2 Samuel 18
18
Absalom’s Defeat
1David reviewed his troops and appointed commanders of thousands and of hundreds over them. 2He then sent out the troops, a third under Joab, a third under Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai of Gath. The king said to the troops, “I must also march out with you.”
3“You must not go!” #2Sm 21:17 the people pleaded. “If we have to flee, they will not pay any attention to us. Even if half of us die, they will not pay any attention to us because you are worth#18:3 Some Hb mss, LXX, Vg; other Hb mss read because there would now be about ten thousand of us. Therefore, it is better if you support us from the city.”
4“I will do whatever you think is best,” the king replied to them. So he stood beside the city gate while all the troops marched out by hundreds and thousands. 5The king commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, “Treat the young man Absalom gently for my sake.” All the people heard the king’s orders to all the commanders about Absalom.
6Then David’s forces marched into the field to engage Israel in battle, which took place in the forest of Ephraim. 7Israel’s army was defeated by David’s soldiers, and the slaughter there was vast that day — twenty thousand dead. 8The battle spread over the entire area, and that day the forest claimed more people than the sword.
Absalom’s Death
9Absalom was riding on his mule when he happened to meet David’s soldiers. When the mule went under the tangled branches of a large oak tree, Absalom’s head was caught fast in the tree. The mule under him kept going, so he was suspended in midair.#18:9 Lit was between heaven and earth 10One of the men saw him and informed Joab. He said, “I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree!”
11“You just saw him!” Joab exclaimed.#18:11 Lit Joab said to the man who told him “Why didn’t you strike him to the ground right there? I would have given you ten silver pieces#18:11 About four ounces of silver and a belt!”
12The man replied to Joab, “Even if I had the weight of a thousand pieces of silver#18:12 About 25 pounds of silver in my hand, I would not raise my hand against the king’s son. For we heard the king command you, Abishai, and Ittai, ‘Protect the young man Absalom for me.’#18:12 Some Hb mss, LXX, Tg, Vg; other Hb mss read ‘Protect, whoever, the young man Absalom’; Hb obscure#2Sm 18:5 13If I had jeopardized my own#18:13 Alt Hb tradition reads jeopardized his life — and nothing is hidden from the king — you would have abandoned me.”
14Joab said, “I’m not going to waste time with you!” He then took three spears#18:14 Lit rods in his hand and thrust them into Absalom’s chest. While Absalom was still alive in the oak tree, 15ten young men who were Joab’s armor-bearers surrounded Absalom, struck him, and killed him. 16Joab blew the ram’s horn, and the troops broke off their pursuit of Israel because Joab restrained them. 17They took Absalom, threw him into a large pit in the forest, and raised up a huge mound of stones over him.#Jos 7:24–26; 8:29 And all Israel fled, each to his tent.#1Sm 4:10; 2Sm 19:8; 20:1,22; 2Kg 8:21
18When he was alive, Absalom had taken a pillar and raised it up#Gn 28:18; Dt 16:22; 1Sm 15:12; 2Kg 18:4 for himself in the King’s Valley,#Gn 14:17 since he thought, “I have no son#2Sm 14:27 to preserve the memory of my name.” So he named the pillar after himself. It is still called Absalom’s Monument today.
19Ahimaaz son of Zadok#2Sm 15:36 said, “Please let me run and tell the king the good news that the Lord has vindicated him by freeing him from his enemies.”
20Joab replied to him, “You are not the man to take good news today. You may do it another day, but today you aren’t taking good news, because the king’s son is dead.” 21Joab then said to a Cushite, “Go tell the king what you have seen.” The Cushite bowed to Joab and took off running.
22However, Ahimaaz son of Zadok persisted and said to Joab, “No matter what, please let me also run behind the Cushite!”
Joab replied, “My son, why do you want to run since you won’t get a reward?” #18:22 Or you have no good news?
23“No matter what, I want to run!”
“Then run!” Joab said to him. So Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain and outran the Cushite.
24David was sitting between the city gates#2Sm 19:8 when the watchman went up to the roof of the city gate and over to the wall.#2Sm 13:34; 2Kg 9:17 The watchman looked out and saw a man running alone. 25He called out and told the king.
The king said, “If he’s alone, he bears good news.”
As the first runner came closer, 26the watchman saw another man running. He called out to the gatekeeper, “Look! Another man is running alone!”
“This one is also bringing good news,” said the king.
27The watchman said, “The way the first man runs looks to me like the way Ahimaaz son of Zadok runs.”#2Kg 9:20
“This is a good man; he comes with good news,”#1Kg 1:42 the king commented.
28Ahimaaz called out to the king, “All is well,” and paid homage to the king with his face to the ground. He continued, “Blessed be the Lord your God! He delivered up the men who rebelled against my lord the king.”
29The king asked, “Is the young man Absalom all right?”
Ahimaaz replied, “When Joab sent the king’s servant and your servant, I saw a big disturbance, but I don’t know what it was.”
30The king said, “Move aside and stand here.” So he stood to one side.
31Just then the Cushite came and said, “May my lord the king hear the good news: The Lord has vindicated you today by freeing you from all who rise against you!”
32The king asked the Cushite, “Is the young man Absalom all right?”
