^{1 Ref} And David inspecteth the people who `are' with him, and setteth over them heads of thousands and heads of hundreds,

^{2 Ref} and David sendeth the third of the people by the hand of Joab, and the third by the hand of Abishai, son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, and the third by the hand of Ittai the Gittite, and the king saith unto the people, `I certainly go out -- I also -- with you.'

^{3 Ref} And the people say, `Thou dost not go out, for if we utterly flee, they do not set `their' heart upon us; and if half of us die, they do not set `their' heart unto us -- for now like us `are' ten thousand; and now, better that thou be to us from the city for an helper.'

^{4 Ref} And the king saith unto them, `That which is good in your eyes I do;' and the king standeth at the side of the gate, and all the people have gone out by hundreds and by thousands,

^{5 Ref} and the king chargeth Joab, and Abishai, and Ittai, saying, `Gently -- for me, for the youth, for Absalom;' and all the people heard in the king's charging all the heads concerning Absalom.

^{6 Ref} And the people goeth out into the field to meet Israel, and the battle is in a forest of Ephraim;

^{7 Ref} and smitten there are the people of Israel before the servants of David, and the smiting there is great on that day -- twenty thousand;

^{8 Ref} and the battle is there scattered over the face of all the land, and the forest multiplieth to devour among the people more than those whom the sword hath devoured in that day.

^{9 Ref} And Absalom meeteth before the servants of David, and Absalom is riding on the mule, and the mule cometh in under an entangled bough of the great oak, and his head taketh hold on the oak, and he is placed between the heavens and the earth, and the mule that `is' under him hath passed on.

¹⁰ And one man seeth, and declareth to Joab, and saith, `Lo, I saw Absalom hanged in an oak.'

¹¹ And Joab saith to the man who is declaring `it' to him, `And lo, thou hast seen -- and wherefore didst thou not smite him there to the earth -- and on me to give to thee ten silverlings and one girdle?'

^{12 Ref} And the man saith unto Joab, `Yea, though I am weighing on my hand a thousand silverlings, I do not put forth my hand unto the son of the king; for in our ears hath the king charged thee, and Abishai, and Ittai, saying, Observe ye who `is' against the youth -- against Absalom;

^{13 Ref} or I had done against my soul a vain thing, and no matter is hid from the king, and thou -- thou dost station thyself over-against.'

^{14 Ref} And Joab saith, `Not right -- I tarry before thee;' and he taketh three darts in his hand, and striketh them into the heart of Absalom, while he `is' alive, in the midst of the oak.

¹⁵ And they go round -- ten youths bearing weapons of Joab -- and smite Absalom, and put him to death.

^{16 Ref} And Joab bloweth with a trumpet, and the people turneth back from pursuing after Israel, for Joab hath kept back the people;

^{17 Ref} and they take Absalom and cast him in the forest unto the great pit, and set up over him a very great heap of stones, and all Israel have fled -- each to his tent.

^{18 Ref} And Absalom hath taken, and setteth up for himself in his life, the standing-pillar that `is' in the king's valley, for he said, `I have no son to cause my name to be remembered;' and he calleth the standing-pillar by his own name, and it is called `The monument of Absalom' unto this day.

^{19 Ref} And Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, `Let me run, I pray thee, and I bear the king tidings, for Jehovah hath delivered him out of the hand of his enemies;'

^{20 Ref} and Joab saith to him, `Thou art not a man of tidings this day, but thou hast borne tidings on another day, and this day thou dost not bear tidings, because the king's son `is' dead.'

²¹ And Joab saith to Cushi, `Go, declare to the king that which thou hast seen;' and Cushi boweth himself to Joab, and runneth.

^{22 Ref} And Ahimaaz son of Zadok addeth again, and saith unto Joab, `And whatever it be, let me run, I pray thee, I also, after the Cushite.' And Joab saith, `Why `is' this -- thou art running, my son, and for thee there are no tidings found?' --

^{23 Ref} `And, whatever it be, `said he,' let me run.' And he saith to him, `Run;' and Ahimaaz runneth the way of the circuit, and passeth by the Cushite.

^{24 Ref} And David is sitting between the two gates, and the watchman goeth unto the roof of the gate, unto the wall, and lifteth up his eyes, and looketh, and lo, a man running by himself.

²⁵ And the watchman calleth, and declareth to the king, and the king saith, `If by himself, tidings `are' in his mouth;' and he cometh, coming on and drawing near.

²⁶ And the watchman seeth another man running, and the watchman calleth unto the gatekeeper, and saith, `Lo, a man running by himself;' and the king saith, `Also this one is bearing tidings.'

^{27 Ref} And the watchman saith, `I see the running of the first as the running of Ahimaaz son of Zadok.' And the king saith, `This `is' a good man, and with good tidings he cometh.'

