撒母耳记下 18
1 大卫数点跟随他的人，立千夫长、百夫长率领他们。
David arranged his soldiers for the battle. He divided them into groups, and appointed a commander for each 100 soldiers and a commander for each 1,000 soldiers.
2 大卫打发军兵出战，分为三队：一队在约押手下，一队在洗鲁雅的儿子、约押兄弟亚比筛手下，一队在迦特人以太手下。大卫对军兵说：“我必与你们一同出战。”
He sent them out in three groups. Joab commanded one group, Joab’s brother Abishai commanded a second group, and Ittai from Gath commanded the third group. David said to them, “I myself will go with you [to the battle].”
3 军兵却说：“你不可出战。若是我们逃跑，敌人必不介意；我们阵亡一半，敌人也不介意。因为你一人强似我们万人，你不如在城里预备帮助我们。”
But his soldiers said, “No, we will not allow you to go with us. If they force us all to run away, they will not be concerned about that happening. Or if they kill half of us, that will also not be what they want. To them, [killing] you is more important than [killing] 10,000 of us. So it will be better that you [stay here] in the city and send help to us.”
4 王向他们说：“你们以为怎样好，我就怎样行。”于是王站在城门旁，军兵或百或千地挨次出去了。
The king replied, “Okay, I will do whatever seems best to you.” So he stood at the gate [and watched] while his soldiers marched out, group by group.
5 王嘱咐约押、亚比筛、以太说：“你们要为我的缘故宽待那少年人押沙龙。”王为押沙龙嘱咐众将的话，兵都听见了。
[While they were leaving, ] the king commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, “For my sake, do not harm my son Absalom!” And all the troops heard it when David gave that order about Absalom to those three commanders.
6 兵就出到田野迎着以色列人，在以法莲树林里交战。
So the army went out to fight against the Israeli soldiers [who were with Absalom]. They fought the battle in the forest [where people from the tribe] of Ephraim [lived].
7 以色列人败在大卫的仆人面前；那日阵亡的甚多，共有二万人。
David’s soldiers defeated Absalom’s soldiers. They killed 20,000 of them!
8 因为在那里四面打仗，死于树林的比死于刀剑的更多。
The battle was fought {They fought the battle} all over that area, and the number of men who died because of [dangerous things in] the forest [PRS] was greater than the number of men who were killed (in the battle/by swords).
9 押沙龙偶然遇见大卫的仆人。押沙龙骑着骡子，从大橡树密枝底下经过，他的头发被树枝绕住，就悬挂起来，所骑的骡子便离他去了。
During the battle, Absalom suddenly came near [some of] David’s soldiers. Absalom was riding on his mule; and when the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak tree, Absalom’s head/hair was caught in the branches. The mule kept going, but Absalom was left dangling in the air.
10 有个人看见，就告诉约押说：“我看见押沙龙挂在橡树上了。”
One of David’s soldiers saw what happened, and went and told Joab, “I saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree!”
11 约押对报信的人说：“你既看见他，为什么不将他打死落在地上呢？你若打死他，我就赏你十舍客勒银子，一条带子。”
Joab said to the man, “What? You say that you saw him hanging there, so why did you not kill him immediately [RHQ]? [If you had killed him, ] I would have given you ten pieces of silver and a belt!”
12 那人对约押说：“我就是得你一千舍客勒银子，我也不敢伸手害王的儿子；因为我们听见王嘱咐你和亚比筛并以太说：‘你们要谨慎，不可害那少年人押沙龙。’
The man replied to Joab, “Even if you gave me 1,000 pieces of silver, I would not have done anything to harm [IDM] the king’s son. We all heard the king command you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘For my sake, do not harm my son Absalom!’
13 我若妄为害了他的性命，就是你自己也必与我为敌（原来，无论何事都瞒不过王。）”
If I had disobeyed the king and killed Absalom, the king would have heard about it, because the king hears about everything, and even you would not have defended me!”
14 约押说：“我不能与你留连。”约押手拿三杆短枪，趁押沙龙在橡树上还活着，就刺透他的心。
Joab said, “I am not going to waste time talking to you!” Then he took three spears [and went to where Absalom was], and thrust them into Absalom’s chest/heart while he was still alive, dangling from the oak tree.
15 给约押拿兵器的十个少年人围绕押沙龙，将他杀死。
Then ten young men who carried weapons for Joab surrounded Absalom and [finished] killing him.
16 约押吹角，拦阻众人，他们就回来，不再追赶以色列人。
Then Joab blew his trumpet [to signal that they should not fight any more], and his soldiers returned from pursuing those Israeli soldiers.
17 他们将押沙龙丢在林中一个大坑里，上头堆起一大堆石头。以色列众人都逃跑，各回各家去了。
They took Absalom’s body and threw it into a huge pit in the forest, and covered it with a huge pile of stones. Then all the remaining Israeli soldiers [who had been with Absalom] fled to their own towns.
