to live. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought him tribute.
• 1 Chronicles 18:2David also defeated the Moabites, and they became subject to him and brought him tribute.
• Psalms 60:8Moab is my washbasin, on Edom I toss my sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
• Psalms 108:9Moab is my washbasin, on Edom I toss my sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
• Isaiah 16:1Send lambs as tribute to the ruler of the land, from Sela, across the desert, to the mount of Daughter 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