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2 Samuel 18
La Palabra (Hispanoamérica)
2 Samuel 18
La Palabra (Hispanoamérica)
18 David pasó revista a sus tropas y designó jefes de millar y jefes de centuria. 2 Luego dividió el ejército en tres tercios: el primero al mando de Joab, el segundo al mando de Abisay, hijo de Seruyá y hermano de Joab, y el tercero al mando de Itay, el de Gat. Y dijo a la gente:
— Yo también iré con ustedes.
3 Pero ellos le contestaron:
— Tú no debes venir, pues si tenemos que huir, nadie nos prestará atención; y aunque muramos la mitad de nosotros, tampoco nos prestarán atención. Pero tú vales tanto como diez mil de nosotros y es preferible que nos ayudes desde la ciudad.
4 Entonces el rey les dijo:
— Haré lo que les parezca mejor.
Y se quedó junto a la puerta, mientras todo el ejército salía por grupos de mil y de cien. 5 Luego el rey dio a Joab, a Abisay y a Itay el siguiente encargo:
— Traten con respeto al joven Absalón.
Y toda la tropa escuchó las órdenes del rey a los capitanes a propósito de Absalón.
6 El ejército salió al campo para enfrentarse a Israel. La batalla tuvo lugar en el bosque de Efraín: 7 allí cayó derrotado el ejército de Israel ante la gente de David. Aquel día sufrió una gran derrota: cayeron doce mil hombres. 8 La lucha se extendió por todo el territorio y aquel día el bosque causó más estragos que la espada.
9 Absalón, montado en un mulo, se encontró de frente con la gente de David y, al pasar el mulo bajo las ramas de una gran encina, se le enredó la cabeza en la encina y quedó colgando en el aire, mientras el mulo que montaba siguió adelante. 10 Alguien que lo vio informó a Joab:
— He visto a Absalón colgando de una encina.
11 Joab dijo al que le traía la información:
— Si lo has visto, ¿por qué no lo abatiste allí mismo? Te habría dado diez siclos de plata y un cinturón.
12 Pero el hombre dijo a Joab:
— Ni aunque tuviese en la mano diez mil siclos de plata atentaría yo contra el hijo del rey. Con nuestros propios oídos escuchamos la orden que el rey les dio a ti, a Abisay y a Itay de respetar al joven Absalón. 13 Entonces habría arriesgado mi vida en vano, pues el rey lo descubre todo y tú te habrías quedado al margen.
14 Joab le contestó:
— ¡No quiero seguir perdiendo el tiempo contigo!
Echó mano a tres flechas y las clavó en el corazón de Absalón, que todavía colgaba vivo de la encina. 15 Luego diez muchachos, asistentes de Joab, rodearon a Absalón y lo remataron.
16 Entonces Joab hizo sonar el cuerno, y el ejército cesó de perseguir a Israel, pues Joab lo detuvo. 17 Luego recogieron el cuerpo de Absalón, lo arrojaron a una fosa grande que había en el bosque y pusieron encima un buen montón de piedras. Todos los israelitas huyeron a sus tiendas.
18 Absalón se había levantado en vida un monumento en el valle del Rey, pues pensaba: “No tengo un hijo que conserve mi nombre”. Así que puso su nombre al monumento y todavía hoy se denomina Monumento de Absalón.
19 Ajimás, hijo de Sadoc, dijo:
— Voy corriendo a llevarle al rey la buena noticia de que el Señor lo ha librado de sus enemigos.
20 Pero Joab le dijo:
— Tú no eres el más indicado para llevar hoy la noticia; otro día será. Hoy no darías buenas noticias, porque ha muerto el hijo del rey.
21 Entonces Joab dijo a un cusita:
— Ve a comunicar al rey lo que has visto.
El cusita hizo una reverencia ante Joab y salió corriendo. 22 Pero Ajimás, el hijo de Sadoc, volvió a insistirle a Joab:
— A pesar de todo, déjame que vaya corriendo también yo tras el cusita.
