2 Samuel 18
New King James Version
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!”
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 18:1 Lit. attended to
- 2 Samuel 18:12 Vss. ‘Protect the young man Absalom for me!’
- 2 Samuel 18:18 monument
- 2 Samuel 18:19 vindicated
- 2 Samuel 18:22 Lit. be what may
- 2 Samuel 18:27 Lit. I see the running
- 2 Samuel 18:28 Peace be to you
2 Samuel 18
Names of God Bible
David Defeats Absalom
18 David called together the troops that were with him. He appointed commanders in charge of regiments and battalions. 2 David put a third of the troops under Joab’s command, another third under Joab’s brother Abishai (Zeruiah’s son), and the last third under Ittai from Gath.
“I am going into battle with you,” the king said to the troops.
3 “You’re not going with us,” the troops said. “If we flee, they won’t care about us, and if half of us die, they won’t care either. But you’re worth 10,000 of us. It’s better for you to be ready to send us help from the city.”
4 “I’ll do what you think best,” the king responded. So the king stood by the gate while all the troops marched out by battalions and regiments.
5 The king ordered Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, “Treat the young man Absalom gently for my sake.” All the troops heard him give all the commanders this order regarding Absalom.
6 So the troops went out to the country to fight Israel in the forest of Ephraim. 7 There David’s men defeated Israel’s army, and the massacre was sizable that day—20,000 men. 8 The fighting spread over the whole country. That day the woods devoured more people than the battle.
9 Absalom happened to come face to face with some of David’s men. He was riding on a mule, and the mule went under the tangled branches of a large tree. Absalom’s head became caught in the tree. So he was left hanging[a] in midair when the mule that was under him ran away. 10 A man who saw this told Joab, “I saw Absalom hanging in a tree.”
11 “What! You saw that!” Joab said to the man who told him. “Why didn’t you strike him to the ground? Then I would have felt obligated to give you four ounces of silver and a belt.”
12 But the man told Joab, “Even if I felt the weight of 25 pounds of silver in my hand, I wouldn’t raise my hand against the king’s son. We heard the order the king gave you, Abishai, and Ittai: ‘Protect the young man Absalom for my sake.’[b] 13 If I had done something treacherous to him, would you have stood by me? Like everything else, it wouldn’t stay hidden from the king.”
14 Then Joab said, “I shouldn’t waste time with you like this.” He took three sharp sticks and plunged them into Absalom’s heart while he was still alive in the tree. 15 Then ten of Joab’s armorbearers surrounded Absalom, attacked him, and killed him.
16 Joab blew the ram’s horn to stop their fighting, and the troops returned from pursuing Israel. 17 They took Absalom, threw him into a huge pit in the forest, and piled a large heap of stones over him. Meanwhile, all Israel fled and went back to their homes.
18 (While he was still living, Absalom had taken a rock and set it up for himself in the king’s valley. He said, “I have no son to keep the memory of my name alive.” He called the rock by his name, and it is still called Absalom’s Monument today.)
19 Then Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son, said, “Let me run and bring the king the good news that Yahweh has freed him from his enemies.”
20 But Joab told him, “You won’t be the man carrying good news today. You can carry the news some other day. You must not deliver the news today because the king’s son is dead.” 21 Then Joab said to a man from Sudan, “Go, tell the king what you saw.” The messenger bowed down with his face touching the ground in front of Joab and then ran off.
22 Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son, spoke to Joab again, “Whatever may happen, I also want to run after the Sudanese messenger.”
“Now, son, why should you deliver the message?” Joab asked. “You won’t be rewarded for this news.”
23 “Whatever happens, I’d like to run,” replied Ahimaaz.
“Run,” Joab told him. So Ahimaaz ran along the valley road and got ahead of the Sudanese messenger.
24 David was sitting between the two gates while the watchman walked along the roof of the gate by the wall. As he looked, he saw a man running alone. 25 The watchman called and alerted the king.
“If he’s alone,” the king said, “he has good news to tell.” The runner continued to come closer.
26 When the watchman saw another man running, the watchman called, “There’s another man running alone.”
The king said, “This one is also bringing good news.”
27 The watchman said, “It seems to me that the first one runs like Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son.”
“He’s a good man,” the king said. “He must be coming with good news.”
28 Then Ahimaaz came up to the king, greeted him, and bowed down in front of him. Ahimaaz said, “May Yahweh your Elohim be praised. He has handed over the men who rebelled against Your Majesty.”
