¹⁹ Now Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, “Please let me run and bring the good news to the king that Yahweh has vindicated him from the hand of his enemies.” ²⁰ Joab said to him, “You will not be a man bringing^[a] good news this day! You may bring good news on another day, but today you will not be bringing good news because the king’s son is dead.” ²¹ Then Joab said to the Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen”; then the Cushite bowed down to Joab and ran off. ²² Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok again said to Joab, “Come what may,^[b] please let me also run after the Cushite.” Joab asked, “Why are you wanting to run, my son, when for you there is no messenger’s reward?”^{[c] 23} “Come what may,^[d] I want to run.” He said to him, “Run,” so Ahimaaz ran on the road on the plain, and he passed the Cushite.

²⁴ Now David was sitting between the two gates, and the sentinel went up to the roof of the gate by the wall and he lifted up his eyes and watched, and look, a man was running by himself. ²⁵ The sentry called and told the king, and the king said, “If he is alone, good news is in his mouth.” He kept coming closer.^{[e] 26} Then the sentinel saw another man running, so the sentinel called to the gatekeeper and said, “Look, a man running alone.” The king said, “This one also is bringing good news.” ²⁷ The sentinel said, “I am seeing that the running of the first is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zakok.” The king said, “He is a good man; he will come, for good news.” ²⁸ Then Ahimaaz called and said to the king, “Peace.” He bowed down to the king with his face to the ground, and he said, “May Yahweh your God be blessed, who has delivered the men who raised their hand against my lord the king.” ²⁹ The king said, “Is it peace for the young man Absalom?” Ahimaaz said, “I saw the great commotion when Joab the servant of the king sent your servant, but I do not know what it was all about.” ³⁰ Then the king said, “Turn aside, take your place here,” so he turned aside and waited. ³¹ Suddenly the Cushite arrived and said, “May my lord the king receive the good news, for Yahweh has vindicated you today from the power of all who stood up against you.” ³² The king said to the Cushite, “Is it peace for the young man Absalom?” Then the Cushite answered, “May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up against you to harm you^[f] be like the young man!” ^33 [g] The king was upset, and he went up to the upper room of the gate and wept. He said as he went, “My son, Absalom, my son, my son, Absalom. If only^[h] I had died instead of you, Absalom, my son, my son.”