2 Samuel 18
La Biblia de las Américas
Derrota y muerte de Absalón
18 David contó[a] el pueblo que estaba con él, y puso sobre ellos comandantes de mil y comandantes de cien(A). 2 Y envió David al pueblo: una tercera parte bajo el mando[b](B) de Joab, una tercera parte bajo el mando[c] de Abisai, hijo de Sarvia, hermano de Joab, y una tercera parte bajo el mando[d] de Itai geteo(C). Y el rey dijo al pueblo: Ciertamente yo también saldré con vosotros. 3 Pero el pueblo dijo: No debes salir(D); porque si tenemos que huir, no harán caso de nosotros; aunque muera la mitad de nosotros, no harán caso de nosotros. Pero tú vales por diez mil de[e] nosotros; ahora pues, será mejor que tú estés listo para ayudarnos desde la ciudad. 4 Entonces el rey les dijo: Yo haré lo que os parezca mejor[f]. Y el rey se puso junto a la puerta(E), y todo el pueblo salió por centenares y por millares. 5 Y el rey mandó a Joab, a Abisai y a Itai, diciendo: Por amor a mí tratad bien al joven Absalón. Y todo el pueblo oyó cuando el rey mandó a todos los comandantes acerca de Absalón(F).
6 El pueblo salió al campo al encuentro de Israel, y se entabló la batalla en el bosque de Efraín(G). 7 Allí fue derrotado[g] el pueblo de Israel delante de los siervos de David, y la matanza aquel día allí fue grande: veinte mil hombres. 8 La[h] batalla se extendió por toda aquella región[i], y el bosque devoró más gente aquel día que la que devoró la espada.
9 Y Absalón se encontró con los siervos de David; y Absalón iba montado en su mulo, y pasó el mulo debajo del espeso ramaje de una gran encina, y se le trabó la cabeza(H) a Absalón en la encina, y quedó colgado[j] entre el cielo y la tierra, mientras que el mulo que estaba debajo de él siguió de largo. 10 Cuando uno de los hombres vio esto, avisó a Joab, diciendo: He aquí, vi a Absalón colgado de una encina. 11 Joab dijo al hombre que le había avisado: He aquí, tú lo viste, ¿por qué no lo heriste allí derribándolo a tierra? Yo te hubiera dado diez piezas de plata y un cinturón. 12 Respondió el hombre a Joab: Aunque yo recibiera mil piezas de plata en la mano[k], no extendería la mano contra el hijo del rey; porque ante nuestros oídos el rey te ordenó a ti, a Abisai y a Itai, diciendo: «Protegedme[l] al joven Absalón(I)». 13 De otro modo, si yo hubiera hecho traición contra su vida (y no hay nada oculto al rey(J)), tú mismo te hubieras mostrado indiferente[m]. 14 Respondió Joab: No malgastaré mi tiempo[n] aquí contigo. Y tomando tres dardos en la mano[o], los clavó en el corazón de Absalón(K) mientras todavía estaba vivo en medio[p] de la encina. 15 Y diez jóvenes escuderos de Joab rodearon e hirieron a Absalón y lo remataron.
16 Entonces Joab tocó la trompeta, y el pueblo regresó de perseguir a Israel, porque Joab detuvo al pueblo(L). 17 Y tomaron a Absalón, lo echaron en una fosa profunda[q] en el bosque y levantaron sobre él un gran montón de piedras(M). Y todo Israel huyó, cada uno a su tienda(N). 18 En vida, Absalón(O) había tomado y erigido para sí una columna que está en el Valle del Rey(P), pues se había dicho: No tengo hijo para perpetuar[r] mi nombre(Q). Y llamó la columna por su propio nombre, y hasta hoy día se llama Monumento de Absalón.
19 Y Ahimaas, hijo de Sadoc, dijo: Te ruego que me dejes correr y llevar las noticias al rey(R) de que el Señor lo ha liberado[s] de la mano de sus enemigos(S). 20 Pero Joab le dijo: Tú no eres el hombre para llevar hoy las noticias, las llevarás otro día; no llevarás noticias hoy, porque el hijo del rey ha muerto. 21 Entonces Joab dijo al cusita[t]: Ve, anuncia al rey lo que has visto. Y el cusita[u] se inclinó ante Joab, y corrió. 22 Y Ahimaas, hijo de Sadoc, volvió a decir a Joab: Pase lo que pase(T), te ruego que me dejes correr tras el cusita. Y Joab dijo: ¿Por qué correrás, hijo mío, ya que no tendrás recompensa por ir? 23 Pero él dijo: Pase lo que pase, correré. Entonces le dijo: Corre. Y Ahimaas corrió por el camino de la llanura, y pasó al cusita.
