⁸ Then the king arose, and sat in the gate. They told to all the people, saying, Behold, the king is sitting in the gate: and all the people came before the king. Now Israel had fled every man to his tent.

²⁴ Now David was sitting between the two gates: and the watchman went up to the roof of the gate to the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, a man running alone.

⁴ The king said to them, What seems you best I will do. The king stood by the gate-side, and all the people went out by hundreds and by thousands.

² Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and it was so, that when any man had a suit which should come to the king for judgment, then Absalom called to him, and said, Of what city are you? He said, Your servant is of one of the tribes of Israel.

⁶ So the people went out into the field against Israel: and the battle was in the forest of Ephraim.

⁷ The people of Israel were struck there before the servants of David, and there was a great slaughter there that day of twenty thousand men.

⁸ For the battle was there spread over the surface of all the country; and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.

¹⁷ They took Absalom, and cast him into the great pit in the forest, and raised over him a very great heap of stones: and all Israel fled everyone to his tent.

³ The people got them by stealth that day into the city, as people who are ashamed steal away when they flee in battle.

³⁶ There went a cry throughout the host about the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his country.

¹² Judah was put to the worse before Israel; and they fled every man to his tent.