2 Samuel 18
1 David arranged his soldiers for the battle. He divided them into groups, and appointed a commander for each 100 soldiers and a commander for each 1,000 soldiers.
And so David, having reviewed his people, appointed over them tribunes and centurions.
2 He sent them out in three groups. Joab commanded one group, Joab’s brother Abishai commanded a second group, and Ittai from Gath commanded the third group. David said to them, “I myself will go with you [to the battle].”
And he placed a third part of the people under the hand of Joab, and a third part under the hand of Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, and a third part under the hand of Ittai, who was from Gath. And the king said to the people, “I, too, will go forth with you.”
3 But his soldiers said, “No, we will not allow you to go with us. If they force us all to run away, they will not be concerned about that happening. Or if they kill half of us, that will also not be what they want. To them, [killing] you is more important than [killing] 10,000 of us. So it will be better that you [stay here] in the city and send help to us.”
And the people responded: “You shall not go out. For if we flee, there will not be great concern in them for us. Or if one half part of us will fall, they will not care much. For you are considered as one for ten thousand. Therefore, it is better that you should be in the city to strengthen us.”
4 The king replied, “Okay, I will do whatever seems best to you.” So he stood at the gate [and watched] while his soldiers marched out, group by group.
And the king said to them, “I will do whatever seems good to you.” Therefore, the king stood beside the gate. And the people went out by their troops, by hundreds and by thousands.
5 [While they were leaving, ] the king commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, “For my sake, do not harm my son Absalom!” And all the troops heard it when David gave that order about Absalom to those three commanders.
And the king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, “Preserve for me the boy Absalom.” And all the people heard the king commanding all the leaders on behalf of Absalom.
6 So the army went out to fight against the Israeli soldiers [who were with Absalom]. They fought the battle in the forest [where people from the tribe] of Ephraim [lived].
And so, the people departed into the field against Israel. And the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim.
7 David’s soldiers defeated Absalom’s soldiers. They killed 20,000 of them!
And the people of Israel were cut down in that place by the army of David. And a great slaughter occurred on that day: twenty thousand men.
8 The battle was fought {They fought the battle} all over that area, and the number of men who died because of [dangerous things in] the forest [PRS] was greater than the number of men who were killed (in the battle/by swords).
Now the battle in that place was dispersed over the face of all the land. And there were many more of the people whom the forest had consumed, than the sword had devoured, on that day.
9 During the battle, Absalom suddenly came near [some of] David’s soldiers. Absalom was riding on his mule; and when the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak tree, Absalom’s head/hair was caught in the branches. The mule kept going, but Absalom was left dangling in the air.
Then it happened that Absalom, riding on a mule, met the servants of David. And when the mule had entered under a thick and large oak tree, his head became trapped in the oak. And while he was suspended between heaven and earth, the mule on which he had been sitting continued on.
10 One of David’s soldiers saw what happened, and went and told Joab, “I saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree!”
Then a certain one saw this and reported it to Joab, saying, “I saw Absalom hanging from an oak.”
11 Joab said to the man, “What? You say that you saw him hanging there, so why did you not kill him immediately [RHQ]? [If you had killed him, ] I would have given you ten pieces of silver and a belt!”
And Joab said to the man who had reported it to him, “If you saw him, why did you not stab him to the ground, and I would have given you ten shekels of silver and a belt?”
12 The man replied to Joab, “Even if you gave me 1,000 pieces of silver, I would not have done anything to harm [IDM] the king’s son. We all heard the king command you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘For my sake, do not harm my son Absalom!’
And he said to Joab: “Even if you weighed out to my hands one thousand silver coins, I would never lay my hands on the son of the king. For in our hearing the king ordered you and Abishai and Ittai, saying, ‘Keep for me the boy Absalom.’
13 If I had disobeyed the king and killed Absalom, the king would have heard about it, because the king hears about everything, and even you would not have defended me!”
Then too, if I had acted with such audacity, against my own life, this would never have been able to be hidden from the king. And would you then have stood by my side?”
14 Joab said, “I am not going to waste time talking to you!” Then he took three spears [and went to where Absalom was], and thrust them into Absalom’s chest/heart while he was still alive, dangling from the oak tree.
And Joab said, “It will not be as you wish. Instead, I will be assailing him in your sight.” Then he took three lances in his hand, and he fixed them in the heart of Absalom. And while he was still clinging to life upon the oak,
15 Then ten young men who carried weapons for Joab surrounded Absalom and [finished] killing him.
ten young men, armor bearers of Joab, ran up, and striking him, they killed him.
16 Then Joab blew his trumpet [to signal that they should not fight any more], and his soldiers returned from pursuing those Israeli soldiers.
Then Joab sounded the trumpet, and he held back the people, lest they pursue Israel in their flight, for he was willing to spare the multitude.
17 They took Absalom’s body and threw it into a huge pit in the forest, and covered it with a huge pile of stones. Then all the remaining Israeli soldiers [who had been with Absalom] fled to their own towns.
And they took Absalom, and they threw him into a great pit in the forest. And they piled an exceedingly great heap of stones over him. But all of Israel fled to their own tents.
18 Absalom had no sons to preserve his [family] name. So, while Absalom was alive, he built a monument to himself in the King’s Valley [near Jerusalem, in order that people would remember him]. He put his name on the monument, and people still call it Absalom’s monument.
