2 Samuel 13

1 And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David having a beautiful sister, whose name was Tamar, Amnon the son of David loved her.

David’s son Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar. Another of David’s sons, Amnon, was attracted to Tamar.

2 And Amnon was so vexed, that he fell sick for his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin; and it seemed difficult for Amnon to do the least thing to her.

He wanted [to have sex with] [EUP] his half-sister very much, with the result that he made himself sick [thinking about her all the time]. But it was not possible for Amnon to get her, because she was a virgin, [so they kept men away from her].

3 And Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David's brother; and Jonadab was a very shrewd man.

But Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, who was the son of David’s brother Shimeah. Jonadab was a very crafty/shrewd man.

4 And he said to him, Why dost thou, the king's son, get thinner from morning to morning? Wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said to him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister.

[One day] Jonadab said to Amnon, “You are the king’s son, but every day I see that [RHQ] you seem very depressed/sad. What is your problem?” Amnon replied, “I (am in love/want to sleep) [EUP] with Tamar, my half-brother Absalom’s sister.”

5 And Jonadab said to him, Lay thee down on thy bed and feign thyself sick; and when thy father comes to see thee, say to him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come, and give me food, and dress the food in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it from her hand.

Jonadab said to him, “Lie down on your bed, and pretend that you are sick. When your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Allow my half-sister Tamar to come and give me some food to eat. She can prepare the food while I am watching her. Then she can serve it to me herself.’”

6 So Amnon lay down and feigned himself sick; and the king came to see him, and Amnon said to the king, I pray thee, let Tamar my sister come, and make a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat from her hand.

So Amnon lay down, and pretended that he was sick. When the king came to see him, Amnon said to him, “[I am sick; ] please allow my half-sister Tamar to come and make a couple scones/dumplings for me while I am watching, and then she can serve them to me.”

7 And David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go, I pray thee, to thy brother Amnon's house, and dress him food.

So David sent a message to Tamar in the palace, saying “Amnon [is sick and he wants you to] go to his house and prepare some food for him.”

8 And Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house; and he had lain down. And she took flour and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes.

So Tamar went to Amnon’s house, where he was lying in bed. She took some dough and kneaded it, and formed it into some scones/dumplings while he was watching her. Then she baked them.

9 And she took the pan, and poured them out before him; but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, Put every man out from me. And they went out every man from him.

She took them out of the pan and put them [on a plate] in front of him, but he refused to eat them. Then he said to everyone else in the room, “All the rest of you, leave me now!” So all the others left his [room].

10 And Amnon said to Tamar, Bring the dish into the chamber, that I may eat of thy hand. And Tamar took the cakes that she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother.

Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into my room and serve it to me.” So Tamar took into his room the scones/dumplings that she had made.

11 And she presented them to him to eat; and he took hold of her, and said to her, Come, lie with me, my sister.

But when she brought them close for him to eat them, he grabbed her and said to her, “Come to bed with me!”

12 And she said to him, No, my brother, do not humble me; for no such thing is done in Israel: do not this infamy.

She replied, “No, do not force me to do such a disgraceful thing! We never do things like that in Israel! That would be awful/terrible!

13 And I, whither shall I carry my reproach? and thou wouldest be as one of the infamous in Israel. And now, I pray thee, speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from thee.

As for me, if I did that, I would not be able to [RHQ] endure being disgraced by having done that. And as for you, everyone in Israel would condemn you for having done such a disgraceful deed. So I plead with you, talk to the king. I am sure that he will allow me to marry you.”

14 But he would not hearken to her voice, and was stronger than she, and humbled her and lay with her.

But he would not listen to her. He was stronger than she was, so he forced her to have sex with him.

15 And Amnon hated her with an exceeding great hatred, for the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, Arise, be gone.

Then Amnon hated her very much. He hated her much more than he had desired her. He said to her, “Get up and get out of here!”

16 And she said to him, There is no cause for this evil in sending me away, [which] is greater than the other that thou didst to me. But he would not hearken to her.

But she said to him, “No! It would be very wrong for you to send me away. It would be worse than what you just did to me!” But he would not listen to her.

17 Then he called his young man that attended upon him, and said, Put now this [woman] out from me, and bolt the door after her.

He summoned his personal servant and said to him, “Take this woman outside, away from me, and lock the door [so that she cannot come in again]!”

18 Now she had a vest of many colours upon her; for so were the king's daughters that were virgins apparelled. And his attendant brought her out, and bolted the door after her.

So the servant put her outside and locked the door. Tamar was wearing a long robe with long sleeves, which was the clothing that was usually worn by the unmarried daughters of the king at that time.

19 And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her vest of many colours which was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went away, crying out as she went.

But Tamar tore the long robe that she was wearing, and put ashes on her head [to show that she was very sad]. Then she put her hands on her head [to show that she was grieving], and she went away, crying.

