2 Samuel 13–18

Amnon and Tamar

13David had a son named Absalom and a son named Amnon. Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar, and Amnon loved her. ²Tamar was a virgin. Amnon made himself sick just thinking about her, because he could not find any chance to be alone with her.

³Amnon had a friend named Jonadab son of Shimeah, David’s brother. Jonadab was a very clever man. ⁴He asked Amnon, “Son of the king, why do you look so sad day after day? Tell me what’s wrong!”

Amnon told him, “I love Tamar, the sister of my half-brother Absalom.”

⁵Jonadab said to Amnon, “Go to bed and act as if you are sick. Then your father will come to see you. Tell him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come in and give me food to eat. Let her make the food in front of me so I can watch and eat it from her hand.’ ”

⁶So Amnon went to bed and acted sick. When King David came in to see him, Amnon said to him, “Please let my sister Tamar come in. Let her make two of her special cakes for me while I watch. Then I will eat them from her hands.”

⁷David sent for Tamar in the palace, saying, “Go to your brother Amnon’s house and make some food for him.” ⁸So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house, and he was in bed. Tamar took some dough and pressed it together with her hands. She made some special cakes while Amnon watched. Then she baked them. ⁹Next she took the pan and served him, but he refused to eat.

He said to his servants, “All of you, leave me alone!” So they all left him alone. ¹⁰Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the bedroom so I may eat from your hand.”

Tamar took the cakes she had made and brought them to her brother Amnon in the bedroom. ¹¹She went to him so he could eat from her hands, but Amnon grabbed her. He said, “Sister, come and have sexual relations with me.”

¹²Tamar said to him, “No, brother! Don’t force me! This should never be done in Israel! Don’t do this shameful thing! ¹³I could never get rid of my shame! And you will be like the shameful fools in Israel! Please talk with the king, and he will let you marry me.”

¹⁴But Amnon refused to listen to her. He was stronger than she was, so he forced her to have sexual relations with him. ¹⁵After that, Amnon hated Tamar. He hated her more than he had loved her before. Amnon said to her, “Get up and leave!”

¹⁶Tamar said to him, “No! Sending me away would be worse than what you’ve already done!”

But he refused to listen to her. ¹⁷He called his young servant back in and said, “Get this woman out of here and away from me! Lock the door after her.” ¹⁸So his servant led her out of the room and bolted the door after her.

Tamar was wearing a special robe with long sleeves, because the king’s virgin daughters wore this kind of robe. ¹⁹To show how upset she was, Tamar put ashes on her head and tore her special robe and put her hand on her head. Then she went away, crying loudly.

²⁰Absalom, Tamar’s brother, said to her, “Has Amnon, your brother, forced you to have sexual relations with him? For now, sister, be quiet. He is your half-brother. Don’t let this upset you so much!” So Tamar lived in her brother Absalom’s house and was sad and lonely.

²¹When King David heard the news, he was very angry. ²²Absalom did not say a word, good or bad, to Amnon. But he hated Amnon for disgracing his sister Tamar.

Absalom’s Revenge

²³Two years later Absalom had some men come to Baal Hazor, near Ephraim, to cut the wool from his sheep. Absalom invited all the king’s sons to come also. ²⁴Absalom went to the king and said, “I have men coming to cut the wool. Please come with your officers and join me.”

²⁵King David said to Absalom, “No, my son. We won’t all go, because it would be too much trouble for you.” Although Absalom begged David, he would not go, but he did give his blessing.

²⁶Absalom said, “If you don’t want to come, then please let my brother Amnon come with us.”

King David asked, “Why should he go with you?”

²⁷Absalom kept begging David until he let Amnon and all the king’s sons go with Absalom.

²⁸Then Absalom instructed his servants, “Watch Amnon. When he is drunk, I will tell you, ‘Kill Amnon.’ Right then, kill him! Don’t be afraid, because I have commanded you! Be strong and brave!” ²⁹So Absalom’s young men killed Amnon as Absalom commanded, but all of David’s other sons got on their mules and escaped.

³⁰While the king’s sons were on their way, the news came to David, “Absalom has killed all of the king’s sons! Not one of them is left alive!” ³¹King David tore his clothes and lay on the ground to show his sadness. All his servants standing nearby tore their clothes also.

³²Jonadab son of Shimeah, David’s brother, said to David, “Don’t think all the young men, your sons, are killed. No, only Amnon is dead! Absalom has planned this ever since Amnon forced his sister Tamar to have sexual relations with him. ³³My master and king, don’t think that all of the king’s sons are dead. Only Amnon is dead!”

