Open English Translation 2SA Chapter 18

18 David divided his warriors into units and appointed commanders of hundreds and of thousands. 2 He sent them out in three groups under Yoav, Abishai (son of Yoav’s brother Tseruyah) and Ittai (the Gittite), then promised that he’d also join them in battle.

3 But the people complained, “No, don’t go out, because if we have to flee, they won’t be worried about us. Even if half of us die, they won’t be worried about us, because you count more to them than ten thousand of us. So it’s better that you stay to help us from the city.”

4 “I’ll do whatever seems best to you,” the king responded. So the king stayed beside the city gate while the men went out by their hundreds and thousands. 5 Then he commanded Yoav and Abishai and Ittai, “For my sake, don’t harm my son Abshalom.” All the people heard the king give this command about Abshalom to all the leaders.

6 So David’s people went out to the countryside to meet the rest of Israel. The battle was in the Efraim forest 7 and David’s men defeated the rest—twenty thousand men died that day, 8 but as the battle had spread over the entire area, the forest killed more people that day than the sword.

9 Abshalom happened to meet some of David’s men. He was riding his mule, and when it darted under the think branches of a large terebinth tree, his head got caught in the branches and he was left hanging in the air as the mule kept going. 10 Someone noticed him and informed Yoav that he’d seen Abshalom hanging in a tree.

11 “What!. You saw him but didn’t strike him down?” Yoav challenged. “I would have given you ten silver coins and a leather belt.”

12 “Even if you’d placed one thousand silver coins in my hands,” he replied, “I wouldn’t have harmed the king’s son, because we heard the king’s command with our own ears about looking out for Abshalom. 13 Even if I’d ignored my good sense, the king would have found out about it, then even you wouldn’t have stood up for me.”

14 “I’m not going to waste time arguing with you,” Yoav responded, then he took three spears and went and thrust them into Abshalom’s abdomen while he was still alive and dangling from the tree. 15 Then ten young men who carried Yoav’s weapons surrounded Abshalom and finished him off.

16 Then Yoav blew the trumpet to signal the end of the fighting and the people returned from chasing Abshalom’s men. 17 They took Abshalom’s body and threw it into a large pit in the forest and covered it with a large pile of stones. Meanwhile his men fled back to their homes.

18 During his lifetime, Abshalom had setup a pillar in the King’s Valley because he had no sons to preserve his name. He put his name on the pillar and it’s known as ‘Abshalom’s hand’ to this day.

19 Then Tsadok’s son Ahimaats requested, “Please, let me run and let me take the news to the king, because Yahweh has rescued him from his enemies.”

20 “No, not today,” Yoav replied. “Some other time I’ll allow you to take some news, but not today because the king’s son is dead.” 21 Then Yoav instructed a Cushite man, “Go and tell the king what you saw.”. The man bowed to Yoav and ran off.

22 But Ahimaats begged Yoav again, “Regardless of what might happen, please, let me also run myself after the Cushite.”

“Why would you do that, my boy?” Yoav asked. “There won’t be any reward for bad news.”

23 “No matter what, I want to run,” he replied.

“Ok then, run,” Yoav told him. So Ahimaats took a different route through the Yordan valley and arrived before the Cushite.

24 Now David was sitting between the outer and inner gates. When the watchman had gone over the gate roof to the wall, he looked out and saw, wow, a man was running towards them alone. 25 The watchman called down and informed the king, and the king said, “If he’s alone, he’ll be bringing news.”

As the runner got closer, 26 the watchman looked and saw another man running. He called down to the gatekeeper and said, “Look, there’s another man running alone.”

“He’ll also be bringing news,” said the king.

27 “The gait of the first runner is like that of Tsadok’s son Ahimaats,” the watchman said.

“He’s a good man and he’ll be bringing good news,” said the king.

28 Then Ahimaats called ahead to the king, “Peace!” And he knelt down with his face to the ground and said, “Blessed be Yahweh your God, who’s stopped the men who acted against my master the king.”

29 “Is the young man Abshalom all right?” the king asked.

“When Yoab sent me, your servant,” Ahimaats answered, “I noticed a big commotion, but I don’t know what it was about.”

30 “Go and stand over there,” the king ordered, so he stepped aside and stood there.

31 Then, wow, the Cushite man arrived and said, “May my master the king receive the good news, because Yahweh has rescued you today from all those who rose up against you.”

32 “Is the young man Abshalom all right?” the king asked him.

The man replied, “May the enemies of my master the king and all those who rose up against you for evil, be like that young man is.”

33 Then the king started trembling, and he went up to the room over the gate, and started weeping, saying, “Oh my son Abshalom, my son. Oh my son Abshalom, I wish I’d died instead of you.”