24 David estaba sentado entre las dos puertas(U); y el atalaya subió al terrado de la puerta en el muro, y alzando los ojos miró, y he aquí, un hombre que corría solo(V). 25 Y el atalaya llamó y avisó al rey. Y el rey dijo: Si viene solo hay buenas noticias en su boca. Mientras se acercaba más y más, 26 el atalaya vio a otro hombre corriendo; y el atalaya dio voces al portero, y dijo: He aquí, otro hombre corriendo solo. Y el rey dijo: Este también trae buenas noticias. 27 Y el atalaya dijo: Creo[v] que el correr del primero es como el correr de Ahimaas, hijo de Sadoc(W). Y el rey dijo: Este es un buen hombre y viene con buenas noticias(X).
28 Y Ahimaas dio voces, y dijo al rey: Todo está bien[w]. Se postró rostro en tierra delante del rey(Y), y dijo: Bendito es el Señor tu Dios, que ha entregado a los hombres que levantaron sus manos(Z) contra mi señor el rey. 29 Y el rey dijo: ¿Le va bien al joven(AA) Absalón? Y Ahimaas respondió: Cuando Joab envió al siervo del rey y a tu siervo, vi un gran tumulto, pero no supe qué era(AB). 30 Entonces el rey dijo: Ponte a un lado y quédate aquí. Y él se puso a un lado, y se quedó allí.
31 Y he aquí, llegó el cusita, y dijo[x]: Reciba mi señor el rey buenas noticias, porque el Señor te ha librado[y] hoy de la mano de todos aquellos que se levantaron contra ti(AC). 32 Dijo el rey al cusita: ¿Le va bien al joven Absalón(AD)? Y el cusita respondió: Sean como ese joven los enemigos de mi señor el rey, y todos los que se levantan contra ti para mal(AE). 33 [z]Y el rey se conmovió profundamente, y subió al aposento que había encima de la puerta y lloró. Y decía así mientras caminaba: ¡Hijo mío Absalón; hijo mío, hijo mío Absalón(AF)! ¡Quién me diera haber muerto yo en tu lugar! ¡Absalón, hijo mío, hijo mío(AG)!
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 18:1 O, alistó
- 2 Samuel 18:2 Lit., por mano
- 2 Samuel 18:2 Lit., por mano
- 2 Samuel 18:2 Lit., por mano
- 2 Samuel 18:3 Así en dos mss. y algunas versiones antiguas; en el T.M., porque ahora hay diez mil como
- 2 Samuel 18:4 Lit., lo que sea bueno ante vuestros ojos
- 2 Samuel 18:7 Lit., herido
- 2 Samuel 18:8 Lit., Y fue allí que la
- 2 Samuel 18:8 Lit., tierra
- 2 Samuel 18:9 Lit., colocado
- 2 Samuel 18:12 Lit., palma
- 2 Samuel 18:12 Lit., Así en dos mss. y algunas versiones antiguas; en el T.M., Proteged, quien sea,
- 2 Samuel 18:13 O, en contra
- 2 Samuel 18:14 Lit., No me quedaré
- 2 Samuel 18:14 Lit., palma
- 2 Samuel 18:14 Lit., el corazón
- 2 Samuel 18:17 Lit., la gran fosa
- 2 Samuel 18:18 Lit., por amor al recuerdo de
- 2 Samuel 18:19 Lit., vindicado
- 2 Samuel 18:21 O, etíope, y así en el resto del cap.
- 2 Samuel 18:21 O, etíope, y así en el resto del cap.
