Beginning
Amnon and Tamar
13 David's son Absalom had a beautiful sister. Her name was Tamar. After some time, David's son Amnon began to love Tamar very much.[a] 2 Amnon was very upset because he loved his sister Tamar so much. He became ill because of this. Tamar had never had sex with any man, so Amnon knew that it would be difficult to get near her.
3 Amnon had a friend called Jonadab. He was the son of David's brother, Shimeah. Jonadab was a clever man. 4 He said to Amnon, ‘You are the king's son! So why do you seem so sad every morning? Tell me about your trouble.’
Amnon said to him, ‘I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister.’
5 Jonadab told him, ‘Go and lie down on your bed. Pretend that you are ill. Your father will come to see you. Then you can say to him, “Please send my sister Tamar in here to give me something to eat. I will watch her as she prepares the food. Then she can use her own hand to feed me.” ’
6 So Amnon lay down on his bed. He pretended that he was ill. When the king came in to see him, Amnon said to him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come in here. I want her to cook some little cakes while I watch her. Then she can feed me herself.’
7 David sent a message to Tamar in the palace. He told her, ‘Go to your brother Amnon's house. Prepare some food for him to eat there.’ 8 So Tamar went to Amnon's house. He was lying down on his bed. She took some flour and water and she mixed them together. She made the cakes while he watched her. Then she baked them.
9 Then she put the cakes on a plate and she put them in front of him. But he refused to eat them. Instead, Amnon said, ‘Everyone must go out and leave me alone here.’ So everyone left him alone with Tamar.
10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, ‘Bring the food here into my bedroom. Then you can use your own hand to feed me.’
So Tamar took the cakes that she had made. She brought them to Amnon in his bedroom. 11 But when she offered the cakes to him, he took hold of her. He said to her, ‘Come here, my sister! Come into bed with me.’
12 Tamar answered him, ‘Do not do this, my brother! Do not make me ashamed. Nobody in Israel would do such a wicked thing. Do not be so foolish! 13 Think about me. I would have to hide because of my shame. And people would say that you are the worst fool in Israel. No, you should speak to the king. I am sure that he will let you marry me.’
14 But Amnon refused to listen to her. He was stronger than she was. So he took hold of her and he had sex with her.
15 After that, Amnon hated Tamar very much. He now hated her more strongly than he had loved her. He said to her, ‘Go away from here!’
16 But Tamar replied, ‘No, I will not go! If you send me away, that would be even worse. It would be more evil that what you have already done to me.’
But Amnon refused to listen to her. 17 He called out to his own special servant. He told him, ‘Throw this woman out of my house! Then lock the door after she has gone.’ 18 So the servant took her out and then he locked the door. Tamar was wearing a beautiful long dress. All the king's daughters who were not yet married wore beautiful dresses like that. 19 Now Tamar put ashes on her head. She tore the beautiful dress that she was wearing. She covered her head with her hands. She wept loudly as she went home.
20 When her brother Absalom saw her, he said, ‘Has your brother Amnon done this to you? Now be quiet. Remember that he is your brother. So do not be too upset.’
After that, Tamar lived in her brother Absalom's house. She was sad and lonely.
21 When King David heard about what had happened, he was very angry. 22 But Absalom would not say anything to Amnon, good or bad. He hated Amnon because he had brought shame on his sister, Tamar.
Absalom kills Amnon
23 Two years later, Absalom's men were cutting the wool from his sheep. They were in Baal Hazor, near to Ephraim's land. Absalom asked all the king's sons to meet him there. 24 Then he went to the king and he said, ‘My men have started to cut the wool from my sheep. Please will your and your officers come and join us at this happy time?’
25 King David replied to Absalom, ‘No, my son, we should not all go. It would cause you too much trouble.’
Absalom asked him again, but the king still refused to go. Instead, he asked God to bless Absalom.
26 So Absalom said, ‘If you will not come with me, please let my brother Amnon come.’
The king said, ‘Why do you want him to go with you?’ 27 But Absalom asked the king more strongly. So the king agreed to send Amnon and all his other sons.
