¹⁵ In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down^(A) and die.^(B)”

⁴ He asked Amnon, “Why do you, the king’s son, look so haggard morning after morning? Won’t you tell me?”

Amnon said to him, “I’m in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.”

⁵ “Go to bed and pretend to be ill,” Jonadab said. “When your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘I would like my sister Tamar to come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare the food in my sight so I may watch her and then eat it from her hand.’”

⁶ So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. When the king came to see him, Amnon said to him, “I would like my sister Tamar to come and make some special bread in my sight, so I may eat from her hand.”

⁷ David sent word to Tamar at the palace: “Go to the house of your brother Amnon and prepare some food for him.” ⁸ So Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon, who was lying down. She took some dough, kneaded it, made the bread in his sight and baked it. ⁹ Then she took the pan and served him the bread, but he refused to eat.

“Send everyone out of here,”^(A) Amnon said. So everyone left him. ¹⁰ Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food here into my bedroom so I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her brother Amnon in his bedroom. ¹¹ But when she took it to him to eat, he grabbed^(B) her and said, “Come to bed with me, my sister.”^(C)

¹² “No, my brother!” she said to him. “Don’t force me! Such a thing should not be done in Israel!^(D) Don’t do this wicked thing.^{(E) 13} What about me?^(F) Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you.” ¹⁴ But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her.^(G)

¹⁵ Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, “Get up and get out!”

⁶ Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts^(A) of the people of Israel.

⁷ At the end of four^[a] years, Absalom said to the king, “Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the Lord. ⁸ While your servant was living at Geshur^(B) in Aram, I made this vow:^(C) ‘If the Lord takes me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the Lord in Hebron.^[b]’”

⁹ The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he went to Hebron.

¹⁰ Then Absalom sent secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets,^(D) then say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron.’” ¹¹ Two hundred men from Jerusalem had accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went quite innocently, knowing nothing about the matter. ¹² While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel^(E) the Gilonite, David’s counselor,^(F) to come from Giloh,^(G) his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom’s following kept on increasing.^(H)

David Flees

¹³ A messenger came and told David, “The hearts of the people of Israel are with Absalom.”

¹⁴ Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, “Come! We must flee,^(I) or none of us will escape from Absalom.^(J) We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin on us and put the city to the sword.”

¹⁵ The king’s officials answered him, “Your servants are ready to do whatever our lord the king chooses.”

¹⁶ The king set out, with his entire household following him; but he left ten concubines^(K) to take care of the palace. ¹⁷ So the king set out, with all the people following him, and they halted at the edge of the city. ¹⁸ All his men marched past him, along with all the Kerethites^(L) and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had accompanied him from Gath marched before the king.

¹⁹ The king said to Ittai^(M) the Gittite, “Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner,^(N) an exile from your homeland. ²⁰ You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander^(O) about with us, when I do not know where I am going? Go back, and take your people with you. May the Lord show you kindness and faithfulness.”^[c](P)

²¹ But Ittai replied to the king, “As surely as the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be.”^(Q)

²² David said to Ittai, “Go ahead, march on.” So Ittai the Gittite marched on with all his men and the families that were with him.

²³ The whole countryside wept aloud^(R) as all the people passed by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley,^(S) and all the people moved on toward the wilderness.