29 “Is the young man Absalom alright?” the king asked.
Ahimaaz answered, “I saw a lot of confusion when Joab sent me away, but I didn’t know what it meant.”
30 “Step aside, and stand here,” the king said. He stepped aside and stood there.
31 Then the Sudanese messenger came. “Good news for Your Majesty!” he said. “Today Yahweh has freed you from all who turned against you.”
32 “Is the young man Absalom alright?” the king asked.
The Sudanese messenger answered, “May your enemies and all who turned against you be like that young man!”[c]
33 The king was shaken by the news. He went to the room above the gate and cried. “My son Absalom!” he said as he went. “My son, my son Absalom! I wish I had died in your place! Absalom, my son, my son!”
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 18:9 Dead Sea Scrolls, Greek, Latin, Syriac; Masoretic Text “he was put.”
- 2 Samuel 18:12 Two Hebrew manuscripts, Greek, Syriac, Targum, Latin; meaning of other Hebrew manuscripts uncertain.
- 2 Samuel 18:32 2 Samuel 18:33 in English Bibles is 2 Samuel 19:1 in the Hebrew Bible.
2 Samuel 18
King James Version
18 And David numbered the people that were with him, and set captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds over them.
2 And David sent forth a third part of the people under the hand of Joab, and a third part under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said unto the people, I will surely go forth with you myself also.
3 But the people answered, Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us: but now thou art worth ten thousand of us: therefore now it is better that thou succour us out of the city.
4 And the king said unto them, What seemeth you best I will do. And the king stood by the gate side, and all the people came out by hundreds and by thousands.
5 And the king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom. And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains charge concerning Absalom.
6 So the people went out into the field against Israel: and the battle was in the wood of Ephraim;
7 Where the people of Israel were slain before the servants of David, and there was there a great slaughter that day of twenty thousand men.
8 For the battle was there scattered over the face of all the country: and the wood devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.
9 And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away.
10 And a certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanged in an oak.
11 And Joab said unto the man that told him, And, behold, thou sawest him, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten shekels of silver, and a girdle.
12 And the man said unto Joab, Though I should receive a thousand shekels of silver in mine hand, yet would I not put forth mine hand against the king's son: for in our hearing the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Beware that none touch the young man Absalom.
13 Otherwise I should have wrought falsehood against mine own life: for there is no matter hid from the king, and thou thyself wouldest have set thyself against me.
14 Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak.
15 And ten young men that bare Joab's armour compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him.
16 And Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing after Israel: for Joab held back the people.
17 And they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the wood, and laid a very great heap of stones upon him: and all Israel fled every one to his tent.
18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the king's dale: for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called the pillar after his own name: and it is called unto this day, Absalom's place.
19 Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, Let me now run, and bear the king tidings, how that the Lord hath avenged him of his enemies.
20 And Joab said unto him, Thou shalt not bear tidings this day, but thou shalt bear tidings another day: but this day thou shalt bear no tidings, because the king's son is dead.
21 Then said Joab to Cushi, Go tell the king what thou hast seen. And Cushi bowed himself unto Joab, and ran.
22 Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab, But howsoever, let me, I pray thee, also run after Cushi. And Joab said, Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings ready?
23 But howsoever, said he, let me run. And he said unto him, Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and overran Cushi.
24 And David sat between the two gates: and the watchman went up to the roof over the gate unto the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold a man running alone.
25 And the watchman cried, and told the king. And the king said, If he be alone, there is tidings in his mouth. And he came apace, and drew near.
26 And the watchman saw another man running: and the watchman called unto the porter, and said, Behold another man running alone. And the king said, He also bringeth tidings.
27 And the watchman said, Me thinketh the running of the foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok. And the king said, He is a good man, and cometh with good tidings.
28 And Ahimaaz called, and said unto the king, All is well. And he fell down to the earth upon his face before the king, and said, Blessed be the Lord thy God, which hath delivered up the men that lifted up their hand against my lord the king.
29 And the king said, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king's servant, and me thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was.
30 And the king said unto him, Turn aside, and stand here. And he turned aside, and stood still.
31 And, behold, Cushi came; and Cushi said, Tidings, my lord the king: for the Lord hath avenged thee this day of all them that rose up against thee.
32 And the king said unto Cushi, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Cushi answered, The enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is.
33 And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.