2 Kings / Question
When the king of Moab was hard-pressed, he took his firstborn son who was to reign after him and offered him as a burnt offering on the wall. The text says great wrath came against Israel, and they withdrew and returned to their own land (2 Kings 3:26–27).
In 2 Kings 3:26–27, the Moabite king realizes the battle has turned against him and attempts a bold breakout with 700 swordsmen, aiming at the king of Edom, but fails. In desperation he then sacrifices his firstborn heir as a burnt offering on the city wall. This scene concludes the larger war story in 2 Kings 3:4–27. Moab’s rebellion leads Israel, Judah, and Edom into a joint campaign that begins with logistical crisis and prophetic direction earlier in the chapter. The narrative moves from strategy and siege pressure toward a sudden reversal at the very end.
These verses close the campaign against Moab by showing a sudden, grim turning point. The Moabite king is losing, tries a targeted breakout with 700 swordsmen toward the king of Edom, and fails.
A careful answer keeps the immediate passage, the book's argument, and the whole-Bible storyline together, so the question is answered in context instead of as a detached idea.
Start with 2 Kings 3:26-27, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.
26When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too severe for him, he took with him seven hundred men who drew sword, to break through to the king of Edom; but they could not.
27Then he took his eldest son who would have reigned in his place, and offered him for a burnt offering on the wall. There was great wrath against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.