2 Samuel 13
1 David’s son Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar. Another of David’s sons, Amnon, was attracted to Tamar.
And it came to pass after this, that Abshalom the son of David had a handsome sister, whose name was Thamar; and Amnon the son of David loved 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 Amnon worried himself so that he fell sick on account of Thamar his sister; for she was a virgin; and it was impossible in the eyes of Amnon to do her the least [harm].
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 Yonadab, the son of Shim'ah, David's brother; and Yonadab was a very sensible 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, Why art thou so wasted, O prince, morning after morning? Wilt thou not tell me? Then said Amnon to him, Thamar the sister of Abshalom my brother do I love.
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.’”
And Yonadab said to him, Lie down on thy couch, and feign thyself sick; and when thy father cometh to see thee, thou must say unto him, Let, I pray thee, Thamar my sister come, and give me some food, and prepare the refreshment before my eyes, in order that I may see it, and eat it out of 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 lay down, and feigned himself sick; and when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, Let, I pray thee, Thamar my sister come, and mix up before my eyes a couple of cakes, that I may enjoy them out of 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 did David send home to Thamar, saying, Do go now to thy brother Amnon's house, and prepare for him the refreshment.
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 Thamar went to the house of Amnon her brother, and he was lying down; and she took the dough and kneaded, and mixed it up before his eyes, and baked the cakes;
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 pan, and poured them out before him; but he refused to eat; and Amnon said, Cause every man to go out from me; and they went out, every man, from him.
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.
And Amnon said to Thamar, Bring the refreshment into the chamber, that I may enjoy it out of thy hand. So Thamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them unto Amnon her brother into the chamber.
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 had brought them near unto him to eat, he took hold of her, and said unto her, Come, lie with me, 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!
But she said to him, No, my brother, do not violate me; for such a deed ought not to be done in Israel; do not this scandalous act!
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.”
And I, whither should I carry my shame? and as for thee, thou wouldst be like one of the worthless in Israel; but now, O speak, I pray thee, unto the king, for he will not withhold me from thee.
14 But he would not listen to her. He was stronger than she was, so he forced her to have sex with him.
Nevertheless, he would not hearken unto her voice; but he overpowered her, and violated her, and lay 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 did Amnon hate her with a very great hatred; so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her; and Amnon said unto her, Arise, 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 unto him, [Do] not add this yet greater wrong than the other which thou hast done with me, to send me [now] away! But he would not listen 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]!”
And he called his young man, his servant, and said, Do send this woman away from me, into the street, and lock the door behind 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.
And she had on a garment of divers colors; for thus were usually appareled the king's daughters when virgins, in robes; and his servant brought her out into the street, and locked the door behind 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 Thamar put ashes on her head, and the garment of divers colors which was on her she rent: and she placed her hand on her head, and went away and cried as she went along.
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.
Then said to her Abshalom her brother, Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee? but now, my sister, keep silence, he is thy brother, take this thing not to thy heart. So Thamar remained, and was secluded in the house of Abshalom her brother.
21 When King David heard about all that, he became very angry.
And when king David heard all these things, it displeased him greatly.
22 And Absalom hated Amnon, because he had raped his sister, so he would not speak to Amnon about anything.
And Abshalom spoke not with Amnon either bad or good; for Abshalom hated Amnon, because he had violated Thamar his sister.
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].
And it came to pass after two full years, that Abshalom had sheep-shearers at Ba'al-chazor, which is near Ephraim; and Abshalom invited all the king's sons.
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 Abshalom came to the king, and said, Behold, now, thy servant hath sheep-shearers; let the king, I pray thee, and his servants go with thy servant.
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 Abshalom, No, my son, do not let us all go now, that we may not be a burden upon thee. And he urged him much, but he would not go, and he blessed him.
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?”
And Abshalom said, If not, let, I pray thee, Amnon my brother go with us. And the king said to him, Why should he go with thee?
27 But Absalom continued to insist, so finally the king permitted Amnon and all David’s other sons to go with Absalom.
But Abshalom urged him greatly, and he sent with him Amnon and all the sons of the 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 Abshalom commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye, I pray you, when Annon's heart is merry with wine, and I say unto you, Smite Amnon: then kill him, fear not; behold, it is I who command it you; be firm and show yourselves men of valor.
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.
And the servants of Abshalom did unto Amnon as Abshalom had commanded. Then arose all the king's sons, and they rode off, every man on his mule, and fled.
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!”
And it happened, while they were on the way, that the report came to David, saying, Abshalom hath smitten all the king's sons, and there is not one of them left.
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 arose the king and rent his garments, and laid himself on the earth: and all his servants were standing by with their garments rent.
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.
But Yonadab the son of Shim'ah, David's brother, commenced and said, Let not my Lord suppose that they have slain all the young men, the king's sons; since Amnon alone is dead; for by the command of Abshalom was this ordained from the day that he violated Thamar his sister.
33 So, your majesty, do not believe the report that all your sons are dead. [I am sure that] only Amnon is dead.”
And now let not my Lord the king take the thing to his heart, thinking, that all the king's sons are dead; for Amnon alone 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].
And Abshalom flew away. And the young man that was watching lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, many people were coming by the way behind him, by the side of the mount.
35 Jonadab said to the king, “Aha! What I told you is true. Your other sons [are alive and] have come!”
And Yonadab said to the king, The king's sons are come: according to the word of thy servant, so hath it come to pass.
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 it happened, as he had just finished speaking, that, behold, the king's sons came, and they lifted up their voice and wept; and also the king and all his servants wept very much.
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,
But Abshalom had fled; and he went to Talmai, the son of 'Ammihud, the king of Geshur: and [David] mourned for his son all the time.
So did Abshalom fly, and go to Geshur, and he remained there three years.
39 but after that, he desired very much to see Absalom, because he was no longer grieving about Amnon being dead.
And [the soul of] king David longed to go forth unto Abshalom; for he was comforted concerning Amnon, that he was dead.