18 押沙龙活着的时候，在王谷立了一根石柱，因他说：“我没有儿子为我留名。”他就以自己的名称那石柱叫押沙龙柱，直到今日。
Absalom had no sons to preserve his [family] name. So, while Absalom was alive, he built a monument to himself in the King’s Valley [near Jerusalem, in order that people would remember him]. He put his name on the monument, and people still call it Absalom’s monument.
19 撒督的儿子亚希玛斯说：“容我跑去，将耶和华向仇敌给王报仇的信息报与王知。”
[After Absalom had been killed, ] Zadok’s son Ahimaaz said to Joab, “Allow me to run to the king to tell him the good news that Yahweh has rescued him from the power of his enemies!”
20 约押对他说：“你今日不可去报信，改日可以报信；因为今日王的儿子死了，所以你不可去报信。”
But Joab said to him, “No, I will not allow you to take news to the king today. Some other day I will allow you to take some news, but not today. [If you took news today it would not be good news for the king, ] because his son is dead.”
21 约押对古示人说：“你去将你所看见的告诉王。”古示人在约押面前下拜，就跑去了。
Then Joab said to David’s servant who was from Ethiopia, “You go and tell the king what you have seen.” So the man from Ethiopia bowed in front of Joab, and started to run.
22 撒督的儿子亚希玛斯又对约押说：“无论怎样，求你容我随着古示人跑去。”约押说：“我儿，你报这信息，既不得赏赐，何必要跑去呢？”
Then Ahimaaz said again to Joab, “Even though [that man from Ethiopia is running], allow me to run behind him.” Joab replied, “My boy/son, why do you want to do that? You will not receive any reward for your news!”
23 他又说：“无论怎样，我要跑去。”约押说：“你跑去吧！”亚希玛斯就从平原往前跑，跑过古示人去了。
But Ahimaaz replied, “That does not matter, I want to go.” So Joab said, “Okay, go.” So Ahimaaz ran along [another] road through the Jordan Valley and arrived [where David was] before the man from Ethiopia arrived.
24 大卫正坐在城瓮里。守望的人上城门楼的顶上，举目观看，见有一个人独自跑来。
David was sitting between the outer gate and the inner gate [of the city]. The watchman/lookout went up on top of the city wall and stood on the roof over the gates. He looked out and saw one man running alone.
25 守望的人就大声告诉王。王说：“他若独自来，必是报口信的。”那人跑得渐渐近了。
The watchman called down and reported it to the king. The king said, “If he is alone, [that indicates/means that] he is bringing [good] news.” The man who was running continued to come closer.
26 守望的人又见一人跑来，就对守城门的人说：“又有一人独自跑来。”王说：“这也必是报信的。”
Then the watchman saw another man running. So he called down to the gatekeeper, “Look! There is another man running!” And the king said, “He also is bringing [some good] news.”
27 守望的人说：“我看前头人的跑法，好像撒督的儿子亚希玛斯的跑法一样。”王说：“他是个好人，必是报好信息。”
The watchman said, “I think the first man [must be Ahimaaz, because he] is running like Ahimaaz runs.” The king said, “He is a good man, and [I am sure] he is coming with good news.”
28 亚希玛斯向王呼叫说：“平安了！”就在王面前脸伏于地叩拜，说：“耶和华—你的 神是应当称颂的，因他已将那举手攻击我主我王的人交给王了。”
[When] Ahimaaz [reached the king, he] called out “I hope/desire that things will go well with you!” Then he prostrated himself on the ground in front of the king and said, “Your Majesty, praise Yahweh our God, who has rescued you from the men who were rebelling against you!”
29 王问说：“少年人押沙龙平安不平安？”亚希玛斯回答说：“约押打发王的仆人，那时仆人听见众民大声喧哗，却不知道是什么事。”
The king said, “Is the young man Absalom safe/all right?” Ahimaaz [did not want to answer that question, so he] replied, “When Joab sent me, I saw that there was a lot of confusion, but I do not know what it was about.”
30 王说：“你退去，站在旁边。”他就退去，站在旁边。
Then the king said, “Stand aside.” So Ahimaaz stepped aside and stood there.
31 古示人也来到，说：“有信息报给我主我王！耶和华今日向一切兴起攻击你的人给你报仇了。”
Suddenly the man from Ethiopia arrived, and said, “Your Majesty, I have good news for you! Yahweh has enabled your soldiers to defeat all those who rebelled against you!”
32 王问古示人说：“少年人押沙龙平安不平安？”古示人回答说：“愿我主我王的仇敌，和一切兴起要杀害你的人，都与那少年人一样。”
The king said to him, “Is the young man Absalom safe/all right?” And the man from Ethiopia replied, “Sir, I wish/desire that what happened to him would happen to all of your enemies and to all those who rebel against you!”
33 王就心里伤恸，上城门楼去哀哭，一面走一面说：“我儿押沙龙啊！我儿，我儿押沙龙啊！我恨不得替你死，押沙龙啊，我儿！我儿！”
The king [realized that he meant that Absalom was dead, so he] became (extremely distressed/overcome with grief), and he went up to the room above the gateway and cried. While he was going up, he kept crying out, “O, my son Absalom! My son! O, my son Absalom, I desire/wish that I had died instead of you!”
