2 Samuel 18
1 And David inspects the people who [are] with him, and sets over them heads of thousands and heads of hundreds,
David organized the men who were with him and put commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds in charge of them.
2 and David sends the third of the people by the hand of Joab, and the third by the hand of Abishai, son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, and the third by the hand of Ittai the Gittite, and the king says to the people, “I certainly go out—I also—with you.”
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.”
3 And the people say, “You do not go out, for if we utterly flee, they do not set [their] heart on us; and if half of us die, they do not set [their] heart to us—for [you are] now like ten thousand of us; and now, [it is] better that you are for a helper to us from the city.”
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.”
4 And the king says to them, “That which is good in your eyes I do”; and the king stands at the side of the gate, and all the people have gone out by hundreds and by thousands,
“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.
5 and the king charges Joab, and Abishai, and Ittai, saying, “[Deal] gently—for me, for the youth, for Absalom”; and all the people heard in the king’s charging all the heads concerning Absalom.
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 And the people go out into the field to meet Israel, and the battle is in a forest of Ephraim;
David's army marched out to face the Israelites in battle, which was fought in the forest of Ephraim.
7 and the people of Israel are struck there before the servants of David, and the striking there is great on that day—twenty thousand;
The Israelites were defeated by David's men and many were killed that day—some twenty thousand.
8 and the battle there is scattered over the face of all the land, and the forest multiplies to devour among the people more than those whom the sword has devoured in that day.
The battle covered the whole countryside, and that day more died because of the forest than were killed by the sword.
9 And Absalom meets before the servants of David, and Absalom is riding on the mule, and the mule comes in under an entangled bough of the great oak, and his head takes hold on the oak, and he is placed between the heavens and the earth, and the mule that [is] under him has passed on.
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.
10 And one man sees, and declares [it] to Joab, and says, “Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.”
One of David's men saw what happened, so he told Joab, “I just saw Absalom hanging from an oak tree!”
11 And Joab says to the man who is declaring [it] to him, “And behold, you have seen—and why did you not strike him there to the earth—and [it would be] on me to give to you ten pieces of silver and one girdle?”
“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!”
12 And the man says to Joab, “Indeed, though I am weighing on my hand one thousand pieces of silver, I do not put forth my hand to the son of the king; for in our ears the king has charged you, and Abishai, and Ittai, saying, Observe who [is] against the youth—against Absalom;
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.’
13 or I had done a vain thing against my soul, and no matter is hid from the king, and you would station yourself opposite from [me].”
If I had disobeyed and killed Absalom—and the king finds out everything—you yourself wouldn't have defended me.”
14 And Joab says, “[It is] not right [that] I linger before you”; and he takes three darts in his hand, and strikes them into the heart of Absalom, while he [is] alive, in the midst of the oak.
“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.
15 And they go around—ten youths carrying weapons of Joab—and strike Absalom, and put him to death.
Ten of Joab's armor-bearers surrounded Absalom and hacked him to death.
16 And Joab blows with a horn, and the people turn back from pursuing after Israel, for Joab has kept back the people;
Then Joab blew the ram's horn, and his men stopped chasing the Israelites because Joab had signaled them to stop.
17 and they take Absalom and cast him into the great pit in the forest, and set up a very great heap of stones over him, and all Israel has fled—each to his tent.
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.
18 And Absalom has taken, and sets up for himself in his life, the standing-pillar that [is] in the king’s valley, for he said, “I have no son to cause my name to be remembered”; and he calls the standing-pillar by his own name, and it is called “The Monument of Absalom” to this day.
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.
19 And Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Please let me run, and I bear the king tidings, for YHWH has delivered him out of the hand of his enemies”;
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.”
20 and Joab says to him, “You are not a man of tidings this day, but you have borne tidings on another day, and this day you do not bear tidings, because the king’s son [is] dead.”
“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.”
21 And Joab says to Cushi, “Go, declare to the king that which you have seen”; and Cushi bows himself to Joab, and runs.
So Joab said to a man from Ethiopia, “Go and tell the king what you have seen.” He bowed to Joab and ran off.
22 And Ahimaaz son of Zadok adds again and says to Joab, “And whatever it is, please let me run, I also, after the Cushite.” And Joab says, “Why [is] this—you are running, my son, and [there are] no tidings found from you?”
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.
23 “And whatever happens,” he said, “let me run.” And he says to him, “Run”; and Ahimaaz runs the way of the circuit, and passes by the Cushite.
“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.
24 And David is sitting between the two gates, and the watchman goes to the roof of the gate, to the wall, and lifts up his eyes, and looks, and behold, a man running by himself.
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.
25 And the watchman calls, and declares [it] to the king, and the king says, “If [he is] by himself, tidings [are] in his mouth”; and he comes, coming on and drawing near.
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,
26 And the watchman sees another man running, and the watchman calls to the gatekeeper, and says, “Behold, a man running by himself”; and the king says, “This one is also bearing tidings.”
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.
27 And the watchman says, “I see the running of the first as the running of Ahimaaz son of Zadok.” And the king says, “This [is] a good man, and he comes with good tidings.”
“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.”
28 And Ahimaaz calls and says to the king, “Peace”; and he bows himself to the king, on his face, to the earth, and says, “Blessed [is] your God YHWH who has shut up the men who lifted up their hand against my lord the king.”
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!”
29 And the king says, “Peace to the youth—for Absalom?” And Ahimaaz says, “I saw the great multitude, at the sending away of the servant of the king, even your servant [by] Joab, and I have not known what [it is].”
“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.”
30 And the king says, “Turn around, station yourself here”; and he turns around and stands still.
“Stand to one side and wait,” the king told him. So Ahimaaz stood to one side and waited.
31 And behold, the Cushite has come, and the Cushite says, “Let tidings be proclaimed, my lord, O king; for today YHWH has delivered you out of the hand of all those rising up against you.”
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!”
32 And the king says to the Cushite, “Peace to the youth—for Absalom?” And the Cushite says, “Let them be—as the youth—the enemies of my lord the king, and all who have risen up against you for evil.”
“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!”
33 And the king trembles, and goes up on the upper chamber of the gate, and weeps, and thus he has said in his going, “My son Absalom! My son! My son Absalom! Oh that I had died for you, Absalom, my son, my son!”
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!”
