2 Samuel 13–18

Amnon and Tamar

13David’s son Absalom had a beautiful unmarried sister named Tamar. Amnon, another of David’s sons, fell in love with her. ²He was so much in love with her that he became ill, because it seemed impossible for him to have her; as a virgin, she was kept from meeting men. ³But he had a friend, a very shrewd man named Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shammah. ⁴Jonadab said to Amnon, “You are the king’s son, yet day after day I see you looking sad. What’s the matter?”

“I’m in love with Tamar, the sister of my half-brother Absalom,” he answered.

⁵Jonadab said to him, “Pretend that you are ill and go to bed. When your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Please ask my sister Tamar to come and feed me. I want her to prepare the food here where I can see her, and then serve it to me herself.’ ” ⁶So Amnon pretended that he was ill and went to bed.

King David went to see him, and Amnon said to him, “Please let Tamar come and make a few cakes here where I can see her, and then serve them to me herself.”

⁷So David sent word to Tamar in the palace: “Go to Amnon’s house and prepare some food for him.” ⁸She went there and found him in bed. She took some dough, prepared it, and made some cakes there where he could see her. Then she baked the cakes ⁹and emptied them out of the pan for him to eat, but he wouldn’t. He said, “Send everyone away”—and they all left. ¹⁰Then he said to her, “Bring the cakes here to my bed and serve them to me yourself.” She took the cakes and went over to him. ¹¹As she offered them to him, he grabbed her and said, “Come to bed with me!”

¹²“No,” she said. “Don’t force me to do such a degrading thing! That’s awful! ¹³How could I ever hold up my head in public again? And you—you would be completely disgraced in Israel. Please, speak to the king, and I’m sure that he will give me to you.” ¹⁴But he would not listen to her; and since he was stronger than she was, he overpowered her and raped her.

¹⁵Then Amnon was filled with a deep hatred for her; he hated her now even more than he had loved her before. He said to her, “Get out!”

¹⁶“No,” she answered. “To send me away like this is a greater crime^c than what you just did!”

But Amnon would not listen to her; ¹⁷he called in his personal servant and said, “Get this woman out of my sight! Throw her out and lock the door!” ¹⁸The servant put her out and locked the door.

Tamar was wearing a long robe with full sleeves,^d the usual clothing for an unmarried princess in those days.^{e 19}She sprinkled ashes on her head, tore her robe, and with her face buried in her hands went away crying. ²⁰When her brother Absalom saw her, he asked, “Has Amnon molested you? Please, sister, don’t let it upset you so much. He is your half-brother, so don’t tell anyone about it.” So Tamar lived in Absalom’s house, sad and lonely.

²¹When King David heard what had happened, he was furious. ²²And Absalom hated Amnon so much for having raped his sister Tamar that he would no longer even speak to him.

Absalom’s Revenge

²³Two years later Absalom was having his sheep sheared at Baal Hazor, near the town of Ephraim, and he invited all the king’s sons to be there. ²⁴He went to King David and said, “Your Majesty, I am having my sheep sheared. Will you and your officials come and take part in the festivities?”

²⁵“No, my son,” the king answered. “It would be too much trouble for you if we all went.” Absalom insisted, but the king would not give in, and he asked Absalom to leave.

²⁶But Absalom said, “Well, then, will you at least let my brother Amnon come?” “Why should he?” the king asked. ²⁷But Absalom kept on insisting until David finally let Amnon and all his other sons go with Absalom.

Absalom prepared a banquet fit for a king^{f 28}and instructed his servants: “Notice when Amnon has had too much to drink, and then when I give the order, kill him. Don’t be afraid. I will take the responsibility myself. Be brave and don’t hesitate!” ²⁹So the servants followed Absalom’s instructions and killed Amnon. All the rest of David’s sons mounted their mules and fled.

³⁰While they were on their way home, David was told: “Absalom has killed all your sons—not one of them is left!” ³¹The king stood up, tore his clothes in sorrow, and threw himself to the ground. The servants who were there with him tore their clothes also. ³²But Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shammah, said, “Your Majesty, they haven’t killed all your sons. Only Amnon is dead. You could tell by looking at Absalom that he had made up his mind to do this from the time that Amnon raped his sister Tamar. ³³So don’t believe the news that all your sons are dead; only Amnon was killed.”

³⁴In the meantime Absalom had fled.

Just then the soldier on sentry duty saw a large crowd coming down the hill on the road from Horonaim.^g He went to the king and reported what he had seen.^{h 35}Jonadab said to David, “Those are your sons coming, just as I said they would.” ³⁶As soon as he finished saying this, David’s sons came in; they started crying, and David and his officials also wept bitterly.

