19 Soon Yoav (Joab) was told that the king was weeping and mourning over Avshalom’s (Absalom’s) death, 2 and so the victory of that day became mourning for all the people, because they’d heard that the king was grieving for his son. 3 The people started quietly heading back into the city, like people would do when they’re ashamed of having to flee from a battle. 4 But the king covered his face and kept crying out loudly, “Oh my son Avshalom. Oh Avshalom, my son, my son.”

5 Then Yoav went to the house where the king was and said, “Today you’ve made your followers feel ashamed—the ones who saved your life today and the lives of your sons and daughters, and the lives of your wives and your slave-wives. 6 By loving those who hate you and hating those who love you, you’ve effectively declared today that your officers and men mean nothing to you. It seems to us that if Avshalom was still alive today and we were all dead, then it would have all been okay to you. 7 So get up now and go and speak sincerely to your servants, because as Yahweh lives, if you don’t then you won’t have a single warrior still with you by the end of the night, and that would result in more trouble for you than anything else that’s happened to you since you were just a lad.” 8 So the king got up and went and sat at the city gate , and the news quickly got around and all the people came to support the king.