Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Kings 3:16

"And he said, Thus saith Jehovah, Make this valley full of trenches." — 2 Kings 3:16 (ASV)

Make. — Right (infinitive, equivalent to an energetic imperative).

Valley. — Nahal, wadi, torrent-bed, gully. According to Thenius, “the brook Zered” of Deuteronomy 2:13 is meant. This refers to the present Wady el-Ahsy (or el-Hasa), which forms the natural southern boundary of Moab and from which several gorges lead up into the Moabite highlands. (See Isaiah 15:7.)

Full of ditches. — Literally, pits, pits. (Compare to Genesis 14:10: Wells, wells of bitumen.) The pits were to gather the water, which otherwise would soon have run away in the bed of the torrent (Jeremiah 14:3–4). The style of the oracle is stamped with the liveliness and originality of historic truth.