^37–38*Absalom fled and went to the king of Geshur, Talmai son of Ammihud, and stayed there three years. David mourned a long time for his son Amnon; ³⁹but when he got over Amnon’s death, he was filled with longing for his son Absalom.

Joab Arranges for Absalom’s Return

14Joab knew that King David missed Absalom very much, ²so he sent for a clever woman who lived in Tekoa. When she arrived, he said to her, “Pretend that you are in mourning; put on your mourning clothes, and don’t comb your hair. Act like a woman who has been in mourning for a long time. ³Then go to the king and say to him what I tell you to say.” Then Joab told her what to say.

⁴The woman went to the king, bowed down to the ground in respect, and said, “Help me, Your Majesty!”

⁵“What do you want?” he asked her. “I am a poor widow, sir,” she answered. “My husband is dead. ⁶Sir, I had two sons, and one day they got into a quarrel out in the fields, where there was no one to separate them, and one of them killed the other. ⁷And now, sir, all my relatives have turned against me and are demanding that I hand my son over to them, so that they can kill him for murdering his brother. If they do this, I will be left without a son. They will destroy my last hope and leave my husband without a son to keep his name alive.”

⁸“Go back home,” the king answered, “and I will take care of the matter.”

⁹“Your Majesty,” she said, “whatever you do, my family and I will take the blame; you and the royal family are innocent.”

¹⁰The king replied, “If anyone threatens you, bring him to me, and he will never trouble you again.”

¹¹She said, “Your Majesty, please pray to the Lord your God, so that my relative who is responsible for avenging the death of my son will not commit a greater crime by killing my other son.”

“I promise by the living Lord,” David replied, “that your son will not be harmed in the least.”

¹²“Please, Your Majesty, let me say just one more thing,” the woman said.

“All right,” he answered.

¹³She said to him, “Why have you done such a wrong to God’s people? You have not allowed your own son to return from exile, and so you have condemned yourself by what you have just said. ¹⁴We will all die; we are like water spilt on the ground, which can’t be gathered again. Even God does not bring the dead back to life, but the king can at least find a way to bring a man back from exile.^{i 15}Now, Your Majesty, the reason I have come to speak to you is that the people threatened me, and so I said to myself that I would speak to you in the hope that you would do what I ask. ¹⁶I thought you would listen to me and save me from the one who is trying to kill my son and me and so remove us from the land God gave his people. ^17*I said to myself that your promise, sir, would make me safe, because the king is like God’s angel and can distinguish good from evil.^j May the Lord your God be with you!”

¹⁸The king answered, “I’m going to ask you a question, and you must tell me the whole truth.”

“Ask me anything, Your Majesty,” she answered.

¹⁹“Did Joab put you up to this?” he asked her.

She answered, “I swear by all that is sacred, Your Majesty, that there is no way to avoid answering your question.^k It was indeed your officer Joab who told me what to do and what to say. ²⁰But he did it in order to straighten out this whole matter. Your Majesty is as wise as the angel of God and knows everything that happens.”

²¹Later on the king said to Joab, “I have decided to do what you want. Go and get the young man Absalom and bring him back here.”

²²Joab threw himself to the ground in front of David in respect, and said, “God bless you, Your Majesty! Now I know that you are pleased with me, because you have granted my request.” ²³Then he got up and went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. ²⁴The king, however, gave orders that Absalom should not live in the palace. “I don’t want to see him,” the king said. So Absalom lived in his own house and did not appear before the king.

Absalom Is Reconciled to David

²⁵There was no one in Israel as famous for his good looks as Absalom; he had no defect from head to foot. ²⁶His hair was very thick, and he had to cut it once a year, when it grew too long and heavy. It would weigh more than 2 kilogrammes according to the royal standard of weights. ²⁷Absalom had three sons and one daughter named Tamar, a very beautiful woman.

²⁸Absalom lived two years in Jerusalem without seeing the king. ²⁹Then he sent for Joab, to ask him to go to the king for him; but Joab would not come. Again Absalom sent for him, and again Joab refused to come. ³⁰So Absalom said to his servants, “Look, Joab’s field is next to mine, and it has barley growing in it. Go and set fire to it.” So they went and set the field on fire.

³¹Joab went to Absalom’s house and demanded, “Why did your servants set fire to my field?”

³²Absalom answered, “Because you wouldn’t come when I sent for you. I…