13 Now Avshalom the son of David had a beautiful sister named Tamar. Some time after the previous events, Amnon the son of David fell in love with her. ² Amnon became so obsessed with his sister Tamar that he became ill, for she was a virgin, and Amnon thought it would be impossible to approach her. ³ But Amnon had a friend named Yonadav the son of Shim‘ah David’s brother; and Yonadav was a very shrewd fellow. ⁴ He asked him, “Why, son of the king, are you growing thinner every day? Won’t you tell me?” Amnon answered him, “I’m in love with Tamar, my brother Avshalom’s sister.” ⁵ Yonadav said to him, “Lie down on your bed, and pretend you’re sick. When your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come and give me food to eat, and have her prepare the food where I can watch. I’ll eat what she serves me.” ⁶ So Amnon lay down and pretended he was sick. When the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, “Please let my sister Tamar come and make me a couple of cakes here where I can watch, and I’ll eat what she serves me.” ⁷ David sent this instruction home to Tamar: “Go now to your brother Amnon’s house, and prepare him some food.” ⁸ So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house; he was lying down. She took dough, kneaded it, made cakes while he watched, and baked the cakes. ⁹ Then she took the pan and turned them out in front of him, but he refused to eat. Amnon said, “Have everyone leave me”; and everyone left him. ¹⁰ Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the room, so that I can have you serve me. Tamar took the cakes she had made and brought them into the room to Amnon her brother. ¹¹ But when she brought them near, so that he could eat, he grabbed her and said to her, “Come to bed with me, my sister.” ¹² “No, my brother,” she answered him, “don’t force me! Things like this aren’t done in Isra’el; don’t behave so disgracefully! ¹³ Where could I go with such shame? And as for you, you will be regarded as one of Isra’el’s vulgar brutes. Now therefore, please! Speak to the king, because he won’t keep me from you.” ¹⁴ However, he wouldn’t listen to her; and since he was stronger than she, he overpowered her and raped her. ¹⁵ But then he was filled with utter revulsion for her — his hatred of her was even greater than the love he had had for her before. Amnon said to her, “Get up, and get out of here!” ¹⁶ “No,” she objected, “because throwing me out like this is an even worse thing than what you’ve already done to me!” But he wouldn’t listen to her; ¹⁷ he called his personal servant and said, “Get rid of this woman for me! Throw her out, and lock the door after her!” ¹⁸ She was wearing a long-sleeved robe (this was how they used to dress the king’s daughters who were virgins). His servant took her out and locked the door after her. ¹⁹ Tamar put ashes on her head, tore her long-sleeved robe that she was wearing, laid her hand on her head and went off, crying aloud as she went.

²⁰ Avshalom her brother said to her, “Has Amnon your brother been with you? But now, my sister, keep quiet; because he’s your brother. Don’t take the matter to heart.” But Tamar remained desolate in her brother Avshalom’s house.

²¹ When King David heard about all these things, he became very angry. ²² As for Avshalom, he refused to say a word to Amnon, either good or bad; for Avshalom hated Amnon for having raped his sister Tamar.

²³ Two years later, when Avshalom had sheep-shearers in Ba‘al-Hatzor, near Efrayim, Avshalom invited all the king’s sons. ²⁴ Avshalom went to the king and said, “Your servant has sheep-shearers; please let the king and his servants come along with your servant.” ²⁵ The king replied to Avshalom, “No, my son, let’s not all go — we don’t want to be a burden to you.” Avshalom pressed him, but he wouldn’t go; however he gave him his blessing. ²⁶ Then Avshalom said, “If you won’t go, then please let my brother Amnon go with us.” The king said to him, “Why should he go with you?” ²⁷ But Avshalom kept pressing him, so he let Amnon and all the king’s sons go with him.

²⁸ Avshalom ordered his servants, “Pay close attention: when Amnon is in high spirits from drinking wine, and I say to you, ‘Kill Amnon,’ then strike him down. Don’t be afraid — I’m the one ordering you to do it — but take courage, and be bold.” ²⁹ Avshalom’s servants did to Amnon as Avshalom had ordered. At this, all the king’s sons jumped up, mounted their mules and fled.

³⁰ While they were on their way, the news came to David that Avshalom had killed all the king’s sons, and not one of them was left alive. ³¹ The king got up, tore his clothes and lay on the ground, while all his servants stood by with their clothes torn too. ³² But then Yonadav, the son of Shim‘ah, David’s brother, spoke up; he said, “My lord shouldn’t think they have killed all the young men, the king’s sons. Only Amnon is dead; for Avshalom has meant to do this ever since the day he raped his sister Tamar. ³³ So my lord the king shouldn’t take it as seriously as if all the king’s sons are dead; only Amnon is dead.”

³⁴ However, Avshalom took flight. The young man keeping watch looked up and saw many people coming along the road behind him on the hillside. ³⁵ Yonadav said to the king, “Here, the king’s sons have come; it’s just as your servant said.” ³⁶ The moment he finished speaking, the king’s sons came, cried out and wept; and the king too, with all his servants, cried out in great pain. ³⁷ Avshalom fled and went to Talmai the son of ‘Ammihud, king of G’shur. David mourned for his son every day. ³⁸ So Avshalom fled, went to G’shur and stayed there three years. ³⁹ But as King David became reconciled to the death of his son Amnon, he was increasingly filled with longing to see Avshalom.

