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New International Version |   | |
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| | 2Sa 18:1 | David mustered the men who were with him and appointed over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds.
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| | 2Sa 18:2 | David sent the troops out--a third under the command of Joab, a third under Joab's brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai the Gittite. The king told the troops, "I myself will surely march out with you."
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| | 2Sa 18:3 | But the men said, "You must not go out; if we are forced to flee, they won't care about us. Even if half of us die, they won't care; but you are worth ten thousand of us. It would be better now for you to give us support from the city."
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| | 2Sa 18:4 | The king answered, "I will do whatever seems best to you." So the king stood beside the gate while all the men marched out in units of hundreds and of thousands.
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| | 2Sa 18:5 | The king commanded Joab, Abishai and Ittai, "Be gentle with the young man Absalom for my sake." And all the troops heard the king giving orders concerning Absalom to each of the commanders.
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| | 2Sa 18:6 | The army marched into the field to fight Israel, and the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim.
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| | 2Sa 18:7 | There the army of Israel was defeated by David's men, and the casualties that day were great--twenty thousand men.
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| | 2Sa 18:8 | The battle spread out over the whole countryside, and the forest claimed more lives that day than the sword.
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| | 2Sa 18:9 | Now Absalom happened to meet David's men. He was riding his mule, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom's head got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going.
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| | 2Sa 18:10 | When one of the men saw this, he told Joab, "I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree."
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| | 2Sa 18:11 | Joab said to the man who had told him this, "What! You saw him? Why didn't you strike him to the ground right there? Then I would have had to give you ten shekels of silver and a warrior's belt."
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| | 2Sa 18:12 | But the man replied, "Even if a thousand shekels were weighed out into my hands, I would not lift my hand against the king's son. In our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, `Protect the young man Absalom for my sake. '
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| | 2Sa 18:13 | And if I had put my life in jeopardy --and nothing is hidden from the king--you would have kept your distance from me."
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| | 2Sa 18:14 | Joab said, "I'm not going to wait like this for you." So he took three javelins in his hand and plunged them into Absalom's heart while Absalom was still alive in the oak tree.
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| | 2Sa 18:15 | And ten of Joab's armor-bearers surrounded Absalom, struck him and killed him.
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| | 2Sa 18:16 | Then Joab sounded the trumpet, and the troops stopped pursuing Israel, for Joab halted them.
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| | 2Sa 18:17 | They took Absalom, threw him into a big pit in the forest and piled up a large heap of rocks over him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled to their homes.
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| | 2Sa 18:18 | During his lifetime Absalom had taken a pillar and erected it in the King's Valley as a monument to himself, for he thought, "I have no son to carry on the memory of my name." He named the pillar after himself, and it is called Absalom's Monument to this day.
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| | 2Sa 18:19 | Now Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, "Let me run and take the news to the king that the LORD has delivered him from the hand of his enemies."
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| | 2Sa 18:20 | "You are not the one to take the news today," Joab told him. "You may take the news another time, but you must not do so today, because the king's son is dead."
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| | 2Sa 18:21 | Then Joab said to a Cushite, "Go, tell the king what you have seen." The Cushite bowed down before Joab and ran off.
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| | 2Sa 18:22 | Ahimaaz son of Zadok again said to Joab, "Come what may, please let me run behind the Cushite." But Joab replied, "My son, why do you want to go? You don't have any news that will bring you a reward."
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| | 2Sa 18:23 | He said, "Come what may, I want to run." So Joab said, "Run!" Then Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain and outran the Cushite.
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| | 2Sa 18:24 | While David was sitting between the inner and outer gates, the watchman went up to the roof of the gateway by the wall. As he looked out, he saw a man running alone.
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| | 2Sa 18:25 | The watchman called out to the king and reported it. The king said, "If he is alone, he must have good news." And the man came closer and closer.
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| | 2Sa 18:26 | Then the watchman saw another man running, and he called down to the gatekeeper, "Look, another man running alone!" The king said, "He must be bringing good news, too."
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| | 2Sa 18:27 | The watchman said, "It seems to me that the first one runs like Ahimaaz son of Zadok." "He's a good man," the king said. "He comes with good news."
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| | 2Sa 18:28 | Then Ahimaaz called out to the king, "All is well!" He bowed down before the king with his face to the ground and said, "Praise be to the LORD your God! He has delivered up the men who lifted their hands against my lord the king."
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| | 2Sa 18:29 | The king asked, "Is the young man Absalom safe?" Ahimaaz answered, "I saw great confusion just as Joab was about to send the king's servant and me, your servant, but I don't know what it was."
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| | 2Sa 18:30 | The king said, "Stand aside and wait here." So he stepped aside and stood there.
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| | 2Sa 18:31 | Then the Cushite arrived and said, "My lord the king, hear the good news! The LORD has delivered you today from all who rose up against you."
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| | 2Sa 18:32 | The king asked the Cushite, "Is the young man Absalom safe?" The Cushite replied, "May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up to harm you be like that young man."
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| | 2Sa 18:33 | The king was shaken. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he said: "O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you--O Absalom, my son, my son!"
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