Y Joab le dijo:
— ¿Por qué te empeñas en correr también tú, hijo mío, si no obtendrás ninguna recompensa?
23 Él insistió:
— A pesar de todo, quiero ir.
Entonces Joab le dijo:
— Corre, pues.
Ajimás echó a correr por el camino de la llanura y adelantó al cusita. 24 David estaba sentado entre las dos puertas. El centinela subió al observatorio de la puerta, sobre la muralla, alzó la vista y vio venir a un hombre solo. 25 El centinela gritó para avisar al rey. Y el rey dijo:
— Si viene solo es que trae buenas noticias.
26 El centinela vio a otro hombre corriendo y gritó al guardián:
— Viene otro hombre corriendo solo.
Y el rey dijo:
— También ese trae buenas noticias.
27 El centinela dijo:
— Por su forma de correr, el primero me parece Ajimás, el hijo de Sadoc.
Y David comentó:
— Es buena gente, vendrá con buenas noticias.
28 Ajimás se acercó y saludó al rey:
— ¡Salud!
Luego hizo una reverencia al rey inclinando su rostro y añadió:
— ¡Bendito sea el Señor, tu Dios, que ha entregado en tu poder a la gente que se había rebelado contra el rey, mi señor!
29 Y el rey le preguntó:
— ¿Está bien el joven Absalón?
Ajimás respondió:
— Vi un gran alboroto cuando tu servidor Joab me enviaba, pero no sé lo que era. 30 El rey le dijo:
— Apártate y quédate ahí.
Él se retiró y se quedó allí. 31 Entonces llegó el cusita y dijo:
— ¡Hay buenas noticias para mi señor, el rey! El Señor te ha librado hoy de todos los que se habían rebelado contra ti.
32 El rey preguntó al cusita:
— ¿Está bien el joven Absalón?
Y el cusita respondió:
— ¡Que acaben como él todos los enemigos del rey, mi señor, y cuantos se rebelen para hacerte daño!
2 Samuel 18
Living Bible
2 Samuel 18
Living Bible
18 David now appointed regimental colonels and company commanders over his troops. 2 A third were placed under Joab’s brother, Abishai (the son of Zeruiah); and a third under Ittai, the Gittite. The king planned to lead the army himself, but his men objected strongly.
3 “You mustn’t do it,” they said, “for if we have to turn and run, and half of us die, it will make no difference to them—they will be looking only for you. You are worth ten thousand of us, and it is better that you stay here in the city and send us help if we need it.”
4 “Well, whatever you think best,” the king finally replied. So he stood at the gate of the city as all the troops passed by.
5 And the king commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, “For my sake, deal gently with young Absalom.” And all the troops heard the king give them this charge.
6 So the battle began in the forest of Ephraim, 7 and the Israeli troops were beaten back by David’s men. There was a great slaughter and twenty thousand men laid down their lives that day. 8 The battle raged all across the countryside, and more men disappeared in the forest than were killed. 9 During the battle Absalom came upon some of David’s men and as he fled[a] on his mule, it went beneath the thick boughs of a great oak tree, and his hair caught in the branches. His mule went on, leaving him dangling in the air. 10 One of David’s men saw him and told Joab.
11 “What? You saw him there and didn’t kill him?” Joab demanded. “I would have rewarded you handsomely and made you a commissioned officer.”[b]
12 “For a million dollars I wouldn’t do it,” the man replied. “We all heard the king say to you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘For my sake, please don’t harm young Absalom.’ 13 And if I had betrayed the king by killing his son (and the king would certainly find out who did it), you yourself would be the first to accuse me.”
14 “Enough of this nonsense,” Joab said. Then he took three daggers and plunged them into the heart of Absalom as he dangled alive from the oak. 15 Ten of Joab’s young armor bearers then surrounded Absalom and finished him off. 16 Then Joab blew the trumpet, and his men returned from chasing the army of Israel. 17 They threw Absalom’s body into a deep pit in the forest and piled a great heap of stones over it. And the army of Israel fled to their homes.