28 Absalom then told his servants, ‘When Amnon has drunk a lot of wine I will tell you, “Knock him down!” Then you must kill him immediately. Do not be afraid. I am the one who is commanding you to do this. So be strong and brave.’
29 So Absalom's men killed Amnon, as Absalom had told them to do. Then all the king's other sons got on their mules. They quickly rode away.
30 While they were still on the way home, David heard news about what had happened. Someone told him, ‘Absalom has attacked all the king's sons. Not one son is still alive.’ 31 The king was very upset. He stood up and he tore his clothes. Then he lay down on the ground. All his servants were standing around him. They had torn their clothes, too.
32 But Jonadab, the son of David's brother Shimeah, said, ‘My lord, do not think that they have killed all your sons. Only Amnon is dead. Absalom has decided to do this since Amnon brought shame on his sister Tamar. 33 My lord the king, you should not believe the report that all your sons are dead. Only Amnon is dead.’
34 While this was happening, Absalom had run away.
There was an officer standing on the wall of Jerusalem to watch. When he looked, he saw a big group of people who were coming from the west. They were coming down the hill on the road from Horonaim. He went to the king and he told him the news.
35 Jonadab said to the king, ‘See, the king's sons are coming now, as I said they would.’
36 As he said that, the king's sons arrived. They were weeping loudly. The king and all his servants were also weeping. King David continued to weep for his son Amnon every day.
37 Absalom ran away to Ammihud's son, Talmai, the king of Geshur. 38 He stayed in Geshur for three years.
39 By this time, King David had stopped being so upset about Amnon's death. He wanted very much to see Absalom again.
The woman from Tekoa
14 Zeruiah's son, Joab, knew how much the king wanted to see Absalom. 2 So he sent a message to Tekoa to bring a wise woman from there. He said to her, ‘Pretend that you are upset because of someone's death. Dress in funeral clothes. Do not use any perfume on your body. You must seem like a woman who has been sad for a long time. 3 Then go to the king to speak to him.’ Then Joab told her the words that she should speak to the king.
4 So the woman from Tekoa went to the king. She bent her body down low with her face towards the ground. She gave honour to the king. Then she said, ‘Please help me, sir!’
5 The king asked her, ‘What is your trouble?’[b]
She said, ‘My husband is dead, sir, and I am a widow. 6 I had two sons. One day, they were fighting in the fields. There was nobody near to stop them. One son knocked down the other son and killed him. 7 Now all my relatives have turned against me. They want to take my son from me, because he killed his brother. They say that he must die. That is the punishment that he deserves. But if they do that, I will have no son. My husband will have no descendants, so the name of our family will not continue.’
8 The king said to the woman, ‘Go to your home. I will make sure that your son is safe.’
9 Then the woman said to the king, ‘My lord the king, I pray that nobody will think that you have done anything wrong. They should call me guilty, but not you or your family.’
10 The king replied, ‘If anyone says anything against you, bring him to me. After that, he will not cause you any more trouble.’
11 Then the woman said, ‘Sir, please stop my relative from punishing my son with death. I do not want this son to die as well as my other son. Please promise me in the name of the Lord your God that it will not happen.’
The king replied, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, I promise that nobody will touch even one hair of your son's head.’
12 Then the woman said, ‘Please sir, there is one other thing that I want to tell you.’
King David said, ‘Tell me.’
13 The woman said, ‘I think that you have done a wrong thing like this against God's own people. You have not let your own son return to his home. He still lives in a foreign city. Because of what you have said to me, you show that you yourself are guilty. 14 We must all die one day. When that happens, we are like water that is poured on the ground. We cannot pick it up again. But God does not remove our lives from us. Instead, he finds a way to bring us back to him when we have gone far away.
15 My lord the king, I have told you this because the people have made me afraid. I thought to myself, “I will speak to the king. I do not deserve it, but perhaps he will do what I ask him to do. 16 Perhaps he will listen to me. Perhaps he will save me from the man who wants to destroy both me and my son. That man wants to take away from us the land that God gave to us.”