14 Yo’av the son of Tz’ruyah perceived that the king missed Avshalom; ² so Yo’av sent to T’koa, brought from there a clever woman and said to her, “Please, pretend you’re a mourner. Put on mourning clothes, and don’t anoint yourself with oil, but appear to be a woman who has mourned for the dead a long time. ³ Go in to the king and speak to him in this fashion — ” and then Yo’av told her just what to say. ⁴ When the woman of T’koa spoke to the king, she fell down with her face to the ground, prostrating herself, and said, “King, help!” ⁵ The king said to her, “What’s the trouble?” She answered, “I’m a widow. After my husband died, ⁶ my two sons were out in the field; and they got into a fight with each other. There was no one to separate them, and one hit the other and killed him. ⁷ Now the whole family has come against me, your servant; they’re saying, ‘Hand over the one who hit his brother, so that we can put him to death for killing his brother.’ They want to destroy the heir as well and thus quench my one remaining coal; then my husband will have neither name nor survivor anywhere on earth.”

⁸ The king said to the woman, “Go back home; I myself will decide what to do about you.” ⁹ The woman of T’koa said to the king, “My lord, king, let the guilt be on me and my father’s family; the king and his throne be guiltless.” ¹⁰ The king answered, “If anyone says anything to you, bring him to me; and he won’t bother you any more.” ¹¹ “Please,” she said, “let the king swear by Adonai your God that the blood avengers won’t do any more destroying, so they won’t destroy my son.” He said, “As Adonai lives, not one of your son’s hairs will fall to the ground.”

¹² Then the woman said, “Please allow your servant to say something else to my lord the king.” “Go on,” he replied. ¹³ The woman said, “Why is it, then, that you have produced a situation exactly like this against God’s people? By saying what you have said, the king has virtually incriminated himself — in that the king does not bring home again the son he banished. ¹⁴ For we will all die someday; we’ll be like water spilled on the ground that can’t be gathered up again; and God makes no exception for anyone. The king should think of some way to keep the son he banished from being forever an outcast. ¹⁵ Now the reason I came to speak about this matter to my lord the king is that the people were intimidating me; so your servant said, ‘I will speak now to the king; maybe the king will do what his servant is asking. ¹⁶ For the king will listen and rescue his servant from the hands of those who would destroy me and my son together from our share of God’s inheritance.’ ¹⁷ Then your servant said, ‘Please let my lord the king say something that will give me relief; for my lord the king is like an angel of God in discerning good from bad — and may Adonai your God be with you.’”

¹⁸ The king then answered the woman: “I’m going to ask you a question, and please don’t hide anything from me.” The woman said, “Let my lord the king now speak.” ¹⁹ The king asked, “Did Yo’av put you up to this?” The woman answered, “As you live, my lord the king, when my lord the king speaks, no one can avoid the issue by turning either right or left. Yes, it was your servant Yo’av who had me do this, and he put in my mouth every word you have heard your servant say. ²⁰ Your servant Yo’av did this in order to bring about some change in the situation. But my lord is wise, he has the wisdom of an angel of God when it comes to understanding anything going on in the land.”

²¹ The king said to Yo’av, “All right, I am granting this request. Go, and bring back young Avshalom.” ²² Yo’av fell to the ground on his face, prostrating himself, and blessed the king; Yo’av said, “Today your servant knows that I have won your favor, my lord, king, because the king has done what your servant requested.” ²³ Then Yo’av got up, went to G’shur and brought Avshalom to Yerushalayim. ²⁴ However, the king said, “Let him return to his own house, but he is not to appear in my presence.” So Avshalom returned to his own house and did not appear before the king.

²⁵ Now in all Isra’el there was no one more praised for his beauty than Avshalom — there was no defect on him from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. ²⁶ He would cut his hair only once a year, at the end of the year; and the only reason he cut it then was because it weighed him down. He weighed the hair from his head at 200 shekels (using the royal weight) [about five pounds]. ²⁷ To Avshalom were born three sons and one daughter, whose name was Tamar; she was a beautiful woman.

²⁸ Avshalom lived two years in Yerushalayim without appearing before the king. ²⁹ Then Avshalom summoned Yo’av, planning to send him to the king; but he refused to come to him. He summoned him a second time, but he still wouldn’t come. ³⁰ So he said to his servants, “See, Yo’av’s field is close to mine, and he has barley there; go, and set it on fire.” Avshalom’s servants set the field on fire. ³¹ Then Yo’av got up, went to Avshalom at his house and asked him, “Why did your servants set my field on fire?” ³² Avshalom answered Yo’av, “Look, I sent a message to you to come here, so that I could send you to the king to ask, ‘Why did I come from G’shur? It would have been better for me if I had stayed there. So now, let me appear before the king; and if I’m guilty of anything, he can kill me.’”