^{28 Ref} And Ahimaaz calleth and saith unto the king, `Peace;' and he boweth himself to the king, on his face, to the earth, and saith, `Blessed `is' Jehovah thy God who hath shut up the men who lifted up their hand against my lord the king.'

^{29 Ref} And the king saith, `Peace to the youth -- to Absalom?' And Ahimaaz saith, `I saw the great multitude, at the sending away of the servant of the king, even thy servant `by' Joab, and I have not known what `it is'.'

³⁰ And the king saith, `Turn round, station thyself here;' and he turneth round and standeth still.

^{31 Ref} And lo, the Cushite hath come, and the Cushite saith, `Let tidings be proclaimed, my lord, O king; for Jehovah hath delivered thee to-day out of the hand of all those rising up against thee.'

^{32 Ref} And the king saith unto the Cushite, `Peace to the youth -- to Absalom?' And the Cushite saith, `Let them be -- as the youth -- the enemies of my lord the king, and all who have risen up against thee for evil.'

^{33 Ref} And the king trembleth, and goeth up on the upper chamber of the gate, and weepeth, and thus he hath said in his going, `My son! Absalom my son; my son Absalom; oh that I had died for thee, Absalom, my son, my son.'

^{1 Ref} And David had the people who were with him numbered, and he put over them captains of thousands and captains of hundreds.

^{2 Ref} And David sent the people out, a third of them under the orders of Joab, and a third under the orders of Abishai, son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and a third under Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the people, And I myself will certainly go out with you.

^{3 Ref} But the people said, It is better for you not to go out: for if we are put to flight, they will not give a thought to us, and if death overtakes half of us, it will be nothing to them: but you are of more value than ten thousand of us: so it is better for you to be ready to come to our help from this town.

^{4 Ref} And the king said to them, I will do whatever seems best to you. So the king took his place by the door of the town, and all the people went out by hundreds and by thousands.

^{5 Ref} And the king gave orders to Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Because of me, be gentle to the young man Absalom. And this order about Absalom was given in the hearing of all the people.

^{6 Ref} So the people went out into the field against Israel, and the fight took place in the woods of Ephraim.

^{7 Ref} And the people of Israel were overcome there by the servants of David, and there was a great destruction that day, and twenty thousand men were put to the sword.

^{8 Ref} And the fighting went on over all the face of the country: and the woods were responsible for more deaths than the sword.

^{9 Ref} And Absalom came across some of David's men. And Absalom was seated on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great tree, and his head became fixed in the tree and he was lifted up between earth and heaven, and the beast under him went on.

¹⁰ And a certain man saw it and said to Joab, I saw Absalom hanging in a tree.

¹¹ And Joab said to the man who had given him the news, If you saw this, why did you not put your sword through him, and I would have given you ten bits of silver and a band for your robe?

^{12 Ref} And the man said to Joab, Even if you gave me a thousand bits of silver, I would not put out my hand against the king's son: for in our hearing the king gave orders to you and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Take care that the young man Absalom is not touched.

^{13 Ref} And if I had falsely put him to death (and nothing may be kept secret from the king), you would have had nothing to do with me.

^{14 Ref} Then Joab said, I would have made it safe for you. And he took three spears in his hand, and put them through Absalom's heart, while he was still living, in the branches of the tree.

¹⁵ And ten young men, servants of Joab, came round Absalom and put an end to him.

^{16 Ref} And Joab had the horn sounded, and the people came back from going after Israel, for Joab kept them back.

^{17 Ref} And they took Absalom's body and put it into a great hole in the wood, and put a great mass of stones over it: and every man of Israel went in flight to his tent.

^{18 Ref} Now Absalom, before his death, had put up for himself a pillar in the king's valley, naming it after himself; for he said, I have no son to keep my name in memory: and to this day it is named Absalom's pillar.

^{19 Ref} Then Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, said, Let me go and give the king news of how the Lord has done right in his cause against those who took up arms against him.

^{20 Ref} And Joab said, You will take no news today; another day you may give him the news, but you will take no news today, because the king's son is dead.

²¹ Then Joab said to the Cushite, Go and give the king word of what you have seen. And the Cushite, making a sign of respect to Joab, went off running.

^{22 Ref} Then Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, said to Joab again, Whatever may come of it, let me go after the Cushite. And Joab said, Why have you a desire to go, my son, seeing that you will get no reward for your news?

^{23 Ref} Whatever may come of it, he said, I will go. Then he said to him, Go. So Ahimaaz went running by the lowland road and overtook the Cushite.

^{24 Ref} Now David was seated between the two town doors; and the watchman went up to the roof of the doorways, on the wall, and, lifting up his eyes, saw a man running by himself.

