¹⁵ Then Hushai said to Zadok and Abiathar the kohanim, “This and that is what Ahithophel counseled Absalom and the elders of Israel, and this and that is what I advised. ¹⁶ Now therefore send word quickly and tell David saying, ‘Don’t spend the night at the fords in the wilderness but by all means, cross over or else the king and all the people with him may be swallowed up.’” ¹⁷ Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En-rogel, and a maidservant used to go and pass information along to them. Then they would go and inform King David for they could not be seen entering the city.

¹⁸ But a lad did see them and informed Absalom. So the two of them left quickly and arrived at the house of a man in Bahurim. He had a well in his courtyard; so they went down into it. ¹⁹ Then the woman took the cover and spread it over the well’s mouth and scattered grain on top of it so that nothing was noticeable. ²⁰ When Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house and said, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” the woman said to them, “They crossed over the brook of water.” When they had searched and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.

²¹ After they had departed, they came up from the well, then went and informed King David, telling David, “Get up and cross over the water immediately, for thus has Ahithophel counseled against you.” ²² Then David arose, and all the people who were with him, and they crossed over the Jordan. By morning light, not even one of them was left who had not crossed the Jordan.

²³ Now when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey, arose, went to his home in his hometown set his house in order, and hanged himself. So he died and was buried in his father’s tomb.

²⁴ David had reached Mahanaim by the time Absalom crossed the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him. ²⁵ Now Absalom had set Amasa over the army instead of Joab. (Now Amasa was son of a man whose name was Ithra the Israelite^[a], who had gone to Abigal daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah Joab’s mother.) ²⁶ Israel and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead.

²⁷ Now when David reached Mahanaim, Shobi son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, Machir son of Ammiel of Lo-debar and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim ²⁸ brought beds, basins, clay pots, wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils, parched seeds, ²⁹ honey, curd, sheep and cheese from the herd for David and for the people who were with him to eat. For they said, “The people must be hungry, weary and thirsty in the wilderness.”

Magen David

Psalm 3

You Are My God

Psalm 63

Absalom’s Demise

18 Then David mustered the people who were with him and set commanders of thousands and captains of hundreds over them. ² Then David sent out the troops, one third under the command of Joab, one third under the command of Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and one third under the command of Ittai the Gittite. The king said to the troops, “I must certainly go out with you also.”

³ But the troops said, “You must not go out! For if we were to flee, they would not care about us, even if half of us die, they still wouldn’t care about us—but you are worth 10,000 of us. Therefore now, it is better that you be ready to support us from the city.”

⁴ Then the king said to them, “Whatever seems best to you I will do.” So the king stood beside the gate and all the troops went out by their hundreds and thousands. ⁵ Then the king charged Joab, Abishai and Ittai saying, “Deal gently with the young man Absalom for my sake.” Now all the troops heard the king’s charge to all the commanders concerning Absalom.

⁶ Then the troops went out to the field to confront Israel but the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim. ⁷ The people of Israel were defeated there before the followers of David, and the slaughter that day was great—20,000 men. ⁸ For the battle there was spread over the face of the entire countryside and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.

⁹ Now Absalom encountered some of David’s servants. When Absalom was riding on his mule, the mule went under the thick branches of the great oak, and his head got caught in the oak, so that he was left hanging between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on. ¹⁰ Then a certain man saw it and told Joab saying, “Look, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.”

¹¹ Then Joab said to his informant, “Look here, you saw him, so why didn’t you strike him there to the ground? I would have given you ten pieces of silver and a belt!”

¹² But the man said to Joab, “Even if I had 1,000 pieces of silver in my hand, I would not raise my hand against the king’s son; for in our hearing the king charged you, Abishai and Ittai saying, ‘Watch over the young man Absalom for me.’ ¹³ Otherwise, I would have betrayed his soul—and nothing stays hidden from the king—and you yourself would have stood aloof.”

¹⁴ “I won’t wait for you!” Joab said. So he took three darts in his hand and thrust them through Absalom’s heart while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak. ¹⁵ Then ten young men who were Joab’s armor-bearers surrounded Absalom, struck and finished him off. ¹⁶ Then Joab blew the shofar and the troops returned from pursuing Israel, for Joab held back the troops. ¹⁷ They took Absalom and threw him into a deep pit in the forest and piled over him a very large heap of stones. Then all Israel fled, everyone to his tent.

¹⁸ (Now Absalom, in his lifetime, had taken and set up for himself a pillar, which is in the King’s Valley, for he said, “I have no son to preserve the memory of my name.” So he called the pillar by his name and it has been called Absalom’s Monument to this day.)

¹⁹ Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Let me now run and bring the king news that Adonai has vindicated him against the hand of his enemies.”

²⁰ But Joab said to him, “You are not to be the bearer of news today. You may do it another day, but today you shall bear no news—for the king’s son is dead.”

²¹ Then Joab said to the Cushite, “Go tell the king what you have seen.” So the Cushite bowed to Joab and took off running.

²² But Ahimaaz son of Zadok once again said to Joab, “Whatever happens, please let me also run after the Cushite.”

“Why should you run, my son,” Joab said, “since you would have no news worth telling?”

²³ “Whatever may come of it, I want to run!”

So he said to him, “Run!” Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and so passed the Cushite.

