2 Samuel 18
King James Version
18 And David numbered the people that were with him, and set captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds over them.
2 And David sent forth a third part of the people under the hand of Joab, and a third part under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said unto the people, I will surely go forth with you myself also.
3 But the people answered, Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us: but now thou art worth ten thousand of us: therefore now it is better that thou succour us out of the city.
4 And the king said unto them, What seemeth you best I will do. And the king stood by the gate side, and all the people came out by hundreds and by thousands.
5 And the king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom. And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains charge concerning Absalom.
6 So the people went out into the field against Israel: and the battle was in the wood of Ephraim;
7 Where the people of Israel were slain before the servants of David, and there was there a great slaughter that day of twenty thousand men.
8 For the battle was there scattered over the face of all the country: and the wood devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.
9 And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away.
10 And a certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanged in an oak.
11 And Joab said unto the man that told him, And, behold, thou sawest him, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten shekels of silver, and a girdle.
12 And the man said unto Joab, Though I should receive a thousand shekels of silver in mine hand, yet would I not put forth mine hand against the king's son: for in our hearing the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Beware that none touch the young man Absalom.
13 Otherwise I should have wrought falsehood against mine own life: for there is no matter hid from the king, and thou thyself wouldest have set thyself against me.
14 Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak.
15 And ten young men that bare Joab's armour compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him.
16 And Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing after Israel: for Joab held back the people.
17 And they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the wood, and laid a very great heap of stones upon him: and all Israel fled every one to his tent.
18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the king's dale: for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called the pillar after his own name: and it is called unto this day, Absalom's place.
19 Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, Let me now run, and bear the king tidings, how that the Lord hath avenged him of his enemies.
20 And Joab said unto him, Thou shalt not bear tidings this day, but thou shalt bear tidings another day: but this day thou shalt bear no tidings, because the king's son is dead.
21 Then said Joab to Cushi, Go tell the king what thou hast seen. And Cushi bowed himself unto Joab, and ran.
22 Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab, But howsoever, let me, I pray thee, also run after Cushi. And Joab said, Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings ready?
23 But howsoever, said he, let me run. And he said unto him, Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and overran Cushi.
24 And David sat between the two gates: and the watchman went up to the roof over the gate unto the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold a man running alone.
25 And the watchman cried, and told the king. And the king said, If he be alone, there is tidings in his mouth. And he came apace, and drew near.
26 And the watchman saw another man running: and the watchman called unto the porter, and said, Behold another man running alone. And the king said, He also bringeth tidings.
27 And the watchman said, Me thinketh the running of the foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok. And the king said, He is a good man, and cometh with good tidings.
28 And Ahimaaz called, and said unto the king, All is well. And he fell down to the earth upon his face before the king, and said, Blessed be the Lord thy God, which hath delivered up the men that lifted up their hand against my lord the king.
29 And the king said, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king's servant, and me thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was.
30 And the king said unto him, Turn aside, and stand here. And he turned aside, and stood still.
31 And, behold, Cushi came; and Cushi said, Tidings, my lord the king: for the Lord hath avenged thee this day of all them that rose up against thee.
32 And the king said unto Cushi, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Cushi answered, The enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is.
33 And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!
2 Samuel 18
Living Bible
18 David now appointed regimental colonels and company commanders over his troops. 2 A third were placed under Joab’s brother, Abishai (the son of Zeruiah); and a third under Ittai, the Gittite. The king planned to lead the army himself, but his men objected strongly.
3 “You mustn’t do it,” they said, “for if we have to turn and run, and half of us die, it will make no difference to them—they will be looking only for you. You are worth ten thousand of us, and it is better that you stay here in the city and send us help if we need it.”
4 “Well, whatever you think best,” the king finally replied. So he stood at the gate of the city as all the troops passed by.
5 And the king commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, “For my sake, deal gently with young Absalom.” And all the troops heard the king give them this charge.
6 So the battle began in the forest of Ephraim, 7 and the Israeli troops were beaten back by David’s men. There was a great slaughter and twenty thousand men laid down their lives that day. 8 The battle raged all across the countryside, and more men disappeared in the forest than were killed. 9 During the battle Absalom came upon some of David’s men and as he fled[a] on his mule, it went beneath the thick boughs of a great oak tree, and his hair caught in the branches. His mule went on, leaving him dangling in the air. 10 One of David’s men saw him and told Joab.
11 “What? You saw him there and didn’t kill him?” Joab demanded. “I would have rewarded you handsomely and made you a commissioned officer.”[b]
12 “For a million dollars I wouldn’t do it,” the man replied. “We all heard the king say to you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘For my sake, please don’t harm young Absalom.’ 13 And if I had betrayed the king by killing his son (and the king would certainly find out who did it), you yourself would be the first to accuse me.”
14 “Enough of this nonsense,” Joab said. Then he took three daggers and plunged them into the heart of Absalom as he dangled alive from the oak. 15 Ten of Joab’s young armor bearers then surrounded Absalom and finished him off. 16 Then Joab blew the trumpet, and his men returned from chasing the army of Israel. 17 They threw Absalom’s body into a deep pit in the forest and piled a great heap of stones over it. And the army of Israel fled to their homes.
18 (Absalom had built a monument to himself in the King’s Valley, for he said, “I have no sons to carry on my name.” He called it “Absalom’s Monument,” as it is still known today.)
19 Then Zadok’s son Ahimaaz said, “Let me run to King David with the good news that the Lord has saved him from his enemy Absalom.”
20 “No,” Joab told him, “it wouldn’t be good news to the king that his son is dead. You can be my messenger some other time.”
21 Then Joab said to a man from Cush, “Go tell the king what you have seen.” The man bowed and ran off.
22 But Ahimaaz pleaded with Joab, “Please let me go too.”
“No, we don’t need you now, my boy,” Joab replied. “There is no further news to send.”
23 “Yes, but let me go anyway,” he begged.
And Joab finally said, “All right, go ahead.” Then Ahimaaz took a shortcut across the plain and got there ahead of the man from Cush. 24 David was sitting at the gate of the city. When the watchman climbed the stairs to his post at the top of the wall, he saw a lone man running toward them.
25 He shouted the news down to David, and the king replied, “If he is alone, he has news.”
As the messenger came closer, 26 the watchman saw another man running toward them. He shouted down, “Here comes another one.”
And the king replied, “He will have more news.”
27 “The first man looks like Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok,” the watchman said.
“He is a good man and comes with good news,” the king replied.
28 Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, “All is well!” He bowed low with his face to the ground and said, “Blessed be the Lord your God who has destroyed the rebels who dared to stand against you.”
29 “What of young Absalom?” the king demanded. “Is he all right?”
“When Joab told me to come, there was a lot of shouting; but I didn’t know what was happening,”[c] Ahimaaz answered.
30 “Wait here,” the king told him. So Ahimaaz stepped aside.
31 Then the man from Cush arrived and said, “I have good news for my lord the king. Today Jehovah has rescued you from all those who rebelled against you.”
32 “What about young Absalom? Is he all right?” the king demanded.
And the man replied, “May all of your enemies be as that young man is!”
33 Then the king broke into tears, and went up to his room over the gate, crying as he went. “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom. If only I could have died for you! O Absalom, my son, my son.”
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 18:9 as he fled, implied.
- 2 Samuel 18:11 made you a commissioned officer, literally, “given you ten pieces of silver and a belt.” There is no way of knowing the value of the silver. The belt was probably that worn by a commissioned officer.
- 2 Samuel 18:29 I didn’t know what was happening. Ahimaaz apparently was afraid to tell the king what actually had happened.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.