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 (Joab), Avishay (son of Yoav’s brother Tseruyah) and Itay (the Giti), 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 Avishay and Itay, “For my sake, don’t harm my son Avshalom (Absalom).” All the people heard the king give this command about Avshalom to all the leaders.

6 So David’s people went out to the countryside to meet the rest of Yisrael (Israel). The battle was in the Efrayim (Ephraim) 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 Avshalom 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 Avshalom 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 Avshalom. 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 Avshalom’s abdomen while he was still alive and dangling from the tree. 15 Then ten young men who carried Yoav’s weapons surrounded Avshalom and finished him off.

16 Then Yoav blew the trumpet to signal the end of the fighting and the people returned from chasing Avshalom’s men. 17 They took Avshalom’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, Avshalom 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 ‘Avshalom’s hand’ to this day.