2 Samuel 18

Absalom is defeated and killed

¹David counted the troops who were with him and appointed commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds over them. ²Then David sent the troops out in three divisions: one under Joab’s command, one under Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and one under Ittai the Gittite. The king told the troops, “I am going out with you myself.” ³But the troops said, “You must not go out. If we have to run, they will not care about us. Even if half of us die, they will not care about us. But you are worth 10,000 of us. So it is better for you to help us from the city.”^a

⁴The king answered them, “I will do whatever you think best.” So the king stood beside the gate while all the troops marched out in units of hundreds and of thousands. ⁵The king gave an order to Joab, Abishai and Ittai: “For my sake, deal gently with the young man Absalom.” All the troops heard the king give this order about Absalom to all the commanders. ⁶The army marched out into the open country to face Israel, and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim. ⁷There the army of Israel was defeated by David’s men, and the slaughter there that day was great: 20,000 men. ⁸The fighting spread out over the whole countryside, and the forest claimed more lives that day than the sword did. ⁹Absalom happened to come upon some of David’s men. He was riding his mule, and when it passed beneath the tangled branches of a great terebinth, Absalom’s head was caught fast in the tree. He was left hanging between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him kept going. ¹⁰One man saw it and told Joab, “I have just seen Absalom hanging in a terebinth!” ¹¹Joab said to the man who had told him, “You saw him? Then why did you not strike him down to the ground right there? I would have given you about 4 ounces of silver and a belt.” ¹²But the man answered Joab, “Even if I felt the weight of about 25 pounds of silver in my hands, I would not raise my hand against the king’s son. We all heard the king command you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘Whoever you are, keep the young man Absalom safe.’^{bc 13}And if I had acted treacherously and put my own life at risk, you yourself would have stood back and kept out of it, because nothing is hidden from the king.”^{d 14}Joab said, “I will not waste any more time with you like this.” He took three rods in his hand and drove them into Absalom’s chest while Absalom was still alive in the middle of the tree.^{e 15}Then ten young men, Joab’s armor-bearers, closed in around Absalom, struck him down and killed him. ¹⁶Then Joab sounded the trumpet, and the troops turned back from chasing Israel, because Joab held the army back. ¹⁷They took Absalom and threw him into a great pit in the forest, then raised a huge heap of stones over him. And all Israel fled, every man to his home.

¹⁸During his lifetime Absalom had taken a pillar and set it up for himself in the King’s Valley, because he said, “I have no son to keep my name remembered.” He named the pillar after himself, and it is called Absalom’s Monument to this day.^f

David hears the news

¹⁹Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Let me run and take the news to the king that the LORD has vindicated him by rescuing him from his enemies.” ²⁰But Joab told him, “You are not the one to carry the news today. You may carry news another day, but not today, because the king’s son is dead.” ²¹Then Joab said to the Cushite, “Go and tell the king what you have seen.” The Cushite bowed down to Joab and ran off. ²²Ahimaaz son of Zadok spoke to Joab again. “Whatever happens,” he said, “please let me run after the Cushite too.” Joab replied, “Why would you want to run, my son? You have no news that will bring you any reward.” ²³“Whatever happens,” Ahimaaz said, “I want to run.” “Then run,” Joab told him. So Ahimaaz ran by the road through the plain and got ahead of the Cushite. ²⁴David was sitting between the inner and outer gates. The watchman went up to the roof over the gate, on the wall. He looked out and saw a man running alone. ²⁵The watchman called down and told the king. The king said, “If he is alone, he is bringing news.” The man came closer and closer. ²⁶Then the watchman saw another man running, and he called down to the gatekeeper, “Look, there is a man running alone!” The king said, “He is bringing news too.” ²⁷The watchman said, “It looks to me as if the first man runs like Ahimaaz son of Zadok.” “He is a good man,” the king said. “He is coming with good news.” ²⁸Ahimaaz called out to the king, “All is well!” He bowed down before the king with his face to the ground and said, “Blessed be the LORD your God, who has handed over the men who raised their hands against my lord the king!” ²⁹The king asked, “Is the young man Absalom safe?” Ahimaaz answered, “I saw a great commotion just as Joab was sending the king’s servant and your servant, but I do not know what it was about.” ³⁰The king said, “Step aside and stand here.” So he stepped aside and stood there. ³¹Just then the Cushite arrived, and he said, “Good news for my lord the king! Today the LORD has vindicated you by rescuing you from all who rose up against you.”

³²The king asked the Cushite, “Is the young man Absalom safe?” The Cushite replied, “May all your enemies, my lord the king, and all who rise up to harm you, end up like that young man!”^g