The Cushite replied, “I wish that the enemies of my lord the king, along with all who rise up against you with evil intent, would become like that young man.”#1Sm 25:26
33The king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber above the city gate and wept. As he walked, he cried, “My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, Absalom, my son, my son!” #2Sm 19:4
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
2 Samuel 18
18
1David organized the men who were with him and put commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds in charge of them. 2David sent the army out divided into three sections. One third was commanded by Joab, one third was commanded by Abishai, son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and one third was commanded by Ittai the Gittite. The king told the men, “I myself will go out to battle with you.”
3But the men replied, “No, you must not go out into battle! For if we have to run away, they won't care about us. Even if half of us die, they won't care about that either. But you are worth ten thousand of us, so it's better if you stay here and send us help from the town.”
4“I will do whatever you think best,” the king replied. The king stood beside the gate while all his men marched out by hundreds and by thousands. 5The king ordered Joab, Abishai and Ittai, “Treat young Absalom gently for me.” All the men heard the king giving orders to each of his commanders about Absalom.
6David's army marched out to face the Israelites in battle, which was fought in the forest of Ephraim. 7The Israelites were defeated by David's men and many were killed that day—some twenty thousand. 8The battle covered the whole countryside, and that day more died because of the forest than were killed by the sword.
9Absalom ran into some of David's men while he was riding on his mule. As the mule went under the twisted branches of a large oak tree, Absalom's hair got caught in the tree. The mule he was riding kept going, leaving him hanging between earth and sky. 10One of David's men saw what happened, so he told Joab, “I just saw Absalom hanging from an oak tree!”
11“What! You saw him like that?” Joab said to the man. “Why didn't you kill him right then and there? I would have given you ten shekels of silver and a soldier's belt as a reward!”
12But the man replied, “Even if you gave me a thousand shekels of silver, I wouldn't hurt the king's son. We all heard the king give the order to you, Abishai, and Ittai, ‘Look after young Absalom for me.’#18:12. The Hebrew here is difficult, and is not the same as verse 5. 13If I had disobeyed and killed Absalom#18:13. Alternatively, “If I had put my own life in danger by killing Absalom.”—and the king finds out everything—you yourself wouldn't have defended me.”
14“I'm not going to waste time waiting around like this with you!” Joab told him. He grabbed three spears and drove them into Absalom's heart while he was still alive, hanging from the oak tree. 15Ten of Joab's armor-bearers surrounded Absalom and hacked him to death.
16Then Joab blew the ram's horn, and his men stopped chasing the Israelites because Joab had signaled them to stop. 17They took Absalom and threw him into a deep pit in the forest, and piled a large heap of stones over him. All the Israelites ran away to their homes.
18Absalom while he was alive had made a stone pillar and set it up in the King's Valley as a memorial to himself, for he thought to himself, “I don't have a son#18:18. In 14:27 it's recorded that Absalom had three sons, so either they had died or Absalom had disowned them. to keep the memory of my name alive.” He named the pillar after himself, and it's called Absalom's Monument even today.
19Then Ahimaaz, son of Zadok, said, “Please let me run and take the good news to the king that the Lord has vindicated him over his enemies.”
20“You're not the man to take the good news today,” Joab replied. “You can do it some other time, but don't do it today, because the king's son is dead.”
21So Joab said to a man from Ethiopia, “Go and tell the king what you have seen.” He bowed to Joab and ran off.
22Ahimaaz asked Joab again, “Never mind what happens, please let me run too, after the Ethiopian!”
“Son, why do you want to run? You won't get anything for it.” Joab replied.
23“Doesn't matter, I want to run anyway,” he said.
“Fine, start running!” Joab told him. Ahimaaz took the route over flatter ground and overtook the Ethiopian.
24David was sitting between the inside and outside gates. The watchman climbed up to the roof of the gateway by the wall. He looked out, and saw a man running by himself. 25So he shouted down to tell the king.
“If he's by himself then he's bringing good news,” the king replied.
As the first runner got closer, 26the watchman saw someone else running, and he shouted down to the gatekeeper, “Look! There's another man running by himself!”
“He'll also be bringing good news,” said the king.
27“The first man seems to me to be running like Ahimaaz, son of Zadok,” said the watchman.
“He's a good man,” the king replied. “He'll bring good news.”
28Ahimaaz shouted out greetings to the king. Then he came and he bowed facedown before the king. “Blessed be the Lord your God!” he said. “He has defeated the men who rebelled against Your Majesty!”
29“How is young Absalom? Is he all right?” the king asked.
Ahimaaz answered, “It was very chaotic when your officer Joab sent me, your servant. I really don't know what was happening.”
30“Stand to one side and wait,” the king told him. So Ahimaaz stood to one side and waited.
31Right then the Ethiopian arrived and said, “Your Majesty, listen to the good news! Today the Lord has defeated all those who rebelled against you!”
32“How is young Absalom? Is he all right?” the king asked.
The Ethiopian replied, “May what has happened to the young man happen to Your Majesty's enemies, and to everyone who rebels against you!”
33The king broke down. He went up to the room over the gate and cried. As he walked, he sobbed out, “My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! I wish I'd died instead of you, Absalom, my son, my son!”
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com