15Then Hushai told the priests Zadok and Abiathar, “This is what Ahithophel advised Absalom and the elders of Israel; this is what I advised. 16Now send at once and tell David, ‘Do not spend the night at the fords of the wilderness, but cross over at once; otherwise the king and all the troops with him will be annihilated.’ ” 17Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En-rogel, and a slave girl would go and bring them word and they in turn would go and inform King David. For they themselves dared not be seen entering the city. 18But a boy saw them and informed Absalom. They left at once and came to the house of a man in Bahurim who had a well in his courtyard. They got down into it, 19and the wife took a cloth, spread it over the mouth of the well, and scattered groats on top of it, so that nothing would be noticed. 20When Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house and asked where Ahimaaz and Jonathan were, the woman told them that they had crossed e-a bit beyond the water.-e They searched, but found nothing; and they returned to Jerusalem.
21After they were gone, [Ahimaaz and Jonathan] came up from the well and went and informed King David. They said to David, “Go and cross the water quickly, for Ahithophel has advised thus and thus concerning you.” 22David and all the troops with him promptly crossed the Jordan, and by daybreak not one was left who had not crossed the Jordan.
23When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his ass and went home to his native town. He set his affairs in order, and then he hanged himself. He was buried in his ancestral tomb.
24David had reached Mahanaim when Absalom and all the men of Israel with him crossed the Jordan. 25Absalom had appointed Amasa army commander in place of Joab; Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra the f-Israelite, who had married Abigal, daughter of Nahash and sister of Joab’s mother Zeruiah.-f 26The Israelites and Absalom encamped in the district of Gilead. 27When David reached Mahanaim, Shobi son of Nahash from Rabbath-ammon, Machir son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim 28presentedg couches, basins, and earthenware; also wheat, barley, flour, parched grain, beans, lentils, h-parched grain,-h 29honey, i-curds, a flock,-i and cheesej from the herd for David and the troops with him to eat. For they knew that the troops must have grown hungry, faint, and thirsty in the wilderness.
18 David mustered the troops who were with him and set over them captains of thousands and captains of hundreds. 2David a-sent out the troops,-a one-third under the command of Joab, one-third under the command of Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and one-third under the command of Ittai the Gittite. And David said to the troops, “I myself will march out with you.” 3But the troops replied, “No! For if some of us flee, the rest will not be concerned about us; even if half of us should die, the others will not be concerned about us. But b-you are worth ten thousand of us.-b Therefore, it is better for you to support us from the town.” 4And the king said to them, “I will do whatever you think best.”
So the king stood beside the gate as all the troops marched out by their hundreds and thousands. 5The king gave orders to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai: “Deal gently with my boy Absalom, for my sake.” All the troops heard the king give the order about Absalom to all the officers.
6The troops marched out into the open to confront the Israelites,c and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim.d 7The Israelite troops were routed by David’s followers, and a great slaughter took place there that day—twenty thousand men. 8The battle spread out over that whole region, and the forest devoured more troops that day than the sword.
9Absalom encountered some of David’s followers. Absalom was riding on a mule, and as the mule passed under the tangled branches of a great terebinth, his hair got caught in the terebinth; he e-was held-e between heaven and earth as the mule under him kept going. 10One of the men saw it and told Joab, “I have just seen Absalom hanging from a terebinth.” 11Joab said to the man who told him, “You saw it! Why didn’t you kill him f-then and there?-f I would have owed you teng shekels of silver and a belt.” 12But the man answered Joab, “Even if I had a thousand shekels of silver in my hands, I would not raise a hand against the king’s son. For the king charged you and Abishai and Ittai in our hearing, ‘Watch over my boy Absalom, h-for my sake.’-h 13If I betrayed myselfi—and nothing is hidden from the king—you would have stood aloof.” 14Joab replied, j-“Then I will not wait for you.”-j He took three darts in his hand and drove them into Absalom’s chest. [Absalom] was still alive in the thick growth of the terebinth, 15when ten of Joab’s young arms-bearers closed in and struck at Absalom until he died. 16Then Joab sounded the horn, and the troops gave up their pursuit of the Israelites; for Joab held the troops in check. 17They took Absalom and flung him into a large pit in the forest, and they piled up a very great heap of stones over it. Then all the Israelites fled to their homes.—18Now Absalom, in his lifetime, had taken the pillar which is in the Valley of the King and set it up for himself; for he said, “I have no son to keep my name alive.” He had named the pillar after himself, and it has been called Absalom’s Monument to this day.
19Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Let me run and report to the king that the LORD has vindicated him against his enemies.” 20But Joab said to him, “You shall not be the one to bring tidings today. You may bring tidings some other day, but you’ll not bring any today; for the king’s son is dead!” 21And Joab said to a Cushite, “Go tell the king what you have seen.” The Cushite bowed to Joab and ran off. 22But Ahimaaz son of Zadok again said to Joab, “No matter what, let me run, too, behind the Cushite.” Joab asked, “Why should you run, my boy, when you have no news k-worth telling?”-k 23“I am going to run anyway.” “Then run,” he said. So Ahimaaz ran by way of the Plain, and he passed the Cushite.
24David was sitting between the two gates.l The watchman on the roof of the gate walked over to the city wall. He looked up and saw a man running alone. 25The watchman called down and told the king; and the king said, “If he is alone, he has news to report.” As he was coming nearer, 26the watchman saw another man running; and he called out to the gatekeeper, “There is another man running alone.” And the king said, “That one, too, brings news.” 27The watchman said, “I can see that the first one runs like Ahimaaz son of Zadok”; to which the king replied, “He is a good man, and he comes with good news.” 28Ahimaaz called out and said to the king, “All is well!” He bowed low with his face to the ground and said, “Praised be the LORD your God, who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my lord the king.” 29The king asked, “Is my boy Absalom safe?” And Ahimaaz answered, “I saw k-a large crowd when Your Majesty’s servant Joab was sending your servant off,-k but I don’t know what it was about.” 30The king said, “Step aside and stand over there”; he stepped aside and waited.
31Just then the Cushite came up; and the Cushite said, “Let my lord the king be informed that the LORD has vindicated you today against all who rebelled against you!” 32The king asked the Cushite, “Is my boy Absalom safe?” And the Cushite replied, “May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rose against you to do you harm fare like 19 that young man!” 1aThe king was shaken. He went up to the upper chamber of the gateway and wept, moaning these words as he went,b “My son Absalom! O my son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you! O Absalom, my son, my son!”
192Joab was told that the king was weeping and mourning over Absalom. 3And the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the troops, for that day the troops heard that the king was grieving over his son. 4The troops stole into town that day like troops ashamed after running away in battle. 5The king covered his face and the king kept crying aloud, “O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!”
6Joab came to the king in his quarters and said, “Today you have humiliated all your followers, who this day saved your life, and the