²⁴ Now David was sitting between the two gates. When the watchman on the roof over the gate walked over to the wall, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and all of a sudden, he saw a man running alone. ²⁵ The watchman cried out and told the king. The king said, “If he is alone, there is good news in his mouth.” So he came closer and closer.

²⁶ Then the watchman saw another man running, so the watchman called out to the gatekeeper and said, “Look, another man is running alone.”

The king said, “He too is bringing good news.”

²⁷ Then the watchman said, “I can see that the running of the first one is like the running of Ahimaaz son of Zadok.”

“This is a good man and he comes with good news,” the king replied.

²⁸ Then Ahimaaz called out and said to the king, “Shalom.” Then he prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground and said, “Blessed be Adonai your God, who has given over the men who lifted up their hand against my lord the king.”

²⁹ Then the king asked, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?”

Ahimaaz answered, “I saw a great tumult when the king’s servant Joab sent me, your servant, but I did not know what it was about.”

³⁰ “Step aside and stand here,” the king said. So he stepped aside and stood still.

³¹ Then the Cushite arrived and said, “Let my lord the king receive good news for Adonai has vindicated you today against all who rose up against you.”

³² Then the king asked the Cushite, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?”

The Cushite answered, “Let the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up against you for evil be as that young man!”

David Weeps Over Absalom

19 The king was shaken. So he went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. As he walked he cried, “My son Absalom! O my son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you! Absalom, my son, my son!”

² Then Joab was told, “Look, the king is weeping and mourning over Absalom!” ³ So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the troops, for the troops heard it said that day, “The king is grieving over his son.” ⁴ So the troops entered into the city stealthily that day, like troops who are ashamed after running away in battle.

⁵ The king covered his face and cried with a loud voice, “My son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

⁶ Then Joab came into the house to the king and said, “Today you have humiliated all your servants—who this day have saved your life, the lives of your sons and daughters, and the lives of your wives and the lives of your concubines— ⁷ by loving those who hate you, and hating those who love you! For you have shown today that officers and officials are nothing to you. For today I realize that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead, then it would have pleased you well. ⁸ So now arise, go out, and speak to the heart of your servants! For I swear by Adonai that if you do not go out, not a single man will stay with you tonight, and that would be worse for you than all the evil that has befallen you from your youth until now.”

⁹ So the king arose and sat in the gate. When they told all the troops saying, “See, the king is sitting at the gate,” all the troops presented themselves before the king.

David’s Restoration and Grace

Meanwhile, Israel had fled each man to his tent. ¹⁰ All the people throughout all the tribes of Israel were at strife saying, “The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies and he saved us from the hand of the Philistines. Yet now he had to flee from the land because of Absalom, ¹¹ but Absalom, whom we anointed over us, has died in battle. So why are we silent about restoring the king?”

¹² Then King David sent word to Zadok and Abiathar the kohanim saying, “Speak to the elders of Judah saying, ‘Why should you be the last to bring the king back to his palace? The talk of all Israel had reached the king at his residence. ¹³ ‘You are my kinsmen, my bone and my flesh! Why then should you be the last to bring back the king?’

¹⁴ “Also say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? May God do so to me and even more if you do not become my army commander before me continually, in place of Joab!’”

¹⁵ Thus he turned the heart of all the men of Judah as one man, and then they sent word to the king, “Come back, you and all your servants.” ¹⁶ So the king returned and reached the Jordan. Meanwhile, Judah came to Gilgal in order to meet the king, to escort the king over the Jordan.

¹⁷ Then Shimei son of Gera, the Benjamite who was from Bahurim, hurried and came down with the men of Judah to meet King David ¹⁸ accompanied by 1,000 men of Benjamin. Also Ziba the servant of Saul’s household, with his 15 sons and 20 slaves, rushed to the Jordan ahead of the king. ¹⁹ They ferried across the ford to bring the king’s household and they did whatever seemed good in his eyes. Now, Shimei son of Gera fell down before the king when he was crossing over the Jordan, ²⁰ so he implored the king, “Let my lord not hold me guilty, and not remember the iniquity that your servant committed on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem. Let the king not take it to his heart. ²¹ For your servant knows that I have sinned. So behold, I have come today the first of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.”

²² But Abishai son of Zeruiah answered and said, “Shouldn’t Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed Adonai’s anointed?”

²³ But David said, “What have I to do with you sons of Zeruiah that you should be my adversary^[a] today? Should any man be put to death in Israel this day? Don’t I know that today I am king over Israel?” ²⁴ Then the king said to Shimei, “You shall not die,” and the king swore it to him.

²⁵ Then Mephibosheth son of Saul came down to meet the king. Now he had neither dressed his feet nor trimmed his beard nor washed his clothes from the day the king departed until the day he came home in shalom. ²⁶ Now it came to pass when he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king asked him, “Why did you not go with me Mephibosheth?”

²⁷ “My lord the king, my own servant deceived me,” he answered. “For your servant had said, ‘I will saddle a donkey for myself, ride on it and go with the king,’ because your servant is lame. ²⁸ However, he has slandered your servant to my lord the king. But my lord the king is like an angel of God. So do what is good in your eyes. ²⁹ For all my father’s household deserved only death at the hand of my lord the king; yet you set your servant among those eating at your own table! What right do I have yet to cry to the king?”

³⁰ Then the king said to him, “Why do you still speak of your affairs? I have decreed, ‘You and Ziba shall divide the land.’”