2 Samuel 13
1 David’s son Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar. Another of David’s sons, Amnon, was attracted to Tamar.
Now after this, it came about that Absalom, David's son, had a beautiful sister, whose name was Tamar; and David's son Amnon was in love with her.
2 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].
And he was so deeply in love that he became ill because of his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin, and so it seemed hard to Amnon to do anything to her.
3 But Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, who was the son of David’s brother Shimeah. Jonadab was a very crafty/shrewd man.
But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother: and Jonadab was a very wise man.
4 [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.”
And he said to him, O son of the king, why are you getting thinner day by day? will you not say what your trouble is? And Amnon said to him, I am in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister.
5 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.’”
Then Jonadab said to him, Go to your bed, and let it seem that you are ill: and when your father comes to see you, say to him, Let my sister Tamar come and give me bread, and get the food ready before my eyes, so that I may see it and take it from her hand.
6 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.”
So Amnon went to bed and made himself seem ill: and when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, Please let my sister Tamar come and make me one or two cakes before my eyes, so that I may take food from her hand.
7 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.”
Then David sent to the house for Tamar and said, Go now to your brother Amnon's house and get a meal for him.
8 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.
So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house; and he was in bed. And she took paste and made cakes before his eyes, cooking them over the fire.
9 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].
And she took the cooking-pot, and put the cakes before him, but he would not take them. And Amnon said, Let everyone go away from me. So they all went out.
10 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.
Then Amnon said to Tamar, Take the food and come into my bedroom, so that I may take it from your hand. So Tamar took the cakes she had made and went with them into her brother Amnon's bedroom.
11 But when she brought them close for him to eat them, he grabbed her and said to her, “Come to bed with me!”
And when she took them to give them to him, he put his arms round her and said, Come to bed, my sister.
12 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!
And answering him, she said, O my brother, do not put shame on me; it is not right for such a thing to be done in Israel: do not this evil thing.
13 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.”
What will become of me in my shame? and as for you, you will be looked down on with disgust by all Israel. Now then, go and make your request to the king, for he will not keep me from you.
14 But he would not listen to her. He was stronger than she was, so he forced her to have sex with him.
But he would not give attention to what she said: but being stronger than she, he took her by force, and had connection with her.
15 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!”
Then Amnon was full of hate for her, hating her with a hate greater than his earlier love for her. And he said to her, Get up and be gone.
16 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.
And she said to him, Not so, my brother, for this great wrong in sending me away is worse than what you did to me before. But he gave no attention to her.
17 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]!”
Then he gave a cry to the servant who was waiting on him and said, Put this woman out, and let the door be locked after her.
18 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.
Now she had on a long robe, such as in past times the king's virgin daughters were dressed in. Then the servant put her out, locking the door after her.
19 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.
And Tamar, in her grief, put dust on her head; and she put her hand on her head and went away crying loudly.
20 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.
And her brother Absalom said to her, Has your brother Amnon been with you? but now, let there be an end to your crying, my sister: he is your brother, do not take this thing to heart. So Tamar went on living uncomforted in her brother's house.
21 When King David heard about all that, he became very angry.
But when King David had news of all these things he was very angry; but he did not make trouble for Amnon his son, for he was dear to David, being his oldest son.
22 And Absalom hated Amnon, because he had raped his sister, so he would not speak to Amnon about anything.
But Absalom said nothing to his brother Amnon, good or bad: for he was full of hate for him, because he had taken his sister Tamar by force.
23 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].
Now after two full years, Absalom had men cutting the wool of his sheep in Baal-hazor, which is near Ephraim: and he sent for all the king's sons to come to his feast.
24 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!”
And Absalom came to the king and said, See now, your servant is cutting the wool of his sheep; will the king and his servants be pleased to come?
25 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].
And the king said to Absalom, No, my son, let us not all go, or the number will be over-great for you. And he made his request again, but he would not go, but he gave him his blessing.
26 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?”
Then Absalom said, If you will not go, then let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said to him, Is there any reason for him to go with you?
27 But Absalom continued to insist, so finally the king permitted Amnon and all David’s other sons to go with Absalom.
But Absalom went on requesting him till he let Amnon and all the king's sons go with him. And Absalom made a great feast like a feast for a king.
28 [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!”
Now Absalom had given orders to his servants, saying, Now take note when Amnon's heart is glad with wine; and when I say to you, Make an attack on Amnon, then put him to death without fear: have I not given you orders? be strong and without fear.
29 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.
So Absalom's servants did to Amnon as Absalom had given them orders. Then all the king's sons got up, and every man got on his beast and went in flight.
30 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!”
Now while they were on their way, news was given to David that Absalom had put to death all the sons of the king and that not one of them was still living.
31 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.
Then the king got up in great grief, stretching himself out on the earth: and all his servants were by his side, with their clothing parted.
32 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.
And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother, said, Let not my lord have the idea that all the sons of the king have been put to death; for only Amnon is dead: this has been purposed by Absalom from the day when he took his sister Tamar by force.
33 So, your majesty, do not believe the report that all your sons are dead. [I am sure that] only Amnon is dead.”
So now, let not my lord the king take this thing to heart, with the idea that all the king's sons are dead: for only Amnon is dead.
34 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].
But Absalom went in flight. And the young man who kept the watch, lifting up his eyes, saw that a great band of people was coming down the slope by the way of the Horons; and the watchman came and gave word to the king, saying, I saw men coming down by the way of the Horons, from the hillside.
35 Jonadab said to the king, “Aha! What I told you is true. Your other sons [are alive and] have come!”
And Jonadab said to the king, See, the king's sons are coming; as your servant said, so it is.
36 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.
And while he was talking, the king's sons came, with weeping and loud cries: and the king and all his servants were weeping bitterly.
37 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,
So Absalom went in flight and came to Talmai, the son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur, where he was for three years.
And the king was sorrowing for his son all the time.
39 but after that, he desired very much to see Absalom, because he was no longer grieving about Amnon being dead.
And the heart of David was wasted with desire for Absalom: for he was comforted for the death of Amnon.
