2 Samuel 18:1-8
Legacy Standard Bible
Joab Puts Absalom to Death
18 Then David [a]numbered the people who were with him and (A)set over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. 2 And David sent the people out, (B)one-third under the hand of Joab, 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 myself will surely go out with you also.” 3 But the people said, “(D)You should not go out; for if we indeed flee, they will not set their heart on us; even if half of us die, they will not set their heart on us. But now [b]you are worth ten thousand of us; so now it is better that you be ready to help us from the city.” 4 Then the king said to them, “Whatever is good in your sight I will do.” So (E)the king stood beside the gate, and all the people went out by hundreds and thousands. 5 Then the king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” And (F)all the people heard when the king commanded all the commanders concerning Absalom.
6 Then the people went out into the field to meet Israel, and the battle took place in (G)the forest of Ephraim. 7 And the people of Israel were [c]defeated there before the servants of David, and the slaughter there that day was great, 20,000 men. 8 And the battle there was scattered over the whole countryside, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.
Read full chapterNotas al pie
- 2 Samuel 18:1 Lit mustered
- 2 Samuel 18:3 As in some ancient versions; M.T. for now there are ten thousand like us
- 2 Samuel 18:7 Lit smitten
2 Samuel 18:1-8
New English Translation
The Death of Absalom
18 David assembled the army that was with him. He appointed leaders of thousands and leaders of hundreds. 2 David then sent out the army—a third under the leadership of Joab, a third under the leadership of Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under the leadership of Ittai the Gittite. The king said to the troops, “I too will indeed march out with you.”
3 But the soldiers replied,[a] “You should not do this![b] For if we should have to make a rapid retreat, they won’t be concerned about us.[c] Even if half of us should die, they won’t be concerned. But you[d] are like 10,000 of us! So it is better if you remain in the city for support.” 4 Then the king said to them, “I will do whatever seems best to you.”
So the king stayed beside the city gate, while all the army marched out by hundreds and by thousands. 5 The king gave this order to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai: “For my sake deal gently with the young man Absalom.” Now the entire army was listening when the king gave all the leaders this order concerning Absalom.
6 Then the army marched out to the field to fight against Israel. The battle took place in the forest of Ephraim. 7 The army of Israel was defeated there by David’s men.[e] The slaughter there was great that day—20,000 soldiers were killed. 8 The battle there was spread out over the whole area, and the forest consumed more soldiers than the sword devoured that day.
Read full chapterNotas al pie
- 2 Samuel 18:3 tn Heb “the people said.”
- 2 Samuel 18:3 tn Heb “march out.”
- 2 Samuel 18:3 tn Heb “they will not place to us heart.”
- 2 Samuel 18:3 tc The translation follows the LXX (except for the Lucianic recension), Symmachus, and Vulgate in reading אָתָּה (ʾattah, “you”) rather than MT עָתָּה (ʿattah, “now”).
- 2 Samuel 18:7 tn Heb “servants” (also in v. 9).
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.