< 2 Samuel 18 >

1 David organized the men who were with him and put commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds in charge of them.
Daud bersiap-siap menghadapi serangan Absalom. Dia mengumpulkan pasukan yang ikut bersamanya dan membagi mereka dalam beberapa kelompok. Setiap seribu orang menjadi satu kelompok besar dengan seorang komandan, di dalamnya terdiri dari kelompok-kelompok kecil yang berisi seratus orang. Masing-masing kelompok kecil ini juga dipimpin oleh seorang komandan.
2 David sent the army out divided into three sections. One third was commanded by Joab, one third was commanded by Abishai, son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and one third was commanded by Ittai the Gittite. The king told the men, “I myself will go out into battle with you.”
Sepertiga dari pasukannya itu dipimpin oleh Yoab, sepertiga lagi dipimpin oleh Abisai, adik Yoab, dan sepertiga lagi dipimpin oleh Itai, orang Gat. Lalu Daud berkata kepada mereka, “Saya juga akan turut bertempur bersama kalian.”
3 But the men replied, “No, you must not go out into battle! For if we have to run away, they won't care about us. Even if half of us die, they won't care about that either. But you are worth ten thousand of us, so it's better if you stay here and send us help from the town.”
Tetapi banyak anggota pasukannya berkata, “Jangan Tuan! Seandainya kami kalah dan lari, bahkan mati sekalipun, pihak musuh tidak peduli sebab yang mereka cari adalah Raja sendiri. Nyawa Tuan lebih berharga daripada ribuan tentara. Jadi sebaiknya Tuan tinggal saja di kota dan mengirim pertolongan kalau kami membutuhkan bantuan.”
4 “I will do whatever you think best,” the king replied. The king stood beside the gate while all his men marched out by hundreds and by thousands.
Jawab raja, “Baiklah, saya akan melakukan sesuai saran kalian.” Daud memberi perintah kepada Yoab, Abisai, dan Itai, “Lakukanlah ini untukku: Jangan berlaku kasar terhadap Absalom, anak muda itu.” Perintah itu didengar juga oleh semua tentara. Lalu raja berdiri di samping pintu gerbang sambil mengamati seluruh pasukannya lewat, berbaris sesuai kelompok mereka masing-masing.
5 The king ordered Joab, Abishai and Ittai, “Treat young Absalom gently for me.” All the men heard the king giving orders to each of his commanders about Absalom.
6 David's army marched out to face the Israelites in battle, which was fought in the forest of Ephraim.
Pertempuran hari itu antara pasukan Daud dan pasukan Israel yang dipimpin Absalom terjadi di hutan Efraim.
7 The Israelites were defeated by David's men and many were killed that day—some twenty thousand.
Pasukan Daud berhasil mengalahkan tentara Israel. Sebanyak dua puluh ribu tentara mati terbunuh.
8 The battle covered the whole countryside, and that day more died because of the forest than were killed by the sword.
Wilayah pertempuran semakin meluas di daerah itu, dan lebih banyak tentara yang mati kecelakaan di dalam hutan daripada yang tewas karena perang.
9 Absalom ran into some of David's men while he was riding on his mule. As the mule went under the twisted branches of a large oak tree, Absalom's hair got caught in the tree. The mule he was riding kept going, leaving him hanging between earth and sky.
Absalom menunggangi bagal dalam pertempuran itu. Tiba-tiba dia berpapasan dengan beberapa tentara Daud. Ketika bagalnya melewati ranting-ranting pohon besar, kepala Absalom tersangkut di ranting-ranting itu, sedangkan bagalnya terus berlari.
10 One of David's men saw what happened, so he told Joab, “I just saw Absalom hanging from an oak tree!”
Seorang tentara Daud melihat kejadian itu dan melaporkannya kepada Yoab, “Saya melihat Absalom tergantung pada pohon besar.”
11 “What! You saw him like that?” Joab said to the man. “Why didn't you kill him right then and there? I would have given you ten shekels of silver and a soldier's belt as a reward!”
Jawab Yoab kepada orang itu, “Apa?! Kamu melihat dia tetapi tidak membunuhnya! Sayang sekali, padahal kalau kamu sudah membunuh dia, saya akan memberimu lebih dari 100 gram perak dan lambang kehormatan tentara!”
