2 Samuel 17:8-10

New Catholic Bible

⁸ Then he went on to say: “You well know that your father and his men are warriors and that they are as fierce as a bear in the wilderness who has been robbed of her cubs. In addition, your father is unsurpassed in devising strategy, and he will not spend the night with the troops.

⁹ “You can be certain that even now he has concealed himself in a cave or some other place. And if some of our troops should be slain during the first attack, the word will quickly spread that the followers of Absalom have been slaughtered. ¹⁰ Then even the most valiant of our warriors, with courage like that of a lion, will shrink away in fear. For all Israel well knows that your father is a warrior and that those who serve with him are brave.