25 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 its stones; however the men armed with slings went about it, and struck it.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
Kir-Haraseth, also Kir-Hareseth, is identified almost certainly with the modern Kerak, a strong city on the highland immediately east of the southern part of the Dead Sea. It was the great fortress of Moab, though not the capital, which was Rabbath or Rabbah. It was an important strong-hold at the time of the Crusades, and is still a place of great strength. Kir seems to have meant "fortress." It is found in Cir-cesium, Car-chemish, etc.
Kir-Haraseth resisted all the attempts to dismantle it; but the slingers found places on the hills which surrounded it, from where they could throw their stones into it and harass the garrison, though they could not take the town.
On every good piece of land - On all cultivated ground, and especially fields that were sown.
Only in Kir-haraseth - This was the royal city of the Moabites, and, as we learn from Scripture, exceedingly strong; (see Isaiah 16:7, Isaiah 16:11); so that it is probable the confederate armies could not easily reduce it. The slingers, we are informed, went about the wall, and smote all the men that appeared on it, while no doubt the besieging army was employed in sapping the foundations.
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 (q) Kirharaseth left they the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about [it], and smote it.
(q) Which was one of the principle cities of the Moabites, in which they left nothing but the walls.
And they beat down the cities,.... Demolished the walls of them, and houses in them, wherever they came:
and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone, and filled it; which they had taken out of the walls and houses they pulled down; or which they picked up in the highway, as they passed along, being a stony country; or which being laid in heaps, gathered out of the fields, they took and scattered them all over them:
and they stopped all the wells of water; with stones and dirt:
and felled all the good trees; fruit bearing ones; See Gill on 2-Kings 3:19,
only in Kirharaseth left they the stones thereof; not able to demolish it, it being a strong fortified city, the principal of the kingdom, and into which the king of Moab had thrown himself, and the remains of his forces; of which see Isaiah 16:7,
howbeit, the slingers went about it, and smote it; smote the soldiers that appeared upon the walls of it; though Kimchi, and other Jewish writers, understand it of engineers, who cast out large stones from a sort of machines then in use, to batter down and break through the walls of cities.
Kir-haraseth--(now Kerak)--Castle of Moab--then, probably, the only fortress in the land.
Kir - haraseth - This was the royal city of the Moabites, into which the remnant of the Moabites were gathered, where also their king was with them. The stones - The walls and buildings of this city only were left; their whole country being destroyed. The slingers - Such as slung great stones against the walls to break them down, according to the manner of those times. Made breaches in the walls, by which they might enter the city, and take it.
*More commentary available at chapter level.