12 But the man replied, “Even if you gave me a thousand shekels of silver, I wouldn't hurt the king's son. We all heard the king give the order to you, Abishai, and Ittai, ‘Look after young Absalom for me.’
Tetapi jawab orang itu, “Sekalipun hadiahnya sepuluh kilogram perak, saya tidak akan membunuh anak raja! Karena kami sudah mendengar perintah raja kepada Tuan, Abisai, dan Itai, ‘Demi saya, jangan berlaku kasar terhadap Absalom.’
13 If I had disobeyed and killed Absalom—and the king finds out everything—you yourself wouldn't have defended me.”
Seandainya saya melanggar perintahnya itu, raja pasti mencari tahu siapa pelakunya, dan Tuan sendiri pasti tidak akan membela saya!”
14 “I'm not going to waste time waiting around like this with you!” Joab told him. He grabbed three spears and drove them into Absalom's heart while he was still alive, hanging from the oak tree.
Yoab berkata, “Saya tidak mau buang-buang waktu bicara denganmu!” Kemudian, saat Absalom masih hidup dan sedang tersangkut di pohon besar itu, Yoab menikam dada Absalom dengan tiga tombak.
15 Ten of Joab's armor-bearers surrounded Absalom and hacked him to death.
Lalu sepuluh tentara yang membawa perlengkapan perang Yoab mengelilingi Absalom dan membunuhnya.
16 Then Joab blew the ram's horn, and his men stopped chasing the Israelites because Joab had signaled them to stop.
Setelah itu Yoab meniup terompet sebagai tanda bagi pasukannya untuk berhenti mengejar tentara Israel.
17 They took Absalom and threw him into a deep pit in the forest, and piled a large heap of stones over him. All the Israelites ran away to their homes.
Mayat Absalom dibuang ke dalam lubang besar di hutan itu dan batu-batu besar ditimbun di atasnya sampai bertumpuk tinggi. Sementara itu, seluruh pasukan Israel berlari pulang.
18 Absalom while he was alive had made a stone pillar and set it up in the King's Valley as a memorial to himself, for he thought to himself, “I don't have a son to keep the memory of my name alive.” He named the pillar after himself, and it's called Absalom's Monument even today.
Semasa hidupnya, Absalom sudah membuat tugu untuk dirinya sendiri di Lembah Raja, karena dia berpikir, “Aku tidak mempunyai anak laki-laki yang akan meneruskan namaku.” Maka dia menamainya Tugu Absalom. Monumen itu masih ada sampai saat kitab ini ditulis.
19 Then Ahimaaz, son of Zadok, said, “Please let me run and take the good news to the king that the Lord has vindicated him over his enemies.”
Sesudah kejadian itu, Ahimas anak Zadok berkata kepada Yoab, “Biarlah saya berlari membawa kabar baik ini kepada raja, bahwa TUHAN sudah melepaskan dia dari tangan musuh-musuhnya.”
20 “You're not the man to take the good news today,” Joab replied. “You can do it some other time, but don't do it today, because the king's son is dead.”
Tetapi jawab Yoab, “Jangan! Ini tidak akan dianggap sebagai kabar baik, karena anak tuan kita sudah mati. Lain kali saja kamu boleh membawa berita.”
21 So Joab said to a man from Ethiopia, “Go and tell the king what you have seen.” He bowed to Joab and ran off.
Lalu berkatalah Yoab kepada seorang Etiopia, “Kamulah yang pergi! Beritahukan kepada raja apa yang sudah kamu lihat.” Orang Etiopia itu pun tunduk untuk menghormati Yoab, lalu berlari.
22 Ahimaaz asked Joab again, “Never mind what happens, please let me run too, after the Ethiopian!” “Son, why do you want to run—you won't get anything for it?” Joab replied.
Ahimas berkata lagi kepada Yoab, “Walaupun Tuan sudah menyuruh orang Etiopia itu, izinkanlah saya menyusul dia.” Tanya Yoab, “Untuk apa, Nak? Kamu tidak akan menerima upah apa pun dengan membawa kabar itu.”