Now Absalom had raised up for himself, when he was still alive, a monument, which is in the Valley of the King. For he said, “I have no son, and so this shall be the memorial to my name.” And he called the monument by his own name. And it is called the Hand of Absalom, even to this day.
19 [After Absalom had been killed, ] Zadok’s son Ahimaaz said to Joab, “Allow me to run to the king to tell him the good news that Yahweh has rescued him from the power of his enemies!”
Then Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, said, “I will run and report to the king that the Lord has accomplished judgment for him, from the hand of his enemies.”
20 But Joab said to him, “No, I will not allow you to take news to the king today. Some other day I will allow you to take some news, but not today. [If you took news today it would not be good news for the king, ] because his son is dead.”
And Joab said to him: “You shall not be the messenger on this day. Instead, you shall report on another day. I am not willing for you to give the report today, because the son of the king is dead.”
21 Then Joab said to David’s servant who was from Ethiopia, “You go and tell the king what you have seen.” So the man from Ethiopia bowed in front of Joab, and started to run.
Then Joab said to Hushai, “Go, and report to the king what you have seen.” Hushai reverenced Joab, and he ran.
22 Then Ahimaaz said again to Joab, “Even though [that man from Ethiopia is running], allow me to run behind him.” Joab replied, “My boy/son, why do you want to do that? You will not receive any reward for your news!”
And Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, said to Joab again, “What prevents me from running after Hushai also?” And Joab said to him: “Why do you want to run, my son? You would not be the bearer of good news.”
23 But Ahimaaz replied, “That does not matter, I want to go.” So Joab said, “Okay, go.” So Ahimaaz ran along [another] road through the Jordan Valley and arrived [where David was] before the man from Ethiopia arrived.
And he responded, “But what if I do run?” And he said to him, “Run.” Then Ahimaaz, running along a shorter way, passed Hushai.
24 David was sitting between the outer gate and the inner gate [of the city]. The watchman/lookout went up on top of the city wall and stood on the roof over the gates. He looked out and saw one man running alone.
Now David was sitting between the two gates. Truly, the watchman, who was at the summit of the gate upon the wall, lifting up his eyes, saw a man running alone.
25 The watchman called down and reported it to the king. The king said, “If he is alone, [that indicates/means that] he is bringing [good] news.” The man who was running continued to come closer.
And crying out, he told the king. And the king said, “If he is alone, there is good news in his mouth.” But as he was advancing and drawing nearer,
26 Then the watchman saw another man running. So he called down to the gatekeeper, “Look! There is another man running!” And the king said, “He also is bringing [some good] news.”
the watchman saw another man running. And so, crying out from the height, he said: “Another man has appeared, running alone.” And the king said, “This one also is a good messenger.”
27 The watchman said, “I think the first man [must be Ahimaaz, because he] is running like Ahimaaz runs.” The king said, “He is a good man, and [I am sure] he is coming with good news.”
Then the watchman said, “The running of the closest one seems like the running of Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok.” And the king said, “He is a good man, and he arrives bearing good news.”
28 [When] Ahimaaz [reached the king, he] called out “I hope/desire that things will go well with you!” Then he prostrated himself on the ground in front of the king and said, “Your Majesty, praise Yahweh our God, who has rescued you from the men who were rebelling against you!”
Then, Ahimaaz, crying out, said to the king, “Be well, O king.” And reverencing the king prone on the ground before him, he said, “Blessed be the Lord your God, who has enclosed the men who had lifted up their hands against my lord the king.”
29 The king said, “Is the young man Absalom safe/all right?” Ahimaaz [did not want to answer that question, so he] replied, “When Joab sent me, I saw that there was a lot of confusion, but I do not know what it was about.”
And the king said, “Is there peace for the boy Absalom?” And Ahimaaz said: “I saw a great tumult, O king, when your servant Joab sent me, your servant. I know nothing else.”
30 Then the king said, “Stand aside.” So Ahimaaz stepped aside and stood there.
And the king said to him, “Pass, and stand here.” And when he had passed and stood still,
31 Suddenly the man from Ethiopia arrived, and said, “Your Majesty, I have good news for you! Yahweh has enabled your soldiers to defeat all those who rebelled against you!”
Hushai appeared. And approaching, he said: “I bear good news, my lord the king. For today the Lord has judged for you, from the hand of all who had risen up against you.”
32 The king said to him, “Is the young man Absalom safe/all right?” And the man from Ethiopia replied, “Sir, I wish/desire that what happened to him would happen to all of your enemies and to all those who rebel against you!”
But the king said to Hushai, “Is there peace for the boy Absalom?” And responding, Hushai said to him, “May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise against him for evil, be as the boy is.”
33 The king [realized that he meant that Absalom was dead, so he] became (extremely distressed/overcome with grief), and he went up to the room above the gateway and cried. While he was going up, he kept crying out, “O, my son Absalom! My son! O, my son Absalom, I desire/wish that I had died instead of you!”
And so the king, being greatly saddened, ascended to the upper room of the gate, and he wept. And as he went, he was speaking in this manner: “My son Absalom! Absalom my son! Who can grant to me that I may die on your behalf? Absalom, my son! My son, Absalom!”
