2 Samuel 18–19

Absalom Dies

18David brought together the men who were with him. He appointed commanders of thousands over some of them. He appointed commanders of hundreds over the others.

²Then David sent the troops out in three companies. One company was under the command of Joab. Another was under Joab’s brother Abishai, the son of Zeruiah. The last was under Ittai, the Gittite. The king told the troops, “You can be sure that I myself will march out with you.”

³But the men said, “You must not march out. If we are forced to run away, our enemies won’t care about us. Even if half of us die, they won’t care. But you are worth 10,000 of us. So it would be better for you to stay here in the city. Then you can send us help if we need it.”

⁴The king said, “I’ll do what you think is best.”

So the king stood beside the city gate. The whole army marched out in companies of hundreds and companies of thousands.

⁵The king gave an order to Joab, Abishai and Ittai. He commanded them, “Be gentle with the young man Absalom. Do it for me.” All of the troops heard the king give the commanders that order about Absalom.

⁶David’s army marched into the field to fight against Israel. The battle took place in the forest of Ephraim. ⁷There David’s men won the battle over Israel’s army. A huge number of men were wounded or killed that day. The total number was 20,000. ⁸The fighting spread out over the whole countryside. But more men were killed in the forest that day than out in the open.

⁹Absalom happened to come across some of David’s men. He was riding his mule. The mule went under the thick branches of a large oak tree. Absalom’s head got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in the air. The mule he was riding kept on going.

¹⁰One of David’s men saw what had happened. He told Joab, “I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree.”

¹¹Joab said to the man, “What! You saw him? Why didn’t you strike him down right there? Then I would have had to give you four ounces of silver and a soldier’s belt.”

¹²But the man replied, “I wouldn’t lift my hand to harm the king’s son. I wouldn’t do it even for 25 pounds of silver. We heard the king’s command to you and Abishai and Ittai. He said, ‘Be careful not to hurt the young man Absalom. Do it for me.’ ¹³Suppose I had put my life in danger by killing him. The king would have found out about it. Nothing is hidden from him. And you wouldn’t have stood up for me.”

¹⁴Joab said, “I’m not going to waste any more time on you.” So he got three javelins. Then he went over and drove them into Absalom’s heart. He did it while Absalom was still hanging there alive in the oak tree.

¹⁵Ten of the men who were carrying Joab’s armor surrounded Absalom. They struck him down and killed him.

¹⁶Then Joab blew his trumpet. He ordered his troops to stop chasing Israel’s army. ¹⁷Joab’s men threw Absalom’s body into a big pit in the forest. They covered his body with a large pile of rocks. While all of that was going on, all of the Israelites ran back to their homes.

¹⁸Earlier in his life Absalom had set up a pillar in the King’s Valley. He had put it up as a monument to himself. He thought, “I don’t have a son to carry on the memory of my name.” So he named the pillar after himself. It is still called Absalom’s Monument to this very day.

David Sobs Over Absalom

¹⁹Ahimaaz said to Joab, “Let me run and take the news to the king. Let me tell him that the Lord has saved him from the power of his enemies.” Ahimaaz was the son of Zadok.

²⁰“I don’t want you to take the news to the king today,” Joab told him. “You can do it some other time. But you must not do it today, because the king’s son is dead.”

²¹Then Joab said to a man from Cush, “Go. Tell the king what you have seen.” The man bowed down in front of Joab. Then he ran off.

²²Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, spoke again to Joab. He said, “I don’t care what happens to me. Please let me run behind the man from Cush.”

But Joab replied, “My son, why do you want to go? You don’t have any news that will bring you a reward.”

²³He said, “I don’t care what happens. I want to run.”

So Joab said, “Run!” Then Ahimaaz ran across the flatlands of the Jordan River. As he ran, he passed the man from Cush.

²⁴David was sitting in the area between the inner and outer gates of the city. The man on guard duty went up to the roof over the entrance of the gate by the wall. As he looked out, he saw someone running alone. ²⁵He called out to the king and reported it.

The king said, “If the runner is alone, he must be bringing good news.” The man came closer and closer.

²⁶Then the man on guard duty saw another man running. He called out to the man who was guarding the gate. He said, “Look! There’s another man running alone!”

The king said, “He must be bringing good news too.”

²⁷The man on guard duty said, “I can see that the first one runs like Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok.”

“He’s a good man,” the king said. “He’s bringing good news.”

