David Gets Ready for Battle

18 David divided his soldiers into groups of 100 and groups of 1,000. Then he chose officers to be in command of each group. ² He sent out one third of his army under the command of Joab, another third under the command of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, and the rest under the command of Ittai from Gath. He told the soldiers, “I'm going into battle with you.”

³ But the soldiers said, “No, don't go into battle with us! It won't matter to our enemies if they make us all run away, or even if they kill half of us. But you are worth 10,000 of us. It would be better for you to stay in town and send help if we need it.”

^4-6 David said, “All right, if you think I should.”

Then in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, he said, “Joab! Abishai! Ittai! For my sake, be sure that Absalom comes back unharmed.”

David stood beside the town gate as his army marched past in groups of 100 and in groups of 1,000.

Joab Kills Absalom

The war with Israel took place in Ephraim Forest. ^7-8 Battles were being fought all over the forest, and David's soldiers were winning. Twenty thousand soldiers were killed^[a] that day, and more of them died from the dangers of the forest than from the fighting itself.

⁹ Absalom was riding his mule under a huge tree when his head^[b] caught in the branches. The mule ran off and left Absalom hanging in midair. Some of David's soldiers happened by, ¹⁰ and one of them went and told Joab, “I saw Absalom hanging in a tree!”

¹¹ Joab said, “You saw Absalom? Why didn't you kill him? I would have given you ten pieces of silver and a special belt.”

¹² The man answered, “Even if you paid me 1,000 pieces of silver here and now, I still wouldn't touch the king's son. We all heard King David tell you and Abishai and Ittai not to harm Absalom. ¹³ He always finds out what's going on. I would have been risking my life to kill Absalom, because you would have let me take the blame.”

¹⁴ Joab said, “I'm not going to waste any more time on you!”

Absalom was still alive, so Joab took three spears and stuck them through Absalom's chest. ¹⁵ Ten of Joab's bodyguards came over and finished him off. ¹⁶ Then Joab blew a trumpet to signal his troops to stop chasing Israel's soldiers. ¹⁷ They threw Absalom's body into a deep pit in the forest and put a big pile of rocks over it.

Meanwhile, the people of Israel had all run back to their own homes.

¹⁸ When Absalom was alive, he had set up a stone monument for himself in King's Valley. He explained, “I don't have any sons^[c] to keep my name alive.” He called it Absalom's Monument, and that is the name it still has today.^[d]

Ahimaaz Wants To Tell David

¹⁹ Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, “Joab, let me run and tell King David that the Lord has rescued him from his enemies.”

²⁰ Joab answered, “You're not the one to tell the king that his son is dead. You can take him a message some other time, but not today.”

²¹ Someone from Ethiopia^[e] was standing there, and Joab told him, “Go and tell the king what you have seen.” The man knelt down in front of Joab, then got up and started running.

²² Ahimaaz spoke to Joab again, “No matter what happens, I still want to go. And besides, the Ethiopian has already left.”

Joab said, “Why should you go? You won't get a reward for the news you have!”

²³ “I'll run no matter what!” Ahimaaz insisted.

“All right then, run!” Joab said.

Ahimaaz took the road through the Jordan Valley and outran the Ethiopian.

²⁴ Meanwhile, David was sitting between the inner and outer gates^[f] in the city wall. One of his soldiers was watching from the roof of the gate-tower. He saw a man running toward the town ²⁵ and shouted down to tell David.

David answered, “If he's alone, he must have some news.”

The runner was getting closer, ²⁶ when the soldier saw someone else running. He shouted down to the gate, “Look! There's another runner!”

David said, “He must have some news too.”

²⁷ The soldier on the roof shouted, “The first one runs just like Ahimaaz the son of Zadok.”

This time David said, “He's a good man. He must have some good news.”

²⁸ Ahimaaz called out, “We won! We won!” Then he bowed low to David and said, “Your Majesty, praise the Lord your God! He has given you victory over your enemies.”

²⁹ “Is my son Absalom all right?” David asked.

Ahimaaz said, “When Joab sent your personal servant and me, I saw a noisy crowd. But I don't know what it was all about.”

³⁰ David told him, “Stand over there and wait.”

Ahimaaz went over and stood there. ³¹ The Ethiopian came and said, “Your Majesty, today I have good news! The Lord has rescued you from all your enemies!”

³² “Is my son Absalom all right?” David asked.

The Ethiopian replied, “I wish that all Your Majesty's enemies and everyone who tries to harm you would end up like him!”

David Cries for Absalom

³³ David started trembling. Then he went up to the room above the city gate to cry. As he went, he kept saying, “My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! I wish I could have died instead of you! Absalom, my son, my son!”^[g]

Israel's Leaders Are Worthless Shepherds

34 ^(A) The Lord God said:

² Ezekiel, son of man, Israel's leaders are like shepherds taking care of my sheep, the people of Israel. But I want you to condemn these leaders and tell them:

I, the Lord God, say you shepherds of Israel are doomed! You take care of yourselves while ignoring my sheep. ³ You drink their milk and use their wool to make your clothes. Then you butcher the best ones for food. But you don't take care of the flock! ⁴ You have never protected the weak ones or healed the sick ones or bandaged those that get hurt. You let them wander off and never look for those that get lost. You are cruel and mean to my sheep. ^5 (B) They strayed in every direction, and because there was no shepherd to watch them, they were attacked and eaten by wild animals. ⁶ So my sheep were scattered across the earth. They roamed on hills and mountains, without anyone even bothering to look for them.

