Absalom’s Treason

15 After this ^(A)it happened that Absalom ^(B)provided himself with chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him. ² Now Absalom would rise early and stand beside the way to the gate. So it was, whenever anyone who had a ^(C)lawsuit^[a] came to the king for a decision, that Absalom would call to him and say, “What city are you from?” And he would say, “Your servant is from such and such a tribe of Israel.” ³ Then Absalom would say to him, “Look, your ^[b]case is good and right; but there is no ^[c]deputy of the king to hear you.” ⁴ Moreover Absalom would say, ^(D)“Oh, that I were made judge in the land, and everyone who has any suit or cause would come to me; then I would give him justice.” ⁵ And so it was, whenever anyone came near to bow down to him, that he would put out his hand and take him and ^(E)kiss him. ⁶ In this manner Absalom acted toward all Israel who came to the king for judgment. ^(F)So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

⁷ Now it came to pass ^(G)after ^[d]forty years that Absalom said to the king, “Please, let me go to ^(H)Hebron and pay the vow which I made to the Lord. ^8 (I)For your servant ^(J)took a vow ^(K)while I dwelt at Geshur in Syria, saying, ‘If the Lord indeed brings me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.’ ”

⁹ And the king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he arose and went to Hebron.

¹⁰ Then Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, ‘Absalom ^(L)reigns in Hebron!’ ” ¹¹ And with Absalom went two hundred men ^(M)invited from Jerusalem, and they ^(N)went along innocently and did not know anything. ¹² Then Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, ^(O)David’s counselor, from his city—from ^(P)Giloh—while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy grew strong, for the people with Absalom ^(Q)continually increased in number.

David Escapes from Jerusalem

¹³ Now a messenger came to David, saying, ^(R)“The hearts of the men of Israel are ^[e]with Absalom.”

¹⁴ So David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Arise, and let us ^(S)flee, or we shall not escape from Absalom. Make haste to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly and bring disaster upon us, and strike the city with the edge of the sword.”

¹⁵ And the king’s servants said to the king, “We are your servants, ready to do whatever my lord the king commands.” ¹⁶ Then ^(T)the king went out with all his household after him. But the king left ^(U)ten women, concubines, to keep the house. ¹⁷ And the king went out with all the people after him, and stopped at the outskirts. ¹⁸ Then all his servants passed ^[f]before him; ^(V)and all the Cherethites, all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, ^(W)six hundred men who had followed him from Gath, passed before the king.

¹⁹ Then the king said to ^(X)Ittai the Gittite, “Why are you also going with us? Return and remain with the king. For you are a foreigner and also an exile from your own place. ²⁰ In fact, you came only yesterday. Should I make you wander up and down with us today, since I go ^(Y)I know not where? Return, and take your brethren back. Mercy and truth be with you.”

²¹ But Ittai answered the king and said, ^(Z)“As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely in whatever place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also your servant will be.”

²² So David said to Ittai, “Go, and cross over.” Then Ittai the Gittite and all his men and all the little ones who were with him crossed over. ²³ And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people crossed over. The king himself also crossed over the Brook Kidron, and all the people crossed over toward the way of the ^(AA)wilderness.

²⁴ There was ^(AB)Zadok also, and all the Levites with him, bearing the ^(AC)ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and ^(AD)Abiathar went up until all the people had finished crossing over from the city. ²⁵ Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, He ^(AE)will bring me back and show me both it and ^(AF)His dwelling place. ²⁶ But if He says thus: ‘I have no ^(AG)delight in you,’ here I am, ^(AH)let Him do to me as seems good to Him.” ²⁷ The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a ^(AI)seer?^[g] Return to the city in peace, and ^(AJ)your two sons with you, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. ²⁸ See, ^(AK)I will wait in the plains of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” ²⁹ Therefore Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God back to Jerusalem. And they remained there.

³⁰ So David went up by the Ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went up; and he ^(AL)had his head covered and went ^(AM)barefoot. And all the people who were with him ^(AN)covered their heads and went up, ^(AO)weeping as they went up. ³¹ Then someone told David, saying, ^(AP)“Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O Lord, I pray, ^(AQ)turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!”

³² Now it happened when David had come to the top of the mountain, where he worshiped God—there was Hushai the ^(AR)Archite coming to meet him ^(AS)with his robe torn and dust on his head. ³³ David said to him, “If you go on with me, then you will become ^(AT)a burden to me. ³⁴ But if you return to the city, and say to Absalom, ^(AU)‘I will be your servant, O king; as I was your father’s servant previously, so I will now also be your servant,’ then you may defeat the counsel of Ahithophel for me. ³⁵ And do you not have Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there? Therefore it will be that whatever you hear from the king’s house, you shall tell to ^(AV)Zadok and Abiathar the priests. ³⁶ Indeed they have there ^(AW)with them their two sons, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son, and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son; and by them you shall send me everything you hear.”

