complete verse (2 Kings 3:25)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Kings 3:25:

  • Kupsabiny: “The soldiers of Israel destroyed the cities of the people of Moab and then they threw stones on every fertile field until the fields were covered. Every water hole was also stopped/sealed and every tree which is eaten fell. The only city left in the end was Kir-hareseth, but the soldiers who were using slings surrounded that city until they were close to take it.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “They destroyed the cities. They threw rocks on all the fields with plentiful crops until it was covered. They blocked up all the springs. Then they cut down all the good trees. In the end only their capital, Kir-hareseth, remained. But they also laid siege to that by shooting sling shots.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “They destroyed the towns, and threw- some stones -on the bountiful/fruitful farms/fields until it was-covered with stones. They covered the springs, and cut-down the good trees. Later on, only Kir Hareset was-left, but still they even surrounded it with their soldiers who have slings/things-to-hurl-or-flick and attacked-it.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The Israelis also destroyed their cities. And whenever they passed fertile fields, they threw rocks on those fields, until the fields were covered with rocks. They stopped water from flowing from the springs and cut down the fruit trees. Finally, only the capital city, Kir-Hareseth, remained. The Israeli soldiers who threw stones with slings surrounded the city and attacked it.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 2 Kings 3:25

This verse describes the fulfillment of most of the predictions made by Elisha in verse 19 (see the comments there). The exception to complete fulfillment is the survival of the capital city of Kirhareseth (or, Kir Heres), which is eventually also attacked. Kir Heres was located about 18 kilometers (11 miles) east of the Dead Sea and 24 kilometers (15 miles) south of the Arnon River.

They overthrew the cities: The Hebrew verb rendered overthrew is frequently used for tearing down (so New Century Version) or destroying (so Contemporary English Version, New International Version) cities and their walls. Revised English Bible uses the more technical term “razed.”

After the words felled all the good trees, the Septuagint adds “and they harried Moab” (so New English Bible/Revised English Bible). Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, however, gives a {B} rating to the Masoretic Text, which is followed by most translations.

Till only its stones were left in Kirhareseth: The Hebrew text at this point is unclear. The Masoretic Text, which is given a {B} rating by Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, may be translated literally as “until one had left [only] its stones in Kirhareseth.” The sense may be either (a) there remained nothing more of Kirhareseth than a pile of stones, or (b) Kirhareseth was the only Moabite place left.

The ancient versions reflect different ways of understanding the Hebrew, and some modern translations are based on adjustments to the Hebrew. Some scholars, for example, slightly change the verb and change the word for “its stones” to “only,” so that the text reads “until only Kirhareseth remained” (so Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia). But Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament is probably correct in understanding the sense to be that after all the other cities had been destroyed, only the walls of Kirhareseth remained in place. This interpretation is reflected in the following translations: “leaving only the stones of Kir-haresheth (intact)” (American Bible) and “Only the walls of Kir-hareseth were left” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). The name of this Moabite capital is better known as Kir Heres as indicated in the Good News Translation rendering. It is mentioned in Isa 16.7 and Jer 48.31, 36 and today is called el-Kerak.

The Hebrew noun translated slingers is found only here in the Old Testament. But two cognate words (a noun and a verb) occur more frequently. The related noun serves to describe the instrument used by David to kill the giant, Goliath, in 1 Sam 17. And the verb, meaning “to sling,” is also used in that story as well as in Jdg 20.16 and 1 Sam 25.29. Slingers may be rendered in some languages as “soldiers who threw stones” or “men armed with slings” (New International Version). Archaeological evidence indicates that men who used hand slings formed an attack unit in armies at that time in the ancient Near East.

Conquered: Good News Translation, New Revised Standard Version, New International Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Revised English Bible, and American Bible have the verb “attacked.” New Century Version maintains the translation “conquered,” which is an appropriate translation of the Hebrew verb here in some other contexts, such as 1 Kgs 15.20. However, here it literally means “to hit,” so a translation such as “bombarded” (New Jerusalem Bible) or “attacked” fits better here.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on 2 Kings 3:25

3:25a They destroyed the cities,

The ⌊Israelites⌋ destroyed ⌊their⌋ towns.

-or-

They destroyed the cities ⌊in/of Moab⌋ .

3:25b and each man threw stones on every good field

Each of them threw stones/rocks on all the fertile fields

-or-

⌊As they were passing by,⌋ they spoiled their good lands

3:25c until it was covered.

so that the land was covered with stones.

-or-

by covering them with stones.

3:25b-c (reordered)

And they covered all the good soil/land with stones.

3:25d They stopped up every spring

They stopped ⌊the water from flowing⌋ from all the springs,

-or-

They blocked ⌊the water from⌋ the springs.

3:25e and cut down every good tree.

and they chopped down all the fruitful trees.

-or-

Also, they cut down all the trees that produced good fruit.

3:25f Only Kir-haraseth was left with stones in place,

Finally, only the city of Kir Hareseth remained with its stone wall still standing.

-or-

At the end, only Kir Hareseth city was left ⌊unharmed⌋ . Its stone wall was still in place.

3:25g but men with slings surrounded it and attacked it as well.

But men shooting stones from slings surrounded the city and captured it.

-or-

But then soldiers using slings as weapons attacked the city from all sides and conquered it.

© 2020 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.

All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.

BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.