23 “Doesn't matter, I want to run anyway,” he said. “Fine, start running!” Joab told him. Ahimaaz took the route over flatter ground and overtook the Ethiopian.
Tetapi Ahimas bersikeras, “Apa pun yang terjadi, pokoknya saya mau pergi.” Maka Yoab berkata, “Ya sudah, pergilah.” Ahimas pun berlari melalui lembah Yordan, sehingga dia lebih dahulu sampai di Mahanaim daripada orang Etiopia tadi.
24 David was sitting between the inside and outside gates. The watchman climbed up to the roof of the gateway by the wall. He looked out, and saw a man running by himself.
Saat itu Daud sedang duduk di pintu gerbang kota. Seorang pengawas berjaga-jaga di benteng di atas pintu gerbang. Pengawas itu melihat seseorang berlari datang.
25 So he shouted down to tell the king. “If he's by himself then he's bringing good news,” the king replied. As the first runner got closer,
Dia pun berseru menyampaikan berita itu kepada raja. Daud berkata, “Kalau dia sendirian, berarti dia adalah pembawa kabar.” Dan pembawa kabar itu terus bergerak semakin dekat.
26 the watchman saw someone else running, and he shouted down to the gatekeeper, “Look! There's another man running by himself!” “He'll also be bringing good news,” said the king.
Sementara itu, pengawas melihat orang kedua datang, dan dia menyerukan kepada penjaga gerbang, “Lihat, ada satu lagi yang berlari datang.” Raja berkata, “Dia pun pembawa kabar.”
27 “The first man seems to me to be running like Ahimaaz, son of Zadok,” said the watchman. “He's a good man,” he king replied. “He'll bring good news.”
Pengawas itu berkata, “Melihat cara berlarinya, orang pertama itu sepertinya Ahimas anak Zadok.” Jawab raja, “Dia orang baik dan pasti membawa kabar baik.”
28 Ahimaaz shouted out greetings to the king, Then he came and he bowed facedown before the king. “Blessed be the Lord your God!” he said. “He has defeated the men who rebelled against Your Majesty!”
Lalu sampailah Ahimas. Dia bersujud memberi hormat kepada raja dan berkata, “Terpujilah TUHAN Allah! Dia sudah mengalahkan orang-orang yang mengangkat senjata dan memberontak terhadap Tuanku Raja!”
29 “How is young Absalom? Is he alright?” the king asked. Ahimaaz answered, “It was very chaotic when your officer Joab sent me, your servant. I really don't know what was happening.”
Daud pun bertanya, “Apakah Absalom anakku selamat?” Jawab Ahimas, “Ketika Yoab menyuruh hamba ke sini, saya melihat ada keributan besar, tetapi tidak tahu apa yang terjadi.”
30 “Stand to one side and wait,” the king told him. So Ahimaaz stood to one side and waited.
Raja berkata, “Kalau begitu, tunggulah di sebelah sana.” Lalu Ahimas berdiri di tempat yang ditunjuk raja.
31 Right then the Ethiopian arrived and said, “Your Majesty, listen to the good news! Today the Lord has defeated all those who rebelled against you!”
Kemudian orang Etiopia itu sampai dan menghadap raja. Dia berkata, “Hamba membawa kabar baik untuk Tuanku Raja! TUHAN sudah memberi hukuman yang adil kepada semua orang yang bersepakat memberontak terhadap Tuan.”
32 “How is young Absalom? Is he alright?” the king asked. The Ethiopian replied, “May what has happened to the young man happen to Your Majesty's enemies, and to everyone who rebels against you!”
Lalu raja bertanya kepadanya, “Apakah anakku selamat?” Orang Etiopia itu menjawab, “Semoga semua musuh Tuanku dan semua orang yang memberontak terhadap Tuan mati seperti dia.”
33 The king broke down. He went up to the room over the gate and cried. As he walked, he sobbed out, “My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! I wish I'd died instead of you, Absalom, my son, my son!”
Raja sangat terguncang mendengar berita itu. Dengan amat sedih, dia naik ke ruangan di atas pintu gerbang sambil meratap, “Oh, anakku Absalom! Anakku, anakku Absalom! Biarlah aku saja yang mati menggantikanmu Absalom, anakku, anakku!”

< 2 Samuel 18 >