²⁵ And the watchman gave news of it to the king. And the king said, If he is coming by himself, then he has news. And the man was travelling quickly, and came near.

²⁶ Then the watchman saw another man running: and crying out in the direction of the door he said, Here is another man running by himself. And the king said, He, like the other, comes with news.

^{27 Ref} And the watchman said, It seems to me that the running of the first is like the running of Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok. And the king said, He is a good man, and his news will be good.

^{28 Ref} And Ahimaaz, crying out to the king, said, It is well. And falling down before the king, with his face to the earth, he said, May the Lord your God be praised, who has given up the men who took up arms against my lord the king!

^{29 Ref} And the king said, Is it well with the young man Absalom? And Ahimaaz said in answer, When Joab sent me, your servant, I saw a great outcry going on, but I had no knowledge of what it was.

³⁰ And the king said, Get back and take your place here. So turning to one side, he took his place there.

^{31 Ref} And then the Cushite came and said, I have news for my lord the king: today the Lord has done right in your cause against all those who took up arms against you.

^{32 Ref} And the king said to the Cushite, Is the young man Absalom safe? And the Cushite said in answer, May all the king's haters and those who do evil against the king, be as that young man is!

^{33 Ref} Then the king was much moved, and went up into the room over the door, weeping, and saying, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! if only my life might have been given for yours, O Absalom, my son, my son!

^{1 Ref} David numbered the people who were with him, and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them.

^{2 Ref} David sent forth the people, a third part under the hand of Joab, and a third part under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. The king said to the people, I will surely go forth with you myself also.

^{3 Ref} But the people said, You shall not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us: but you are worth ten thousand of us; therefore now it is better that you are ready to help us out of the city.

^{4 Ref} 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.

^{5 Ref} The king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom. All the people heard when the king gave all the captains charge concerning Absalom.

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

^{7 Ref} 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 Ref} 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.

^{9 Ref} Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the sky and earth; and the mule that was under him went on.

¹⁰ A certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.

¹¹ Joab said to the man who told him, Behold, you saw it, and why didn't you strike him there to the ground? and I would have given you ten [pieces of] silver, and a sash.

^{12 Ref} The man said to Joab, Though I should receive a thousand [pieces of] silver in my hand, I still wouldn't put forth my hand against the king's son; for in our hearing the king charged you and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Beware that none touch the young man Absalom.

^{13 Ref} Otherwise if I had dealt falsely against his life (and there is no matter hid from the king), then you yourself would have set yourself against [me].

^{14 Ref} Then said Joab, I may not wait thus with you. He took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak.

¹⁵ Ten young men who bore Joab's armor compassed about and struck Absalom, and killed him.

^{16 Ref} Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing after Israel; for Joab held back the people.

^{17 Ref} 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.

^{18 Ref} Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself the pillar, which is in the king's dale; for he said, I have no son to keep my name in memory: and he called the pillar after his own name; and it is called Absalom's monument, to this day.

^{19 Ref} Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, Let me now run, and bear the king news, how that Yahweh has avenged him of his enemies.

^{20 Ref} Joab said to him, You shall not be the bearer of news this day, but you shall bear news another day; but this day you shall bear no news, because the king's son is dead.

²¹ Then said Joab to the Cushite, Go, tell the king what you have seen. The Cushite bowed himself to Joab, and ran.

^{22 Ref} Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab, But come what may, Please let me also run after the Cushite. Joab said, Why will you run, my son, seeing that you will have no reward for the news?

^{23 Ref} But come what may, [said he], I will run. He said to him, Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the Plain, and outran the Cushite.

^{24 Ref} 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.

²⁵ The watchman cried, and told the king. The king said, If he be alone, there is news in his mouth. He came apace, and drew near.

²⁶ The watchman saw another man running; and the watchman called to the porter, and said, Behold, [another] man running alone. The king said, He also brings news.

^{27 Ref} The watchman said, I think the running of the foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok. The king said, He is a good man, and comes with good news.

^{28 Ref} Ahimaaz called, and said to the king, All is well. He bowed himself before the king with his face to the earth, and said, Blessed be Yahweh your God, who has delivered up the men who lifted up their hand against my lord the king.

^{29 Ref} The king said, Is it well with the young man Absalom? Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king's servant, even me your servant, I saw a great tumult, but I don't know what it was.

³⁰ The king said, Turn aside, and stand here. He turned aside, and stood still.

^{31 Ref} Behold, the Cushite came; and the Cushite said, News for my lord the king; for Yahweh has avenged you this day of all those who rose up against you.

^{32 Ref} The king said to the Cushite, Is it well with the young man Absalom? The Cushite answered, The enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up against you to do you hurt, be as that young man is.

^{33 Ref} The king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would I had died for you, Absalom, my son, my son!