20 And Absalom her brother said to her, Has Amnon thy brother been with thee? and now, my sister, be still: he is thy brother; take not this thing to heart. And Tamar remained, and [that] desolate, in her brother Absalom's house.

Her brother Absalom [saw her and] said to her, “Has your half-brother Amnon [DOU] forced you to have sex with him [EUP]? Please, my sister, do not tell anyone, and do not become depressed/sad.” So Tamar went to live in Absalom’s house, and she was very sad and lonely.

21 And king David heard of all these things, and he was very angry.

When King David heard about all that, he became very angry.

22 And Absalom spoke to Amnon neither good nor bad; for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had humbled his sister Tamar.

And Absalom hated Amnon, because he had raped his sister, so he would not speak to Amnon about anything.

23 And it came to pass after two full years, that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baal-Hazor, which is beside Ephraim; and Absalom invited all the king's sons.

Two years later, Absalom’s servants were shearing sheep at Baal-Hazor, which is near [a town named] Ephraim. [When they finished shearing the sheep, they celebrated], and Absalom invited all the king’s sons [to come and celebrate].

24 And Absalom came to the king, and said, Behold, now, thy servant has sheepshearers; let the king, I pray thee, and his servants go with thy servant.

Absalom went to the king and said to him, “Sir, my servants have been shearing my sheep. Please come with your officials [to celebrate] with us!”

25 And the king said to Absalom, No, my son, let us not all go, lest we be burdensome to thee. And he urged him, but he would not go; and he blessed him.

But the king replied, “No, my son, it would not be good for all of us to go, because it would cause you to do a lot of work and spend a lot of money for food.” Absalom continued urging him, but the king would not go. Instead, he said that he hoped/desired that God would bless them [while they celebrated].

26 And Absalom said, If not, I pray thee, let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said to him, Why should he go with thee?

Then Absalom said, “If you will not go, please allow my half-brother Amnon to go with us.” But the king replied, “Why [do you want] him to go with you?”

27 But Absalom pressed him; and he let Amnon and all the king's sons go with him.

But Absalom continued to insist, so finally the king permitted Amnon and all David’s other sons to go with Absalom.

28 And Absalom commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye now when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, Smite Amnon; then slay him, fear not: have not I commanded you? be courageous, and be valiant.

[So they all went. And at the celebration], Absalom commanded his servants, “Notice when Amnon has become a bit drunk from the wine. Then when I signal to you, kill him. Do not be afraid; you will be doing this [only] because I told you [RHQ] to do it. So be courageous and do it!”

29 And the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose, and they rode each upon his mule and fled.

So Absalom’s servants did what Absalom told them to do. [They killed Amnon]. All the rest of David’s sons [saw what happened and] fled, riding on their mules.

30 And it came to pass, while they were in the way, that tidings came to David, saying, Absalom has smitten all the king's sons, and there is not one of them left.

While they were on their way home, someone [went quickly and] reported to David, “Absalom has killed all of your other sons; none of them is still alive!”

31 Then the king arose, and rent his garments, and lay on the earth; and all his servants stood by with their garments rent.

The king stood up, tore his clothes [because he was extremely sad], and then he threw himself down on the ground. All the servants who were there also tore their clothes.

32 And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David's brother, answered and said, Let not my lord suppose that they have slain all the young men the king's sons; for Amnon only is dead; for by the appointment of Absalom this has been determined from the day that he humbled his sister Tamar.

But Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimeah, said, “Your Majesty, [I am sure that] they have not killed all your sons. [I am sure that] only Amnon is dead, because Absalom has determined to do this ever since the day that Amnon raped [EUP] his half-sister Tamar.

33 And now let not my lord the king take the thing to heart, to say, All the king's sons are dead; for Amnon only is dead.

So, your majesty, do not believe the report that all your sons are dead. [I am sure that] only Amnon is dead.”

34 And Absalom fled. And the young man that watched lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, there came much people from the way behind him, from the hill-side.

In the meantime, Absalom ran away. Just then, the soldier/sentry [who was standing on the city wall] saw a large crowd of people coming down the hill along the road from Horonaim. [He ran and told the king what he had seen].

35 And Jonadab said to the king, Behold, the king's sons come: as thy servant said, so it is.

Jonadab said to the king, “Aha! What I told you is true. Your other sons [are alive and] have come!”

36 And as soon as he had ended speaking, behold, the king's sons came, and lifted up their voice and wept; and the king also and all his servants wept very bitterly.

And as soon as he said that, David’s sons came in. They all started crying, and David and all his officials also cried very much.

37 And Absalom fled, and went to Talmai, the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And [David] mourned for his son every day.

But Absalom had fled. He went to stay with the king of [the] Geshur [region], who was Talmai the son of Ammihud. Absalom stayed there for three years. David mourned for his son Amnon for a long time,

38 Now Absalom fled, and went to Geshur, and was there three years.

39 And king David longed to go forth to Absalom; for he was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead.

but after that, he desired very much to see Absalom, because he was no longer grieving about Amnon being dead.