17 Now I can say, “I know that the promise of my lord the king will keep me safe. The king can judge things like an angel of God. He knows what is right and what is wrong.” I pray that the Lord your God will be with you!’
18 Then the king said to the woman, ‘Now I want to ask you a question. You must not hide the truth from me.’
She replied, ‘Ask me anything, sir.’
19 The king asked her, ‘Is it Joab who has told you to do this?’
The woman answered, ‘My lord the king, as surely as you live, I cannot hide the truth from you. Yes, it was your servant Joab who told me what to do. He gave me the words to say. 20 He did it because he wanted things to be different. But you, my lord, are as wise as one of God's angels. You know everything that happens in our land.’
21 Then the king spoke to Joab. He said, ‘I have decided to do what you want. Go and bring back the young man Absalom.’
22 Joab bent his body down low with his face towards the ground. He thanked the king. He said, ‘Now I know that you are pleased with me. You have agreed to do what I have asked you to do.’
Joab brings Absalom back to Jerusalem
23 Then Joab went to Geshur. He brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. 24 But the king said, ‘Absalom must go to live in his own house. I do not want him to come to see me.’
So Absalom did not go to see the king. Instead, he went to live in his own house.
25 Everyone in Israel praised Absalom. They all thought that he was the most handsome man in the whole country. His body was perfect, from head to toe. 26 Once every year he cut his hair because it became too heavy. Each time, the hair that he cut off weighed about 2 kilograms.
27 Absalom had three sons and one daughter. Her name was Tamar. She was a very beautiful woman.
28 Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years, but he never saw the king. 29 Then Absalom sent a message to Joab. He asked Joab to come to him. He wanted Joab to go to the king on his behalf. But Joab refused to come to Absalom. So then Absalom sent another message, but Joab still refused to come. 30 Then Absalom said to his servants, ‘Joab has a field that is next to mine. Some barley is growing in it. Go and light a fire there, so that it all burns.’ So Absalom's servants went to Joab's field and they did that.
31 Then Joab did go to Absalom's house. He asked Absalom, ‘Why did your servants take fire and burn my field?’
32 Absalom replied, ‘You did not come when I sent messages to you. I wanted you to take a message to the king on my behalf. I wanted to ask the king, “Why have you brought me from Geshur to Jerusalem? It would have been better for me to stay there!” Now I want to go to see the king myself. If he thinks that I am guilty, then he can punish me with death.’
33 So Joab went to the king. He told the king what Absalom had said. King David then sent his men to bring Absalom to him. When Absalom arrived, he bent his body down low in front of the king, with his face towards the ground. The king was happy and he kissed Absalom.
Absalom turns against King David
15 Some time later, Absalom bought a chariot and some horses. He had 50 men who ran in front of the chariot to give him honour. 2 Every day, he got up early in the morning. Then he went to stand at the side of the road near the city's gate. He called out to anyone who was bringing a problem for the king to judge. He would ask them, ‘Which town have you come from?’ Then the man would tell Absalom which tribe of Israel he belonged to. 3 Then Absalom would say, ‘I am sure that you are right. You deserve to receive justice. But the king has not given any of his officers authority to listen to you.’ 4 Absalom would also say, ‘I think that I should have authority to be a judge in Israel. Then when people have a problem to take to court, they could come to me. I would make sure that they receive justice.’
5 When anyone bent his body down low to give honour to Absalom, Absalom would reach out and pull the man towards him. He would kiss the man. 6 Absalom did this to all the Israelites who came to Jerusalem to ask the king for justice. In that way, Absalom turned the people of Israel so that they became faithful to him.