18 (Absalom had built a monument to himself in the King’s Valley, for he said, “I have no sons to carry on my name.” He called it “Absalom’s Monument,” as it is still known today.)
19 Then Zadok’s son Ahimaaz said, “Let me run to King David with the good news that the Lord has saved him from his enemy Absalom.”
20 “No,” Joab told him, “it wouldn’t be good news to the king that his son is dead. You can be my messenger some other time.”
21 Then Joab said to a man from Cush, “Go tell the king what you have seen.” The man bowed and ran off.
22 But Ahimaaz pleaded with Joab, “Please let me go too.”
“No, we don’t need you now, my boy,” Joab replied. “There is no further news to send.”
23 “Yes, but let me go anyway,” he begged.
And Joab finally said, “All right, go ahead.” Then Ahimaaz took a shortcut across the plain and got there ahead of the man from Cush. 24 David was sitting at the gate of the city. When the watchman climbed the stairs to his post at the top of the wall, he saw a lone man running toward them.
25 He shouted the news down to David, and the king replied, “If he is alone, he has news.”
As the messenger came closer, 26 the watchman saw another man running toward them. He shouted down, “Here comes another one.”
And the king replied, “He will have more news.”
27 “The first man looks like Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok,” the watchman said.
“He is a good man and comes with good news,” the king replied.
28 Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, “All is well!” He bowed low with his face to the ground and said, “Blessed be the Lord your God who has destroyed the rebels who dared to stand against you.”
29 “What of young Absalom?” the king demanded. “Is he all right?”
“When Joab told me to come, there was a lot of shouting; but I didn’t know what was happening,”[c] Ahimaaz answered.
30 “Wait here,” the king told him. So Ahimaaz stepped aside.
31 Then the man from Cush arrived and said, “I have good news for my lord the king. Today Jehovah has rescued you from all those who rebelled against you.”
32 “What about young Absalom? Is he all right?” the king demanded.
And the man replied, “May all of your enemies be as that young man is!”
33 Then the king broke into tears, and went up to his room over the gate, crying as he went. “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom. If only I could have died for you! O Absalom, my son, my son.”
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 18:9 as he fled, implied.
- 2 Samuel 18:11 made you a commissioned officer, literally, “given you ten pieces of silver and a belt.” There is no way of knowing the value of the silver. The belt was probably that worn by a commissioned officer.
- 2 Samuel 18:29 I didn’t know what was happening. Ahimaaz apparently was afraid to tell the king what actually had happened.
2 Samuel 18
New International Version
2 Samuel 18
New International Version
18 David mustered the men who were with him and appointed over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. 2 David sent out his troops,(A) a third under the command of Joab, a third under Joab’s brother Abishai(B) son of Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai(C) the Gittite. The king told the troops, “I myself will surely march out with you.”
3 But the men said, “You must not go out; if we are forced to flee, they won’t care about us. Even if half of us die, they won’t care; but you are worth ten(D) thousand of us.[a] It would be better now for you to give us support from the city.”(E)
4 The king answered, “I will do whatever seems best to you.”
So the king stood beside the gate while all his men marched out in units of hundreds and of thousands. 5 The king commanded Joab, Abishai and Ittai, “Be gentle with the young man Absalom for my sake.” And all the troops heard the king giving orders concerning Absalom to each of the commanders.
6 David’s army marched out of the city to fight Israel, and the battle took place in the forest(F) of Ephraim. 7 There Israel’s troops were routed by David’s men, and the casualties that day were great—twenty thousand men. 8 The battle spread out over the whole countryside, and the forest swallowed up more men that day than the sword.
9 Now Absalom happened to meet David’s men. He was riding his mule, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s hair(G) got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going.
