2 Samuel 18:1-8
New American Standard Bible
Absalom Killed
18 Then David [a]took a count of the people who were with him and (A)appointed over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. 2 And David sent the people out, (B)a third [b]under the command of Joab, a third [c]under the command of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and a third [d]under the command of (C)Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the people, “I myself will certainly go out with you also.” 3 But the people said, “(D)You should not go out; for if in fact we flee, they will not care about us; and if half of us die, they will not care about us. But [e]you are [f]worth ten thousand of us; so now it is better that you will be ready to help us from the city.” 4 Then the king said to them, “Whatever seems best to you I will do.” So (E)the king stood beside the gate, and all the people went out by hundreds and thousands. 5 But the king commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently with the young man Absalom for my sake.” And (F)all the people heard when the king commanded all the commanders regarding Absalom.
6 Then the people went out to the field against Israel, and the battle took place in (G)the forest of Ephraim. 7 The people of Israel were [g]defeated there by the servants of David, and the slaughter there that day was great, twenty thousand men. 8 For the battle there was spread over the whole countryside, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.
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- 2 Samuel 18:1 Lit mustered
- 2 Samuel 18:2 Lit by the hand of
- 2 Samuel 18:2 Lit by the hand of
- 2 Samuel 18:2 Lit by the hand of
- 2 Samuel 18:3 As in some ancient versions; MT for now there are 10,000 like us
- 2 Samuel 18:3 Lit like us by 10,000
- 2 Samuel 18:7 Lit struck
2 Samuel 18:1-8
International Standard Version
The Battle Begins
18 David mustered his forces and appointed officers in charge of regiments and companies.[a] 2 Dividing his forces into three groups, he set Joab as commander of one third of his army, Zeruiah’s son Abishai, Joab’s brother, as commander of another third, and Ittai from Gath as commander of another third. The king informed the army, “I’m going out to battle[b] with you, too.”
3 “No way!” his army responded. “If we have to retreat from the battle, Absalom’s men won’t care about us. Even if half of us die, they won’t care about us. But you are worth 10,000 of us. The best thing you can do for us is to remain in the city.”
4 So David responded, “I’ll do what you think best.” Then he stood alongside the city gate as the army went out in battle array by hundreds and thousands. 5 As they were going out, the king ordered Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, “Treat young Absalom gently for my sake.” Everyone heard what the king had ordered his commanders about Absalom.
6 David’s army left for the battlefield to fight Absalom and his Israeli followers, and they also fought in the Ephraim forest, 7 where David’s army of servants defeated the Israelis. Many died that day—20,000 men. 8 The battle spread throughout the entire countryside, and the forest claimed more casualties that day than did the sword fighting.
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- 2 Samuel 18:1 Lit. of thousands and hundreds
- 2 Samuel 18:2 The Heb. lacks to battle
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