⁸ And the king riseth, and sitteth in the gate, and to all the people they have declared, saying, `Lo, the king is sitting in the gate;' and all the people come in before the king, and Israel hath fled, each to his tents.

²⁴ 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.

⁴ 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,

² and Absalom hath risen early, and stood by the side of the way of the gate, and it cometh to pass, every man who hath a pleading to come unto the king for judgment, that Absalom calleth unto him, and saith, `Of what city `art' thou?' and he saith, `Of one of the tribes of Israel `is' thy servant.'

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

⁷ 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 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.

¹⁷ 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.

³ And the people stealeth away, on that day, to go in to the city, as the people steal away, who are ashamed, in their fleeing in battle;

³⁶ and he causeth the cry to pass over through the camp, at the going in of the sun, saying, `Each unto his city, and each unto his land.'

¹² and Judah is smitten before Israel, and they flee each to his tent.