2nd Kings Chapter 3 verse 25 Holy Bible
And they beat down the 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.
read chapter 3 in ASV
Pulling down the towns, covering every good field with stones, stopping up all the water-springs, and cutting down all the good trees; they went on driving Moab before them till only in Kir-hareseth were there any Moabites; and the fighting-men went round the town raining stones on it.
read chapter 3 in BBE
And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone and filled it, and they stopped every well of water, and felled every good tree, until they left [only] the stones at Kirhareseth; and the slingers went about it, and smote it.
read chapter 3 in DARBY
And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the wells of water, and felled all the good trees: only in Kirharaseth left they the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it.
read chapter 3 in KJV
And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the wells of water, and felled all the good trees: only in Kirhara-seth they left the stones of it; but the slingers went about it, and smote it.
read chapter 3 in WBT
They beat down the cities; and on every good piece of land they cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the springs of water, and felled all the good trees, until in Kir Hareseth [only] they left the stones of it; however the men armed with slings went about it, and struck it.
read chapter 3 in WEB
and the cities they break down, and `on' every good portion they cast each his stone, and have filled it, and every fountain of water they stop, and every good tree they cause to fall -- till one had left its stones in Kir-Haraseth, and the slingers go round and smite it.
read chapter 3 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 25. - And they beat down the cities - i.e. destroyed them - leveled them with the ground - and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone (see ver. 19 and the comment ad loc.), and filled it [with stones]. And they stopped all the wells of water, and felled all the good trees - i.e. the fruit trees, δένδρα ἥμερα (Josephus) - only in Kir-haraseth left they the stones thereof; literally, until in Kir-haraseth - i.e., in Kir-haraseth only - left he the stones thereof. He (i.e. the commander, or the army) went on destroying and leveling the cities, until he came to Kir-haraseth, which proved too strong for him. There he was obliged to leave the stones untouched. Kir-haraseth, which is not mentioned among the early Moabite towns, nor even upon the Moabite Stone, and which is therefore thought to have been a newly constructed fortress (Ewald), was, in the later times, one of the most important of the strongholds of Moab (see Isaiah 15:1; Isaiah 16:7, 11; Jeremiah 48:36). It was sometimes called Kir-Moab, "the fortress of Moab." At what time it got the name of Kerak is uncertain; but we find it spoken of as Kerak-Moab by Ptolemy (about A.D. ), and by Stephen of Byzantium (about A.D. ). It was a place of much importance in the time of the Crusades. The situation is one of great strength. The fortress is built upon the top of a steep hill, surrounded on all sides by a deep arid narrow valley, which again is completely enclosed by mountains, rising higher than the fort itself. It is undoubtedly one of the strongest positions within the territory anciently possessed by the Moabites. Howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it. Ewald thinks that by "slingers" are meant, not mere ordinary slingers, but persons who worked more elaborate engines, as catapults and the like ('History of Israel,' vol. 4. p. 89, note, Eng. trans.). He is undoubtedly correct in saying that "all sorts of elaborate modes of attacking fortifications were very early known in Asia;" but it is very questionable whether the Hebrew word used (הַקַּלָּעִים) can mean anything but "slingers" in the usual sense. The LXX. translate by σφενδονῆται. The situation is one which would allow of "slingers," in the ordinary sense, sending their missiles into the place, and grievously harassing it.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(25) And they beat down the cities.--Rather, And the cities they would overthrow, describing what happened again and again.On every . . . filled it.--Literally, And every good plot, they would cast each man his stone, and fill it; and every fountain of water they would stop, and every good tree they would fell. All this as Elisha foretold, 2Kings 3:19.Only in Kir-haraseth left they the stones thereof.--Literally, as margin, until one left her stones in Kir-hareseth. This clause connects itself with the opening statement, "And the cities they would overthrow (or, kept overthrowing) until her stones were left in Kir-hareseth," i.e., the work of destruction stopped before the walls of this, the principal strong-hold of the country. In the other cities the invaders had not left one stone upon another.Kir-haraseth.--Called "Kir-moab," Isaiah 15:1, and "Kir-heres," Isaiah 16:11. The Targum on Isaiah 15 calls it "Kerak (castle) of Moab," and it still bears that name. It stands upon a steep cliff of chalk.Howbeit the slingers went about it.--And the slingers went round, surrounded it.And smote it--i.e., shot at the men on the walls with deadly effect. . . .