³⁷ So Hushai, ^(AX)David’s friend, went into the city. ^(AY)And Absalom came into Jerusalem.

Absalom’s Treason

15 After this ^(A)it happened that Absalom ^(B)provided himself with chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him. ² Now Absalom would rise early and stand beside the way to the gate. So it was, whenever anyone who had a ^(C)lawsuit^[a] came to the king for a decision, that Absalom would call to him and say, “What city are you from?” And he would say, “Your servant is from such and such a tribe of Israel.” ³ Then Absalom would say to him, “Look, your ^[b]case is good and right; but there is no ^[c]deputy of the king to hear you.” ⁴ Moreover Absalom would say, ^(D)“Oh, that I were made judge in the land, and everyone who has any suit or cause would come to me; then I would give him justice.” ⁵ And so it was, whenever anyone came near to bow down to him, that he would put out his hand and take him and ^(E)kiss him. ⁶ In this manner Absalom acted toward all Israel who came to the king for judgment. ^(F)So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

⁷ Now it came to pass ^(G)after ^[d]forty years that Absalom said to the king, “Please, let me go to ^(H)Hebron and pay the vow which I made to the Lord. ^8 (I)For your servant ^(J)took a vow ^(K)while I dwelt at Geshur in Syria, saying, ‘If the Lord indeed brings me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.’ ”

⁹ And the king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he arose and went to Hebron.

¹⁰ Then Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, ‘Absalom ^(L)reigns in Hebron!’ ” ¹¹ And with Absalom went two hundred men ^(M)invited from Jerusalem, and they ^(N)went along innocently and did not know anything. ¹² Then Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, ^(O)David’s counselor, from his city—from ^(P)Giloh—while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy grew strong, for the people with Absalom ^(Q)continually increased in number.

David Escapes from Jerusalem

¹³ Now a messenger came to David, saying, ^(R)“The hearts of the men of Israel are ^[e]with Absalom.”

¹⁴ So David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Arise, and let us ^(S)flee, or we shall not escape from Absalom. Make haste to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly and bring disaster upon us, and strike the city with the edge of the sword.”

¹⁵ And the king’s servants said to the king, “We are your servants, ready to do whatever my lord the king commands.” ¹⁶ Then ^(T)the king went out with all his household after him. But the king left ^(U)ten women, concubines, to keep the house. ¹⁷ And the king went out with all the people after him, and stopped at the outskirts. ¹⁸ Then all his servants passed ^[f]before him; ^(V)and all the Cherethites, all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, ^(W)six hundred men who had followed him from Gath, passed before the king.

¹⁹ Then the king said to ^(X)Ittai the Gittite, “Why are you also going with us? Return and remain with the king. For you are a foreigner and also an exile from your own place. ²⁰ In fact, you came only yesterday. Should I make you wander up and down with us today, since I go ^(Y)I know not where? Return, and take your brethren back. Mercy and truth be with you.”

²¹ But Ittai answered the king and said, ^(Z)“As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely in whatever place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also your servant will be.”

²² So David said to Ittai, “Go, and cross over.” Then Ittai the Gittite and all his men and all the little ones who were with him crossed over. ²³ And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people crossed over. The king himself also crossed over the Brook Kidron, and all the people crossed over toward the way of the ^(AA)wilderness.

²⁴ There was ^(AB)Zadok also, and all the Levites with him, bearing the ^(AC)ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and ^(AD)Abiathar went up until all the people had finished crossing over from the city. ²⁵ Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, He ^(AE)will bring me back and show me both it and ^(AF)His dwelling place. ²⁶ But if He says thus: ‘I have no ^(AG)delight in you,’ here I am, ^(AH)let Him do to me as seems good to Him.” ²⁷ The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a ^(AI)seer?^[g] Return to the city in peace, and ^(AJ)your two sons with you, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. ²⁸ See, ^(AK)I will wait in the plains of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” ²⁹ Therefore Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God back to Jerusalem. And they remained there.

³⁰ So David went up by the Ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went up; and he ^(AL)had his head covered and went ^(AM)barefoot. And all the people who were with him ^(AN)covered their heads and went up, ^(AO)weeping as they went up. ³¹ Then someone told David, saying, ^(AP)“Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O Lord, I pray, ^(AQ)turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!”

³² Now it happened when David had come to the top of the mountain, where he worshiped God—there was Hushai the ^(AR)Archite coming to meet him ^(AS)with his robe torn and dust on his head. ³³ David said to him, “If you go on with me, then you will become ^(AT)a burden to me. ³⁴ But if you return to the city, and say to Absalom, ^(AU)‘I will be your servant, O king; as I was your father’s servant previously, so I will now also be your servant,’ then you may defeat the counsel of Ahithophel for me. ³⁵ And do you not have Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there? Therefore it will be that whatever you hear from the king’s house, you shall tell to ^(AV)Zadok and Abiathar the priests. ³⁶ Indeed they have there ^(AW)with them their two sons, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son, and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son; and by them you shall send me everything you hear.”