³⁴In the meantime Absalom had run away.

A guard standing on the city wall saw many people coming from the other side of the hill. ³⁵So Jonadab said to King David, “Look, I was right! The king’s sons are coming!”

³⁶As soon as Jonadab had said this, the king’s sons arrived, crying loudly. David and all his servants began crying also. ³⁷David cried for his son every day.

But Absalom ran away to Talmai ⁿ son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. ³⁸After Absalom ran away to Geshur, he stayed there for three years. ³⁹When King David got over Amnon’s death, he missed Absalom greatly.

Joab Sends a Wise Woman to David

14Joab son of Zeruiah knew that King David missed Absalom very much. ²So Joab sent messengers to Tekoa to bring a wise woman from there. He said to her, “Pretend to be very sad. Put on funeral clothes and don’t put lotion on yourself. Act like a woman who has been crying many days for someone who died. ³Then go to the king and say these words.” Then Joab told her what to say.

⁴So the woman from Tekoa spoke to the king. She bowed facedown on the ground to show respect and said, “My king, help me!”

⁵King David asked her, “What is the matter?”

The woman said, “I am a widow; my husband is dead. ⁶I had two sons. They were out in the field fighting, and no one was there to stop them. So one son killed the other son. ⁷Now all the family group is against me. They said to me, ‘Bring the son who killed his brother so we may kill him for killing his brother. That way we will also get rid of the one who would receive what belonged to his father.’ My son is like the last spark of a fire. He is all I have left. If they kill him, my husband’s name and property will be gone from the earth.”

⁸Then the king said to the woman, “Go home. I will take care of this for you.”

⁹The woman of Tekoa said to him, “Let the blame be on me and my father’s family. My master and king, you and your throne are innocent.”

¹⁰King David said, “Bring me anyone who says anything bad to you. Then he won’t bother you again.”

¹¹The woman said, “Please promise in the name of the Lord your God. Then my relative who has the duty of punishing a murderer won’t add to the destruction by killing my son.”

David said, “As surely as the Lord lives, no one will hurt your son. Not one hair from his head will fall to the ground.”

¹²The woman said, “Let me say something to you, my master and king.”

The king said, “Speak.”

¹³Then the woman said, “Why have you decided this way against the people of God? When you judge this way, you show that you are guilty for not bringing back your son who was forced to leave home. ¹⁴We will all die someday. We’re like water spilled on the ground; no one can gather it back. But God doesn’t take away life. Instead, he plans ways that those who have been sent away will not have to stay away from him! ¹⁵My master and king, I came to say this to you because the people have made me afraid! I thought, ‘Let me talk to the king. Maybe he will do what I ask. ¹⁶Maybe he will listen. Perhaps he will save me from those who want to keep both me and my son from getting what God gave us.’

¹⁷“Now I say, ‘May the words of my master the king give me rest. Like an angel of God, you know what is good and what is bad. May the Lord your God be with you!’ ”

¹⁸Then King David said, “Do not hide the truth. Answer me one question.”

The woman said, “My master the king, please ask your question.”

¹⁹The king said, “Did Joab tell you to say all these things?”

The woman answered, “As you live, my master the king, no one could avoid that question. You are right. Your servant Joab did tell me to say these things. ²⁰Joab did it so you would see things differently. My master, you are wise like an angel of God who knows everything that happens on earth.”

Absalom Returns to Jerusalem

²¹The king said to Joab, “Look, I will do what I promised. Bring back the young man Absalom.”

²²Joab bowed facedown on the ground and blessed the king. Then he said, “Today I know you are pleased with me, because you have done what I asked.”

²³Then Joab got up and went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. ²⁴But King David said, “Absalom must go to his own house. He may not come to see me.” So Absalom went to his own house and did not go to see the king.

²⁵Absalom was greatly praised for his handsome appearance. No man in Israel was as handsome as he. No blemish was on him from his head to his foot. ²⁶At the end of every year, Absalom would cut his hair, because it became too heavy. When he weighed it, it would weigh about five pounds by the royal measure.

²⁷Absalom had three sons and one daughter. His daughter’s name was also Tamar, and she was a beautiful woman.

²⁸Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two full years without seeing King David. ²⁹Then Absalom sent for Joab so he could send him to the king, but Joab would not come. Absalom sent a message a second time, but Joab still refused to come. ³⁰Then Absalom said to his servants, “Look, Joab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley growing there. Go burn it.” So Absalom’s servants set fire to Joab’s field.

³¹…