The war_against Absalom
1David told the people with him to prepare for war and he chose leaders for his men. 2He made 3 groups of men. One group was with Joab, one group was with Joab's brother, Abishai, and one group was with Ittai from the town of Gath. David said to his men: ‘I am also going to fight with you, this is sure.’
3But the men said: ‘No, you must not come with us. If we have to flee, then it does not_matter and if half of us die, it does not_matter because there will still be 10 000 men like us. It is better that you stay in the town and send men to help us when we ask.’ 4The king said to them: ‘I will do what you say.’
David stood next to the gate and all the men walked past him in groups of 100 and 1 000 men. 5The king said to Joab, Abishai and Ittai: ‘Do not hurt the young man Absalom.’ All the men heard what the king said to the leaders about Absalom. 6David's men came out into the field to start a war_against Absalom and the men of Israel, and the war started in the Forest of Ephraim. 7David's men won the war_against the men of Israel and they killed many men on that day. They killed 20 000 men. 8They made war in many parts of the land and more people died in the forest than those who were killed with a sword.
Absalom dies
9Absalom saw David's men and while he was riding away on a mule, the mule went under the branches of a tree. Absalom's head got caught in the tree and he hung in the air and his mule went on. 10Someone saw it and he told Joab. He said: ‘I saw Absalom hanging from a tree.’ 11Joab said to the man who told him: ‘What? If you saw him, why did you not kill him? Then I would have given you 10 pieces_of_silver and a special belt.’
12The man said to Joab: ‘I would not kill the king's son, even if you gave me 1 000 pieces_of_silver. We heard what the king said to you, Abishai and Ittai. He said: “You must protect the young man.” 13If I had killed him, they would have told it to the king. He always finds out everything that has happened. And then you would not protect me.’ 14Joab said: ‘I will not waste any more time with you.’
Absalom was still_alive when Joab took 3 spears and pierced Absalom's heart where he hung from the tree. 15Joab's 10 weapon-carriers came and they killed him. 16Then Joab blew the ram's-horn and David's men stopped chasing the men of Israel. Joab told his men to go back. 17They took Absalom's body and threw it into a big hole in the forest. They threw a big heap of stones over his body. All the men of Israel fled, everyone to his house. 18While Absalom was still_alive, he had put up a big pillar in the King's Valley so that people would remember his name. He said he did that because he did not have a son. People named the pillar ‘The Monument of Absalom’.
They tell David that Absalom is dead
19Ahimaaz, son of Zadok, said: ‘I will run and tell the king the good news that God has saved him from his enemies.’ 20But Joab said: ‘No, today you are not the right man to take the good news. You can do it on another day, but today you can not take good news because the king's son has died.’
21Joab said to the man from the land of Cush: ‘You must go and tell the king what you have seen.’ The man from Cush bowed down before Joab and he went. 22Ahimaaz, son of Zadok, said to Joab again: ‘Please, I want to go. I will run behind the man from Cush. I don't care what happens.’ Joab answered: ‘Son, why do you want to run? You will not get the reward that messengers get.’ 23But Ahimaaz said: ‘It does not_matter. I want to run.’ Then Joab said: ‘You can run if you want to run.’
Ahimaaz ran on the road next to the Jordan River and he ran faster than the man from Cush and passed him. 24The king sat inside the city gate between the front and the back gates. The guard went to the roof of the gate and he saw that there was a man running to them. He saw only one man. 25The guard shouted and he told the king and the king said: ‘If he is alone, then it is good news.’
Ahimaaz kept on running and he came near to them. 26Then the gatekeeper saw another man running to them. He shouted down to the people at the gate and said: ‘There is another man running. He is also alone.’ The king said: ‘This is also good news.’ 27The gatekeeper said: ‘I see the first man is running like Ahimaaz, son of Zadok.’ And the king said: ‘He is a good man. He brings good news.’
28Ahimaaz shouted and said to the king: ‘I have good news.’ He bowed down in front of the king with his face to the ground and he said: ‘I praise the Lord your God. He defeated those men who were against you, Your_Majesty.’
29Then the king asked if the young man Absalom was well. Ahimaaz answered: ‘When Joab told me to come, I saw a lot of people standing together, but I do not know what happened.’ 30The king said: ‘Come and stand here.’ Ahimaaz came to him. 31Then the man from Cush came and said: ‘I bring good news, Your_Majesty. The Lord has saved you today from everyone who rebelled_against you.’
32When the king asked the man from Cush if the young man Absalom was all right, the man from Cush said: ‘I hope that what has happened to the young man will also happen to all the enemies of the king and everyone who has rebelled_against you.’
David cries over Absalom
33The king started to tremble and he went up to the room above the gate. He cried and he walked up and down and said: ‘My son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom. I wish I were dead, not you. Absalom, my son, my son.’