7 After four years, Absalom said to the king, ‘Please let me go to Hebron. I need to make a sacrifice to the Lord, as I promised to do. 8 When I was living at Geshur with the Arameans, I made this promise: “If the Lord brings me back to live in Jerusalem, I will go to Hebron and I will worship him there.” ’
9 The king said, ‘Yes, you may go.’ So Absalom left Jerusalem and he went to Hebron.
10 Then Absalom sent his men to go secretly to all the tribes of Israel. They took this message to the people: ‘When you hear the noise of trumpets, then you must shout, “Absalom has become king in Hebron.” ’
11 200 men had gone with Absalom from Jerusalem. He had asked them to go with him as his friends. They trusted him and they did not know about his ideas. 12 Absalom offered his sacrifices as he had promised to do. But at the same time he sent men to fetch Ahithophel from Giloh, where he lived. Ahithophel was King David's advisor. More and more people agreed to join Absalom and turn against David. So Absalom was becoming more powerful.
David runs away from Jerusalem
13 Somebody brought this message to David: ‘The Israelites are now faithful to Absalom instead of you.’
14 So David said to the officers who were with him in Jerusalem, ‘We must go! We must run away! If we do not do that, no one will escape from Absalom. Hurry, or he will quickly catch us here. Then he will destroy us and our whole city!’
15 The king's officers answered, ‘Our lord the king, we will do anything that you decide is right.’
16 So the king left home. He took all his servants and family with him. But he left ten of his slave wives to take care of the palace. 17 As King David and all his people were leaving, they stopped at the last house on the edge of Jerusalem. 18 All his officers and his personal guards, the Kerethites and Pelethites, went on past him. There were also 600 men who had come with him from Gath. All these people were leaving Jerusalem with the king.
19 Then the king asked Ittai, who came from Gath, ‘Why are you coming with us? Go back into the city and join with Absalom, the new king. You have come from another country and you live here as a foreigner. 20 It seems like only a few days since you arrived here. There is no reason for you to travel with us. I do not even know where we are going! So you should go back. Take your men with you. I pray that the Lord will keep you safe with his faithful love.’
21 But Ittai replied to the king, ‘As surely as the Lord lives and as surely as you live, I promise that I will go with you, sir. Wherever you go, I will be there with you. My lord the king, I will stay with you, even if it brings death.’
22 So David said to Ittai, ‘Go on ahead of me.’ So Ittai, with all his men and their families, went on ahead of David.
23 As David and his men left the city, all the people who saw them wept loudly. The king went across the Kidron Valley and his men followed him. They travelled along the road towards the desert.
24 Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, were with them. The Levites were also there, and they were carrying God's Covenant Box. They put it down on the ground while all the people left the city. After all the people had passed, they picked it up again.
25 Then the king said to Zadok, ‘Take the Covenant Box back into the city. If the Lord is pleased with me, he will bring me back here again. The Lord will let me see the Covenant Box again, as well as his home. 26 But if he is not pleased with me, then he must do to me whatever he decides is right.’
27 Then the king said to Zadok the priest, ‘You do not know what will happen. So go safely back into the city, both you and Abiathar. Take your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar's son Jonathan with you. 28 I will wait at the place in the desert where we go across the river. I will wait there until I receive a message from you.’ 29 So Zadok and Abiathar took the Covenant Box back into Jerusalem. They stayed there.
David sends Hushai to Jerusalem
30 But David continued to go up the Mount of Olives.[c] He was weeping as he went. He had covered his head and he was not wearing any shoes on his feet. All the people with him also covered their heads and they wept as they went up the hill. 31 Someone told David that his advisor, Ahithophel, had now joined with Absalom and his men. So David prayed, ‘Lord, please cause Ahithophel to give them foolish advice.’
32 David arrived at the top of the hill. It was a place where people worshipped God. Hushai, who was an Arkite, met him there. He had torn his clothes and he had dirt on his head.[d] 33 David said, ‘If you come with me, you will be no help to me. 34 Instead, go back into the city. You should say to Absalom, “I accept you as king and I will be your servant. I was once your father's servant, but now I will be your servant.” Then you will be able to speak against Ahithophel's advice. 35 The priests, Zadok and Abiathar, will be there with you. Tell them any news that you hear in the king's palace. 36 Their two sons, Ahimaaz and Jonathan, are with them. Send them to me to tell me any news that you hear.’
37 So David's friend Hushai arrived at Jerusalem at the same time that Absalom was coming into the city.
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