³⁷ So Hushai, ^(AX)David’s friend, went into the city. ^(AY)And Absalom came into Jerusalem.

Absalom’s Defeat and Death

18 And David ^[a]numbered the people who were with him, and ^(A)set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them. ² Then David sent out one third of the people under the hand of Joab, ^(B)one third under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and one third under the hand of ^(C)Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the people, “I also will surely go out with you myself.”

^3 (D)But the people answered, “You shall not go out! For if we flee away, they will not care about us; nor if half of us die, will they care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us now. For you are now more help to us in 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 people went out by hundreds and by thousands. ⁵ Now the king had commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” ^(E)And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains orders concerning Absalom.

⁶ So the people went out into the field of battle against Israel. And the battle was in the ^(F)woods of Ephraim. ⁷ The people of Israel were overthrown there before the servants of David, and a great slaughter of twenty thousand took place there that day. ⁸ For the battle there was scattered over the face of the whole countryside, and the woods devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.

⁹ Then Absalom met the servants of David. Absalom rode on a mule. The mule went under the thick boughs of a great terebinth tree, and ^(G)his head caught in the terebinth; so he was left hanging between heaven and earth. And the mule which was under him went on. ¹⁰ Now a certain man saw it and told Joab, and said, “I just saw Absalom hanging in a terebinth tree!”

¹¹ So Joab said to the man who told him, “You just saw him! And why did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have given you ten shekels of silver and a belt.”

¹² But the man said to Joab, “Though I were to receive a thousand shekels of silver in my hand, I would not raise my hand against the king’s son. ^(H)For in our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, saying, ^[b]‘Beware lest anyone touch the young man Absalom!’ ¹³ Otherwise I would have dealt falsely against my own life. For there is nothing hidden from the king, and you yourself would have set yourself against me.”

¹⁴ Then Joab said, “I cannot linger with you.” And he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through Absalom’s heart, while he was still alive in the midst of the terebinth tree. ¹⁵ And ten young men who bore Joab’s armor surrounded Absalom, and struck and killed him.

¹⁶ So Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing Israel. For Joab held back the people. ¹⁷ And they took Absalom and cast him into a large pit in the woods, and ^(I)laid a very large heap of stones over him. Then all Israel ^(J)fled, everyone to his tent.

¹⁸ Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up a ^[c]pillar for himself, which is in ^(K)the King’s Valley. For he said, ^(L)“I have no son to keep my name in remembrance.” He called the pillar after his own name. And to this day it is called Absalom’s Monument.

David Hears of Absalom’s Death

¹⁹ Then ^(M)Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, “Let me run now and take the news to the king, how the Lord has ^[d]avenged him of his enemies.”

²⁰ And Joab said to him, “You shall not take the news this day, for you shall take the news another day. But today you shall take no news, because 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 himself to Joab and ran.

²² And Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said again to Joab, “But ^[e]whatever happens, please let me also run after the Cushite.”

So Joab said, “Why will you run, my son, since you have no news ready?”

²³ “But whatever happens,” he said, “let me run.”

So he said to him, “Run.” Then Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain, and outran the Cushite.

²⁴ Now David was sitting between the ^(N)two gates. And the watchman went up to the roof over the gate, to the wall, lifted his eyes and looked, and there was a man, running alone. ²⁵ Then the watchman cried out and told the king. And the king said, “If he is alone, there is news in his mouth.” And he came rapidly and drew near.

²⁶ Then the watchman saw another man running, and the watchman called to the gatekeeper and said, “There is another man, running alone!”

And the king said, “He also brings news.”

²⁷ So the watchman said, ^[f]“I think the running of the first is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok.”

And the king said, “He is a good man, and comes with ^(O)good news.”

²⁸ So Ahimaaz called out and said to the king, ^[g]“All is well!” Then he bowed down with his face to the earth before the king, and said, ^(P)“Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my lord the king!”

²⁹ The king said, “Is the young man Absalom safe?”

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

³⁰ And the king said, “Turn aside and stand here.” So he turned aside and stood still.

³¹ Just then the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, “There is good news, my lord the king! For the Lord has avenged you this day of all those who rose against you.”

³² And the king said to the Cushite, “Is the young man Absalom safe?”

So the Cushite answered, “May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise against you to do harm, be like that young man!”

David’s Mourning for Absalom

³³ Then the king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept. And as he went, he said thus: ^(Q)“O my son Absalom—my son, my son Absalom—if only I had died in your place! O Absalom my son, ^(R)my son!”