- 2 Samuel 18:27 Lit., Veo
- 2 Samuel 18:28 Lit., Paz
- 2 Samuel 18:31 Lit., el cusita dijo
- 2 Samuel 18:31 Lit., vindicado
- 2 Samuel 18:33 En el texto heb., cap. 19:1
2 Samuel 18
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised
The Defeat and Death of Absalom
18 Then David mustered the men who were with him, and set over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. 2 And David divided the army into three groups:[a] one-third under the command of Joab, one-third under the command of Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and one-third under the command of Ittai the Gittite. The king said to the men, ‘I myself will also go out with you.’ 3 But the men said, ‘You shall not go out. For if we flee, they will not care about us. If half of us die, they will not care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us;[b] therefore it is better that you send us help from the city.’ 4 The king said to them, ‘Whatever seems best to you I will do.’ So the king stood at the side of the gate, while all the army marched out by hundreds and by thousands. 5 The king gave orders to Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, ‘Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.’ And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders concerning Absalom.
6 So the army went out into the field against Israel; and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim. 7 The men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the slaughter there was great on that day, twenty thousand men. 8 The battle spread over the face of all the country; and the forest claimed more victims that day than the sword.
9 Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak. His head caught fast in the oak, and he was left hanging[c] between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on. 10 A man saw it, and told Joab, ‘I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.’ 11 Joab said to the man who told him, ‘What, you saw him! Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have been glad to give you ten pieces of silver and a belt.’ 12 But the man said to Joab, ‘Even if I felt in my hand the weight of a thousand pieces of silver, I would not raise my hand against the king’s son; for in our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, saying: For my sake protect the young man Absalom! 13 On the other hand, if I had dealt treacherously against his life[d] (and there is nothing hidden from the king), then you yourself would have stood aloof.’ 14 Joab said, ‘I will not waste time like this with you.’ He took three spears in his hand, and thrust them into the heart of Absalom, while he was still alive in the oak. 15 And ten young men, Joab’s armour-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him, and killed him.
16 Then Joab sounded the trumpet, and the troops came back from pursuing Israel, for Joab restrained the troops. 17 They took Absalom, threw him into a great pit in the forest, and raised over him a very great heap of stones. Meanwhile all the Israelites fled to their homes. 18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself a pillar that is in the King’s Valley, for he said, ‘I have no son to keep my name in remembrance’; he called the pillar by his own name. It is called Absalom’s Monument to this day.
David Hears of Absalom’s Death
19 Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, ‘Let me run, and carry tidings to the king that the Lord has delivered him from the power of his enemies.’ 20 Joab said to him, ‘You are not to carry tidings today; you may carry tidings another day, but today you shall not do so, 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 before Joab, and ran. 22 Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said again to Joab, ‘Come what may, let me also run after the Cushite.’ And Joab said, ‘Why will you run, my son, seeing that you have no reward[e] for the tidings?’ 23 ‘Come what may,’ he said, ‘I will run.’ So he said to him, ‘Run.’ Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the Plain, and outran the Cushite.
24 Now David was sitting between the two gates. The sentinel went up to the roof of the gate by the wall, and when he looked up, he saw a man running alone. 25 The sentinel shouted and told the king. The king said, ‘If he is alone, there are tidings in his mouth.’ He kept coming, and drew near. 26 Then the sentinel saw another man running; and the sentinel called to the gatekeeper and said, ‘See, another man running alone!’ The king said, ‘He also is bringing tidings.’ 27 The sentinel said, ‘I think the running of the first one is like the running of Ahimaaz son of Zadok.’ The king said, ‘He is a good man, and comes with good tidings.’
28 Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, ‘All is well!’ He prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground, and said, ‘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 it well with the young man Absalom?’ Ahimaaz answered, ‘When Joab sent your servant,[f] I saw a great tumult, but I do not know what it was.’ 30 The king said, ‘Turn aside, and stand here.’ So he turned aside, and stood still.
31 Then the Cushite came; and the Cushite said, ‘Good tidings for my lord the king! For the Lord has vindicated you this day, delivering you from the power of all who rose up against you.’ 32 The king said to the Cushite, ‘Is it well with the young man Absalom?’ The Cushite answered, ‘May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up to do you harm, be like that young man.’
David Mourns for Absalom
33 [g] The king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept; and as he went, he said, ‘O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would that I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!’
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 18:2 Gk: Heb sent forth the army
- 2 Samuel 18:3 Gk Vg Symmachus: Heb for now there are ten thousand such as we
- 2 Samuel 18:9 Gk Syr Tg: Heb was put
- 2 Samuel 18:13 Another reading is at the risk of my life
- 2 Samuel 18:22 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 2 Samuel 18:29 Heb the king’s servant, your servant
- 2 Samuel 18:33 Ch 19.1 in Heb
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!
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.