CHAPTER 18
1 Therefore David, when he had beheld his people, ordained chieftains of thousands, and of hundreds, upon them.
2 And he gave the third part of the people under the hand of Joab; and the third part under the hand of Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab; and the third part under the hand of Ittai, that was of Gath. And the king said to the people, Also I shall go out with you.
3 And the people answered, Thou shalt not go out; for whether we flee, it shall not pertain to them by great work of us; whether half the part fall down of us, they shall not reckon enough, for thou art reckoned for ten thousand; therefore it is better, that thou be to us in the city in strong succour.
4 And the king said to them, I shall do that, that seemeth rightful [or right] to you. Therefore the king stood beside the gate, and the people went out by their companies, by hundreds, and by thousands.
5 And the king commanded to Joab, and to Abishai, and to Ittai, and said, Keep ye to me the child Absalom. And all the people heard the king commanding to all the princes for Absalom.
6 Therefore the people went out into the field against Israel; and the battle was made in the forest of Ephraim.
7 And the people of Israel was slain there of the host of David, and a great slaughter of twenty thousand was made in that day.
8 And the battle was scattered there upon the face of all the land, and many more were of the people which the forest wasted, than they which the sword devoured in that day.
9 Soothly it befelled, that Absalom, sitting on a mule, came against the servants of David; and when the mule had entered under a thick oak, and great, the head of Absalom cleaved to the oak; and when he was hanged betwixt heaven and earth, the mule, on which he sat, passed forth.
10 And some man saw this, and told it to Joab, and said, I saw Absalom hanged on an oak.
11 And Joab said to the man that told to him, If thou saw him, why piercedest thou not him through to the earth, and I should have given to thee ten shekels of silver, and a girdle?
12 And he said to Joab, Though thou paidest in mine hands a thousand plates of silver, I would not send [or put] mine hand into the son of the king; for while we heard, the king commanded to thee, and to Abishai, and to Ittai, and said, Keep ye to me the child Absalom.
13 But and though I had done fool hardily against my life, this might not be hid from the king, and thou wouldest stand on the contrary side.
14 And Joab said, Not as thou wilt, but I shall assail him before thee. Therefore Joab took three spears in his hand, and fixed those [or them] in the heart of Absalom. And when he sprawled, yet cleaving in the oak,
15 ten young squires of Joab ran, and smote, and killed him.
16 And Joab trumped with a clarion, and held with him the people, lest it pursued Israel fleeing, and he would spare the multitude.
17 And they took Absalom, and casted forth him into a great ditch in the forest, and bare together a full great heap of stones on him; and all Israel fled into their tabernacles.
18 Forsooth Absalom, while he lived yet, had raised to him a memorial, which is in the valley of the king; for he said, I have no son, and this shall be the mind of my name; and he called the memorial by his name, and it is called The Hand, that is, the Work, of Absalom, till to this day.
19 And Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, said, I shall run, and I shall tell to the king, that the Lord hath made doom to him of the hand of his enemies.
20 To whom Joab said, Thou shalt not be a messenger in this day, but thou shalt tell in another day; I will or desire not that thou tell this today, for the son of the king is dead.
21 And Joab said to Cushi, Go thou, and tell to the king those things that thou hast seen. Cushi worshipped Joab, and ran forth.
22 And again Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, said to Joab, What hindereth, if also I run after Cushi? And Joab said to him, What wilt thou run, my son? Come thou hither, thou shalt not be a bearer of good message.
23 The which answered, But what if I shall run? And Joab said to him, Run thou. Therefore Ahimaaz ran by the way of shortness, and speed, and passed Cushi.
24 And David sat betwixt two gates; soothly the espyer, that was in the highness of the gate on the wall, raised up his eyes, and he saw a man alone running;
25 and the espyer cried, and showed to the king. And the king said to him, If he is alone, good message is in his mouth. But while he hasted, and nighed near,
26 the espyer saw another man run-ning; and the espyer cried on high, and said, Another man running alone appeareth to me. And the king said to him, And this man is a good mes-senger.
27 Soothly the espyer said, I behold the running of the former, as the running of Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok. And the king said, He is a good man, and he cometh bringing a good message.
28 And Ahimaaz cried, and said to the king, Hail king! And he worshipped the king lowly before him to the earth, and said, Blessed be thy Lord God, that hath enclosed altogether the men, that raised their hands against my lord the king.
29 And the king said, Whether peace is to the child Absalom? And Ahimaaz said, I saw, that is, I heard, a great noise, when Joab, thy servant, thou king, sent me, thy servant; I know none other thing.
30 To whom the king said, Pass thou, and stand here. And when he had passed, and stood,
31 Cushi appeared; and he came and said, My lord the king, I bring good message; for the Lord hath deemed today for thee of the hand of all men that rised against thee.
32 And the king said to Cushi, Whether peace is to the child Absalom? To whom Cushi answered, and said, The enemies of my lord the king, and all men that rise against him into evil, be made as the child.
33 Therefore the king was sorry, and went up into the solar of the gate, and he wept, and spake thus going, My son, Absalom! Absalom, my son! who giveth to me, that I die for thee? Absalom, my son! my son, Absalom!