10 When one of the men saw what had happened, he told Joab, “I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree.”
11 Joab said to the man who had told him this, “What! You saw him? Why didn’t you strike(H) him to the ground right there? Then I would have had to give you ten shekels[b] of silver and a warrior’s belt.(I)”
12 But the man replied, “Even if a thousand shekels[c] were weighed out into my hands, I would not lay a hand on the king’s son. In our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘Protect the young man Absalom for my sake.[d]’ 13 And if I had put my life in jeopardy[e]—and nothing is hidden from the king(J)—you would have kept your distance from me.”
14 Joab(K) said, “I’m not going to wait like this for you.” So he took three javelins in his hand and plunged them into Absalom’s heart while Absalom was still alive in the oak tree. 15 And ten of Joab’s armor-bearers surrounded Absalom, struck him and killed him.(L)
16 Then Joab(M) sounded the trumpet, and the troops stopped pursuing Israel, for Joab halted them. 17 They took Absalom, threw him into a big pit in the forest and piled up(N) a large heap of rocks(O) over him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled to their homes.
18 During his lifetime Absalom had taken a pillar and erected it in the King’s Valley(P) as a monument(Q) to himself, for he thought, “I have no son(R) to carry on the memory of my name.” He named the pillar after himself, and it is called Absalom’s Monument to this day.
David Mourns
19 Now Ahimaaz(S) son of Zadok said, “Let me run and take the news to the king that the Lord has vindicated him by delivering him from the hand of his enemies.(T)”
20 “You are not the one to take the news today,” Joab told him. “You may take the news another time, but you must not do so today, because the king’s son is dead.”
21 Then Joab said to a Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” The Cushite bowed down before Joab and ran off.
22 Ahimaaz son of Zadok again said to Joab, “Come what may, please let me run behind the Cushite.”
But Joab replied, “My son, why do you want to go? You don’t have any news that will bring you a reward.”
23 He said, “Come what may, I want to run.”
So Joab said, “Run!” Then Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain[f] and outran the Cushite.
24 While David was sitting between the inner and outer gates, the watchman(U) went up to the roof of the gateway by the wall. As he looked out, he saw a man running alone. 25 The watchman called out to the king and reported it.
The king said, “If he is alone, he must have good news.” And the runner came closer and closer.
26 Then the watchman saw another runner, and he called down to the gatekeeper, “Look, another man running alone!”
The king said, “He must be bringing good news,(V) too.”
27 The watchman said, “It seems to me that the first one runs like(W) Ahimaaz son of Zadok.”
“He’s a good man,” the king said. “He comes with good news.”
28 Then Ahimaaz called out to the king, “All is well!” He bowed down before the king with his face to the ground and said, “Praise be to the Lord your God! He has delivered up those who lifted their hands against my lord the king.”
29 The king asked, “Is the young man Absalom safe?”
Ahimaaz answered, “I saw great confusion just as Joab was about to send the king’s servant and me, your servant, but I don’t know what it was.”
30 The king said, “Stand aside and wait here.” So he stepped aside and stood there.
31 Then the Cushite arrived and said, “My lord the king, hear the good news! The Lord has vindicated you today by delivering you from the hand of all who rose up against you.”
32 The king asked the Cushite, “Is the young man Absalom safe?”
The Cushite replied, “May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up to harm you be like that young man.”(X)
33 The king was shaken. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he said: “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died(Y) instead of you—O Absalom, my son, my son!”[g](Z)
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 18:3 Two Hebrew manuscripts, some Septuagint manuscripts and Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts care; for now there are ten thousand like us
- 2 Samuel 18:11 That is, about 4 ounces or about 115 grams
- 2 Samuel 18:12 That is, about 25 pounds or about 12 kilograms
- 2 Samuel 18:12 A few Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts may be translated Absalom, whoever you may be.
- 2 Samuel 18:13 Or Otherwise, if I had acted treacherously toward him
- 2 Samuel 18:23 That is, the plain of the Jordan
- 2 Samuel 18:33 In Hebrew texts this verse (18:33) is numbered 19:1.
La Palabra (Hispanoamérica) (BLPH)
La Palabra, (versión hispanoamericana) © 2010 Texto y Edición, Sociedad Bíblica de España
Living Bible (TLB)
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.