2 Samuel 18–19

And David numbered the people that were with him, and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them. ²And David sent forth a third part of the people under the hand of Joab, and a third part under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, ^aand a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said unto the people, ^bI will surely go forth with you myself also. ^3cBut the people answered, Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us: but now thou art worth ten thousand of us: therefore now it is better that thou succour us out of the city. ⁴And the king said unto them, What seemeth you best I will do. And the king stood by the gate side, and all the people came out by hundreds and by thousands. ⁵And the king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom. And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains charge concerning Absalom. ⁶So the people went out into the field against Israel: and the battle was in the ^dwood of Ephraim; ⁷where the people of Israel were slain before the servants of David, and there was there a great slaughter that day of twenty thousand men. ⁸For the battle was there scattered over the face of all the country: and the wood devoured more people that day than the sword devoured. ⁹And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great ^eoak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away. ¹⁰And a certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanged in an oak. ¹¹And Joab said unto the man that told him, And behold, thou sawest him, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten ^fshekels of silver, and a ^ggirdle. ¹²And the man said unto Joab, Though I should receive a thousand ^fshekels of silver in mine hand, yet would I not put forth mine hand against the king’s son: ^hfor in our hearing the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Beware that none touch the young man Absalom. ¹³Otherwise I should have wrought falsehood against mine own life: for there is no matter hid from the king, and thou thyself wouldest have set thyself against me. ¹⁴Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak. ¹⁵And ten young men that bare Joab’s armour compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him. ¹⁶And Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing after Israel: for Joab held back the people. ¹⁷And they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the wood, and laid ⁱa very great heap of stones upon him: and all Israel ^jfled every one to his tent. ¹⁸Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself ^ka pillar, which is in ^lthe king’s dale: for he said, ^mI have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called the pillar after his own name: and it is called unto this day, Absalom’s place.

¹⁹Then said ⁿAhimaaz the son of Zadok, Let me now run, and bear the king tidings, how that the Lord hath avenged him of his enemies. ²⁰And Joab said unto him, Thou shalt not bear tidings this day, but thou shalt bear tidings another day: but this day thou shalt bear no tidings, because the king’s son is dead. ²¹Then said Joab to ^oCushi, Go tell the king what thou hast seen. And Cushi bowed himself unto Joab, and ran. ²²Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab, But howsoever, let me, I pray thee, also run after Cushi. And Joab said, Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings ready? ²³But howsoever, ^psaid he, let me run. And he said unto him, Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of ^qthe plain, and overran Cushi. ²⁴And David sat between the two gates: and ^rthe watchman went up to the roof over the gate unto the wall, and lift up his eyes, and looked, and behold a man running alone. ²⁵And the watchman cried, and told the king. And the king said, If he be alone, there is tidings in his mouth. And he came apace, and drew near. ²⁶And the watchman saw another man running: and the watchman called unto the porter, and said, Behold another man running alone. And the king said, He also bringeth tidings. ²⁷And the watchman said, Me thinketh the running of the foremost is ^slike the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok. And the king said, ^tHe is a good man, and cometh with good tidings. ²⁸And Ahimaaz called, and said unto the king, All is well. And he fell down to the earth upon his face before the king, and said, Blessed be the Lord thy God, which hath delivered up the men that lift up their hand against my lord the king. ²⁹And the king said, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king’s servant, and me thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was. ³⁰And the king said unto him, Turn aside, and stand here. And he turned aside, and stood still. ³¹And behold, Cushi came; and Cushi said, Tidings, my lord the king: for the ^uLord hath avenged thee this day of all them that rose up against thee. ³²And the king said unto Cushi, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Cushi answered, ^wThe enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is. ³³And the king was much moved, and went up to ^xthe chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, ^yO my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom: would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son.

XIX.And it was told Joab, Behold, the king weepeth and mourneth for Absalom. ²And the victory that day was turned into mourning unto all the people: for the people heard say that day how the king was grieved for his son. ³And the people gat them by stealth that day ^ainto the city, as people ^bbeing ashamed steal away when they flee in battle. ⁴But the king ^ccovered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son. ⁵And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, which this day have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines; ⁶in that thou lovest thine enemies, and hatest thy friends: For thou hast declared this day, that thou regardest neither princes nor servants: for this day I perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and all we had died this day, then ^dit had pleased thee well. ⁷Now therefore arise, go forth, and speak comfortably unto thy servants: for I swear by the Lord, if thou go not forth, there will not tarry one with thee this night: and that will be worse unto thee than all the evil that befell thee from thy youth until now. ⁸Then the king rose, and sat in the gate. And they told unto all the people, saying, Behold, the king doth sit in the gate. And all the people came before the king: for Israel ^ehad fled every man to his tent.

⁹And all the people were at strife throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, The king saved us out of the hand of our enemies, and he delivered us out of the hand of the Philistines; and now he is fled out of the land for Absalom. ¹⁰And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why speak ye not a word of bringing the king back? ¹¹And king David sent to ^fZadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, Speak unto the elders of Judah, saying, Why are ye the last to bring the king back to his house? seeing the speech of all Israel is come to the king, even to his house. ¹²Ye are ^gmy brethren, ye are my bones and my flesh: wherefore then are ye the last to bring back the king? ¹³And say ye ^hto Amasa, Art thou not of my bone, and of my flesh? ⁱGod do so to me, and more also, if thou be not ^jcaptain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab. ¹⁴And he bowed the heart of all the men of Judah, ^keven as the heart of one man; so that they sent this word unto the king, Return thou, and all thy servants. ¹⁵So the king returned, and came to Jordan. And Judah came to ^lGilgal, to go to meet the king, to conduct the king over Jordan.

¹⁶And ^mShimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite, which was of ⁿBahurim, hasted and came down with the men of Judah to meet king David. ¹⁷And there were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and ^oZiba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went over Jordan before the king. ¹⁸And there went over a ferry boat to carry over the king’s household, and to do what he thought good. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king, as he was come over Jordan; ¹⁹and said unto the king, Let not my lord impute iniquity unto me, neither do thou remember that which thy servant ^pdid perversely the day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem, that the king should ^qtake it to his heart. ²⁰For thy servant doth know that I have sinned: therefore, behold, I am come the first this day of all ^rthe house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king. ²¹But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and said, Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he ^scursed the Lord’s anointed? ²²And David said, ^tWhat have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah, that ye should this day be adversaries unto me? ^ushall there any man be put to death this day in Israel? for do not I know that I am this day king over Israel? ²³Therefore ^vthe king said unto Shimei, Thou shalt not die. And the king sware unto him.

²⁴And ^wMephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king, and had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came again in peace. ²⁵And it came to pass, when he was come to Jerusalem to meet the…