Dual Panel1David reviewed the troops who were with him, and appointed officers over units of a thousand and of a hundred.
2He divided his army in three, one division under the command of Joab, one under Joab's brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and the third under Ittai the Gittite. The king announced to the troops that he himself was coming out with them.
3But they said, “No, you must not; if we take to flight, no one will care, nor will they even if half of us are killed; but you are worth ten thousand of us, and it would be better now for you to remain in the town in support.”
4The king answered, “I shall do what you think best.” He stood beside the gate, while all the army marched past by hundreds and by thousands,
5and he gave this order to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai: “Deal gently with the young man Absalom for my sake.” The whole army heard the king giving each of the officers the order about Absalom.
6The army took the field against the Israelites, and a battle was fought in the forest of Ephron.
7There the Israelites were routed before the onslaught of David's men, and the loss of life was great, for twenty thousand fell.
8The fighting spread over the whole countryside, and the forest took toll of more people that day than the sword.
9Some of David's men caught sight of Absalom; he was riding his mule and, as it passed beneath a large oak, his head was caught in its boughs; he was left in mid-air, while the mule went on from under him.
10One of the men who saw this told Joab, “I saw Absalom hanging from an oak.”
11While the man was telling him, Joab broke in, “You saw him? Why did you not strike him to the ground then and there? I would have given you ten pieces of silver and a belt.”
12The man answered, “If you were to put into my hands a thousand pieces of silver, I would not lift a finger against the king's son; we all heard the king giving orders to you and Abishai and Ittai to take care of the young man Absalom.
13If I had dealt him a treacherous blow, the king would soon have known, and you would have kept well out of it.”
14“That is a lie!” said Joab. “I will make a start and show you.” He picked up three javelins and drove them into Absalom's chest while he was held fast in the tree and still alive.
15Then ten young men who were Joab's armour-bearers closed in on Absalom, struck at him, and killed him.
16Joab sounded the trumpet, and the army came back from the pursuit of Israel, because he had called on them to halt.
17They took Absalom's body and flung it into a large pit in the forest, and raised over it a great cairn of stones. The Israelites all fled to their homes.
18The pillar in the King's Valley had been set up by Absalom in his lifetime, for he said, “I have no son to carry on my name.” He had named the pillar after himself, and to this day it is called Absalom's Monument.
19Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Let me run and take the news to the king that the LORD has avenged him and delivered him from his enemies.”
20But Joab replied, “This is no day for you to be the bearer of news. Another day you may have news to carry, but not today, because the king's son is dead.”
21Joab told a Cushite to go and report to the king what he had seen. The Cushite bowed to Joab and set off running.
22Ahimaaz pleaded again with Joab, “Come what may,” he said, “let me run after the Cushite.” “Why should you, my son?” asked Joab. “You will get no reward for your news.”
23“Come what may,” he said, “let me run.” “Go, then,” said Joab. So Ahimaaz ran by the road through the plain of the Jordan and outstripped the Cushite.
24David was sitting between the inner and outer gates and the watchman had gone up to the roof of the gatehouse by the wall of the town. Looking out and seeing a man running alone,
25the watchman called to the king and told him. “If he is alone,” said the king, “then he is bringing news.” The man continued to approach,
26and then the watchman saw another man running. He called down into the gate, “Look, there is another man running alone.” The king said, “He too brings news.”
27The watchman said, “I see by the way he runs that the first runner is Ahimaaz son of Zadok.” The king said, “He is a good man and shall earn the reward for good news.”
28Ahimaaz called out to the king, “All is well!” He bowed low before him and said, “Blessed be the LORD your God who has given into your hands the men who rebelled against your majesty.”
29The king asked, “Is all well with the young man Absalom?” Ahimaaz answered, “Sir, when your servant Joab sent me, I saw a great commotion, but I did not know what had happened.”
30The king told him to stand on one side; so he turned aside and waited there.
31Then the Cushite came in and said, “Good news for my lord the king! The LORD has avenged you this day on all those who rebelled against you.”
32The king said to the Cushite, “Is all well with the young man Absalom?” The Cushite answered, “May all the king's enemies and all rebels intent on harming you be as that young man is.”
33The king was deeply moved and went up to the roof-chamber over the gate and wept, crying out as he went, “O, my son! Absalom my son, my son Absalom! Would that I had died instead of you! O Absalom, my son, my son.”