David Prepares for Battle
1David mustered the troops who were with him and appointed over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. 2David sent out the troops, a third under Joab, a third under Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and a third under Ittai the Gittite. The king said to the troops, “I myself will also go out with you.” 3But the troops said, “You must not go out. If we flee, they will not care about us; even if half of us die, they will not care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us. It is better now for you to be ready to help us from the city.” 4The king said to them, “I will do whatever seems best to you.” So the king stood beside the gate, and all the troops marched out by hundreds and by thousands. 5The king gave orders to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai: “Deal gently, for my sake, with the young man Absalom.” And all the troops heard the king give this order to all the commanders concerning Absalom. 6So the troops marched out into the field against Israel, and the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim. 7There the troops of Israel were defeated before the servants of David, and the slaughter that day was great — twenty thousand men. 8The battle spread over the whole countryside, and the forest claimed more lives that day than the sword.
The Death of Absalom
9Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. He was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak. Absalom’s head caught fast in the oak, and he was left hanging between heaven and earth, while the mule under him kept going. 10A man saw this and told Joab, “I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak.” 11Joab said to the man who told him, “You saw him? Why didn’t you strike him down right there? I would have given you ten pieces of silver and a belt.” 12The man said to Joab, “Even if I had a thousand pieces of silver weighed out in my hand, I would not raise my hand against the king’s son. We heard the king command you and Abishai and Ittai: ‘Protect the young man Absalom for my sake’ — that word was for every one of you. 13Or if I had acted treacherously against his life — and nothing is hidden from the king — you yourself would have stood against me.” 14Joab said, “I will not waste time like this with you.” He took three spears in his hand and thrust them into Absalom’s heart while he was still alive in the oak. 15Then ten young men, Joab’s armor-bearers, surrounded Absalom, struck him, and killed him. 16Joab sounded the horn, and the troops turned back from pursuing Israel, for Joab held them back. 17They took Absalom, threw him into a large pit in the forest, and piled a great heap of stones over him. And all Israel fled, each man to his own tent. 18Now Absalom, in his lifetime, had taken a pillar and set it up for himself in the King’s Valley, for he had said, “I have no son to keep my name alive.” He named the pillar after himself, and to this day it is called Absalom’s Monument.
Two Runners Race to the King
19Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Let me run and tell the king the good news that Yahweh has vindicated him against his enemies.” 20Joab said to him, “You are not the man 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, tell the king what you have seen.” The Cushite bowed to Joab and ran off. 22Ahimaaz son of Zadok spoke again to Joab, “Whatever happens, let me run too, after the Cushite.” Joab said, “Why do you want to run, my son? There is no reward waiting for you.” 23“Whatever happens,” he said, “I will run.” So Joab said to him, “Run.” Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain and outran the Cushite. 24David was sitting between the two gates. The watchman went up to the roof of the gate, on the wall, and looked up, and there was a man running alone. 25The watchman called out and told the king. The king said, “If he is alone, he has news to tell.” The man kept coming, drawing nearer. 26Then the watchman saw another man running, and he called down to the gatekeeper, “There is another man running alone!” The king said, “He too brings news.” 27The watchman said, “I can see that the first one runs like Ahimaaz son of Zadok.” The king said, “He is a good man; he comes with good news.” 28Ahimaaz called out to the king, “All is well!” He bowed before the king with his face to the ground and said, “Blessed be Yahweh 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 when your servant Joab sent me, but I did not know what it was.” 30The king said, “Step aside and stand here.” So he stepped aside and stood there. 31Then the Cushite arrived and said, “News for my lord the king! Yahweh has vindicated you today against all who rose up against you.” 32The king asked the Cushite, “Is the young man Absalom safe?” The Cushite answered, “May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up against you to do you harm, become like that young man.”