^7-8 Now listen to what I, the living Lord God, am saying to you shepherds. My sheep have been attacked and eaten by wild animals, because you refused to watch them. You never went looking for the lost ones, and you fed yourselves without feeding my sheep. ^9-10 So I, the Lord, will punish you! I will rescue my sheep from you and never let you be their shepherd again or butcher them for food. I, the Lord, have spoken.

The Lord Is the Good Shepherd

¹¹ The Lord God then said:

I will look for my sheep and take care of them myself, ¹² just as a shepherd looks for lost sheep. My sheep have been lost since that dark and miserable day when they were scattered throughout the nations.^[a] But I will rescue them ¹³ and bring them back from the foreign nations where they now live. I will be their shepherd and will let them graze on Israel's mountains and in the valleys and fertile fields. ¹⁴ They will be safe as they feed on grassy meadows and green hills. ¹⁵ I promise to take care of them and keep them safe, ¹⁶ to look for those that are lost and bring back the ones that wander off, to bandage those that are hurt and protect the ones that are weak. I will also slaughter^[b] those that are fat and strong, because I always do right.

Judgment on the Strong Sheep

¹⁷ The Lord God said to his sheep, the people of Israel:

I will carefully watch each one of you to decide which ones are the strong sheep and which ones are weak. ¹⁸ Some of you eat the greenest grass, then trample down what's left when you finish. Others drink clean water, then step in the water to make the rest of it muddy. ¹⁹ That means my other sheep have nothing fit to eat or drink.

²⁰ So I, the Lord God, will separate you strong sheep from the weak. ²¹ You strong ones have used your powerful horns to chase off those that are weak, ²² but I will rescue them and no longer let them be mistreated. I will separate the good from the bad.

^23 (C) After that, I will give you a shepherd from the family of my servant King David. All of you, both strong and weak, will have the same shepherd, and he will take good care of you. ^24 (D) He will be your leader, and I will be your God. I, the Lord, have spoken.

A Bright Future for the Lord's Sheep

The Lord God said:

²⁵ The people of Israel are my sheep, and I solemnly promise that they will live in peace. I will chase away every wild animal from the desert and the forest, so my sheep will not be afraid. ²⁶ They will live around my holy mountain,^[c] and I will bless them by sending more than enough rain ²⁷ to make their trees produce fruit and their crops to grow. I will set them free from slavery and let them live safely in their own land. Then they will know that I am the Lord. ²⁸ Foreign nations will never again rob them, and wild animals will no longer kill and eat them. They will have nothing to fear. ²⁹ I will make their fields produce large amounts of crops, so they will never again go hungry or be laughed at by foreigners. ³⁰ Then everyone will know that I protect my people Israel. I, the Lord, make this promise. ³¹ They are my sheep; I am their God, and I take care of them.

2 I want you to know what a struggle I am going through for you, for God's people at Laodicea, and for all of those followers who have never met me. ² I do it to encourage them. Then as their hearts are joined together in love, they will be wonderfully blessed with complete understanding. And they will truly know Christ. Not only is he the key to God's mystery, ³ but all wisdom and knowledge are hidden away in him. ⁴ I tell you these things to keep you from being fooled by fancy talk. ⁵ Even though I am not with you, I keep thinking about you. I am glad to know that you are living as you should and your faith in Christ is strong.

Christ Brings Real Life

⁶ You have accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord. Now keep on following him. ⁷ Plant your roots in Christ and let him be the foundation for your life. Be strong in your faith, just as you were taught. And be grateful.

⁸ Don't let anyone fool you by using senseless arguments. These arguments may sound wise, but they are only human teachings. They come from the powers of this world^[a] and not from Christ.

⁹ God lives fully in Christ. ¹⁰ And you are fully grown because you belong to Christ, who is over every power and authority. ¹¹ Christ has also taken away your selfish desires, just as circumcision removes flesh from the body. ^12 (A) And when you were baptized, it was the same as being buried with Christ. Then you were raised to life because you had faith in the power of God, who raised Christ from death. ^13 (B) You were dead, because you were sinful and were not God's people. But God let Christ make you^[b] alive, when he forgave all our sins.

^14 (C) God wiped out the charges that were against us for disobeying the Law of Moses. He took them away and nailed them to the cross. ¹⁵ There Christ defeated all powers and forces. He let the whole world see them being led away as prisoners when he celebrated his victory.

^16 (D) Don't let anyone tell you what you must eat or drink. Don't let them say you must celebrate the New Moon festival, the Sabbath, or any other festival. ¹⁷ These things are only a shadow of what was to come. But Christ is real!

¹⁸ Don't be cheated by people who make a show of acting humble and who worship angels.^[c] They brag about seeing visions. But it is all nonsense, because their minds are filled with selfish desires. ^19 (E) They are no longer part of Christ, who is the head of the whole body. Christ gives the body its strength, and he uses its joints and muscles to hold it together, as it grows by the power of God.

Christ Brings New Life

²⁰ You died with Christ. Now the forces of the universe^[d] don't have any power over you. Why do you live as if you had to obey such rules as, ²¹ “Don't handle this. Don't taste that. Don't touch this.”? ²² After these things are used, they are no longer good for anything. So why be bothered with the rules that humans have made up? ²³ Obeying these rules may seem to be the smart thing to do. They appear to make you love God more and to be very humble and to have control over your body. But they don't really have any power over our desires.

The Lord Is King