²⁸Then Ahimaaz called out to the king, “Everything’s all right!” He bowed down in front of the king with his face toward the ground. He said, “You are my king and master. Give praise to the Lord your God! He has handed over to you the men who lifted their hands to kill you.”

²⁹The king asked, “Is the young man Absalom safe?”

Ahimaaz answered, “I saw total disorder. I saw it just as Joab was about to send the king’s servant and me to you. But I don’t know what it was all about.”

³⁰The king said, “Stand over there and wait.” So he stepped over to one side and stood there.

³¹Then the man from Cush arrived. He said, “You are my king and master. I’m bringing you some good news. The Lord has saved you today from all those who were trying to kill you.”

³²The king asked the man from Cush, “Is the young man Absalom safe?”

The man replied, “King David, may your enemies be like that young man. May all those who rise up to harm you be like him.”

³³The king was very upset. He went up to the room over the entrance of the gate and sobbed. As he went, he said, “My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! I wish I had died instead of you. Absalom! My son, my son!”

19Someone told Joab, “The king is sobbing over Absalom. He’s filled with sadness because his son has died.”

²The army had won a great battle that day. But their joy turned into sadness. That’s because someone had told the troops, “The king is filled with sorrow because his son is dead.” ³The men came quietly into the city that day. They were like fighting men who are ashamed because they’ve run away from a battle.

⁴The king covered his face. He sobbed out loud, “My son Absalom! Absalom, my son, my son!”

⁵Then Joab went into the king’s house. He said to him, “Today you have made all of your men feel ashamed. They have just saved your life. They have saved the lives of your sons and daughters. And they have saved the lives of your wives and concubines.

⁶“You love those who hate you. You hate those who love you. The commanders and their troops don’t mean anything to you. You made that very clear today. I can see that you would be pleased if Absalom were alive today and all of us were dead.

⁷“Now go out there and cheer up your men. If you don’t, you won’t have any of them left with you by sunset. That will be worse for you than all of the troubles you have ever had in your whole life. That’s what I promise you with an oath in the Lord’s name.”

⁸So the king got up and took his seat in the entrance of the city gate. His men were told, “The king is sitting in the entrance of the gate.” Then all of them came and stood in front of him.

David Returns to Jerusalem

While all of that was going on, the Israelites had run back to their homes. ⁹People from all of the tribes of Israel began to argue with one another. They were saying, “The king saved us from the power of our enemies. He saved us from the power of the Philistines. But now he has left the country because of Absalom. ¹⁰We anointed Absalom to rule over us. But he has died in battle. So why aren’t any of you talking about bringing the king back?”

¹¹King David sent a message to the priests Zadok and Abiathar. It said, “Speak to the elders of Judah. Tell them I said, ‘News has reached me where I’m staying. People all over Israel are talking about bringing me back to my palace. Why should you be the last to do something about it? ¹²You are my relatives. You are my own flesh and blood. So why should you be the last to bring me back?’

¹³“Say to Amasa, ‘Aren’t you my own flesh and blood? From now on you will be the commander of my army in place of Joab. If that isn’t true, may God punish me greatly.’ ”

¹⁴So the hearts of all of the men of Judah were turned toward David. All of them had the same purpose in mind. They sent a message to the king. It said, “We want you to come back. We want all of your men to come back too.” ¹⁵Then the king returned. He went as far as the Jordan River.

The men of Judah had come to Gilgal to welcome the king back. They had come to bring him across the Jordan. ¹⁶Shimei, the son of Gera, was among them. Shimei was from Bahurim in the territory of Benjamin. He hurried down to welcome King David back. ¹⁷There were 1,000 people from Benjamin with him. Ziba, the manager of Saul’s house, was with him too. And so were Ziba’s 15 sons and 20 servants. All of them rushed down to the Jordan River. That’s where the king was. ¹⁸They went across at the place where people usually cross it. Then they brought the king’s family back over with them. They were ready to do anything he wanted them to do.

Shimei, the son of Gera, had also gone across the Jordan. When he did, he fell down flat with his face toward the ground in front of the king. ¹⁹He said to him, “You are my king and master. Please don’t hold me guilty. Please forgive me for the wrong things I did on the day you left Jerusalem. Please forget all about them. ²⁰I know I’ve sinned. But today I’ve come down here to welcome you. I’m the first member of Joseph’s whole family to do it.”

²¹Then Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, said, “Shouldn’t Shimei be…