³³ Yo’av went to the king and told him; and when he had called for Avshalom, he went to the king and prostrated himself with his face to the ground before the king. Then the king kissed Avshalom.

15 Some time later, Avshalom prepared himself a chariot and horses, with fifty men to run ahead of him. ² He would get up early and stand by the road leading to the city gate; and if someone had a case that was to come before the king for judgment, Avshalom would call to him and ask, “What city are you from?” and he would answer, “Your servant is from the such-and-such tribe in Isra’el.” ³ Avshalom would say to him, “Look, your cause is good and just; but the king hasn’t deputized anyone to hear your case.” ⁴ Then Avshalom would continue, “Now if I were made judge in the land, anyone with a suit or other cause could come to me, and I would see that he gets justice!” ⁵ Moreover, whenever any man came close to prostrate himself before him, he would put out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him. ⁶ This is how Avshalom behaved toward anyone in Isra’el who came to the king for judgment, and in this way Avshalom stole the hearts of the people of Isra’el.

⁷ At the end of forty years, Avshalom said to the king, “Please let me go to Hevron and fulfill the vow I made to Adonai. ⁸ Your servant made a vow while I was staying at G’shur in Aram to the effect that if Adonai would bring me back to Yerushalayim, then I would serve Adonai.” ⁹ The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he set out and went to Hevron.

¹⁰ But Avshalom sent spies through all the tribes of Isra’el to say, “The moment you hear the sound of the shofar, then start proclaiming, ‘Avshalom is king in Hevron.’” ¹¹ With Avshalom went 200 men from Yerushalayim who had been invited; they went innocently, knowing nothing about the scheme. ¹² Avshalom sent for Achitofel the Giloni, David’s counselor, to come from his town Giloh and be with him while offering the sacrifices. The conspiracy grew strong, because the number of people favoring Avshalom kept increasing.

¹³ A messenger came to David saying, “The men of Isra’el have aligned themselves with Avshalom.” ¹⁴ David said to all his servants with him in Yerushalayim, “Get up! We must flee! Otherwise none of us will escape from Avshalom. Hurry, and leave; or he will soon overtake us, attack us and put the city to the sword.” ¹⁵ The king’s servants said to the king, “Here, your servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king decides.” ¹⁶ So the king set out, and all his household after him. The king left ten women who were concubines to care for the palace. ¹⁷ The king set out with all the people after him, but they waited at the last house ¹⁸ for all his servants to pass by him in review; all the K’reti and P’leti and all the Gittim (600 men who had accompanied him from Gat) passed in review before the king.

¹⁹ Then the king said to Ittai the Gitti, “You too? Why are you going with us? Go back, and stay with your king, since you are both a foreigner and in exile from your own place. ²⁰ You arrived only yesterday; should I ask you to wander around with us? There’s no telling where I may go. Return, and take your kinsmen back with you. Grace and truth be with you.” ²¹ But Ittai answered the king, “As Adonai lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether for death or for life, your servant will be there too.” ²² “Go, move along,” said David to Ittai; and Ittai the Gitti moved on, accompanied by all his men and the little ones with him.

²³ The whole country wept and wailed as all the people left. When the king crossed Vadi Kidron, all the people crossed, too, heading toward the desert road. ²⁴ Tzadok also came, accompanied by all the L’vi’im bearing the ark for the covenant of God. They set the ark of God down, but Evyatar went up until all the people had finished leaving the city. ²⁵ The king said to Tzadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in Adonai’s sight, he will bring me back and show me both it and the place where it is kept. ²⁶ But if he says, ‘I am displeased with you,’ then — here I am; let him do to me whatever seems good to him.” ²⁷ The king then said to Tzadok the cohen, “Do you see? Return to the city in peace, your two sons with you — Achima‘atz your own son and Y’honatan the son of Evyatar. ²⁸ I will wait on the desert plains until a message with new information comes from you.” ²⁹ So Tzadok and Evyatar carried the ark of God back to Yerushalayim and stayed there.

³⁰ David continued up the road to the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went up, head covered and barefoot; and all the people with him had their heads covered and wept as they went up. ³¹ One of them told David, “Achitofel is among the conspirators with Avshalom.” David said, “Adonai, please! Turn Achitofel’s advice into foolishness!”

³² When David reached the top of the ascent, where it was customary to worship God, Hushai the Arki came to meet him with his tunic torn and earth on his head. ³³ David said to him, “If you go on with me, you will become a burden to me. ³⁴ But if you go back to the city and tell Avshalom, ‘King, I will be your servant; just as I was your father’s servant in the past, so I will now be your servant’ — then you will be able to frustrate Achitofel’s advice for me. ³⁵ You have Tzadok and Evyatar the cohanim there with you. So whatever you hear from the king’s house, you tell to Tzadok and Evyatar the cohanim. ³⁶ Their two sons, Achima‘atz the son of Tzadok and Y’honatan the son of Evyatar, are there with them; through them send me everything you hear.” ³⁷ So Hushai David’s friend came into the city when Avshalom was about to enter Yerushalayim.