⁸ The battle spread out over the whole countryside, and the forest swallowed up more men that day than the sword.

⁹ Now Absalom happened to meet David’s men. He was riding his mule, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s hair^(A) got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going.

¹⁰ When one of the men saw what had happened, he told Joab, “I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree.”

¹¹ Joab said to the man who had told him this, “What! You saw him? Why didn’t you strike^(B) him to the ground right there? Then I would have had to give you ten shekels^[a] of silver and a warrior’s belt.^(C)”

¹² But the man replied, “Even if a thousand shekels^[b] were weighed out into my hands, I would not lay a hand on the king’s son. In our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘Protect the young man Absalom for my sake.^[c]’ ¹³ And if I had put my life in jeopardy^[d]—and nothing is hidden from the king^(D)—you would have kept your distance from me.”

¹⁴ Joab^(E) said, “I’m not going to wait like this for you.” So he took three javelins in his hand and plunged them into Absalom’s heart while Absalom was still alive in the oak tree. ¹⁵ And ten of Joab’s armor-bearers surrounded Absalom, struck him and killed him.^(F)

¹⁶ Then Joab^(G) sounded the trumpet, and the troops stopped pursuing Israel, for Joab halted them. ¹⁷ They took Absalom, threw him into a big pit in the forest and piled up^(H) a large heap of rocks^(I) over him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled to their homes.

¹⁸ During his lifetime Absalom had taken a pillar and erected it in the King’s Valley^(J) as a monument^(K) to himself, for he thought, “I have no son^(L) to carry on the memory of my name.” He named the pillar after himself, and it is called Absalom’s Monument to this day.

David Mourns

¹⁹ Now Ahimaaz^(M) son of Zadok said, “Let me run and take the news to the king that the Lord has vindicated him by delivering him from the hand of his enemies.^(N)”

²⁰ “You are not the one to take the news today,” Joab told him. “You may take the news another time, but you must not do so today, because the king’s son is dead.”

²¹ Then Joab said to a Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” The Cushite bowed down before Joab and ran off.

²² Ahimaaz son of Zadok again said to Joab, “Come what may, please let me run behind the Cushite.”

But Joab replied, “My son, why do you want to go? You don’t have any news that will bring you a reward.”

²³ He said, “Come what may, I want to run.”

So Joab said, “Run!” Then Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain^[e] and outran the Cushite.

²⁴ While David was sitting between the inner and outer gates, the watchman^(O) went up to the roof of the gateway by the wall. As he looked out, he saw a man running alone. ²⁵ The watchman called out to the king and reported it.

The king said, “If he is alone, he must have good news.” And the runner came closer and closer.

²⁶ Then the watchman saw another runner, and he called down to the gatekeeper, “Look, another man running alone!”

The king said, “He must be bringing good news,^(P) too.”

²⁷ The watchman said, “It seems to me that the first one runs like^(Q) Ahimaaz son of Zadok.”

“He’s a good man,” the king said. “He comes with good news.”

²⁸ Then Ahimaaz called out to the king, “All is well!” He bowed down before the king with his face to the ground and said, “Praise be to the Lord your God! He has delivered up those who lifted their hands against my lord the king.”

²⁹ The king asked, “Is the young man Absalom safe?”

Ahimaaz answered, “I saw great confusion just as Joab was about to send the king’s servant and me, your servant, but I don’t know what it was.”

David’s Mighty Warriors^(A)

⁸ These are the names of David’s mighty warriors:^(B)

Josheb-Basshebeth,^[a](C) a Tahkemonite,^[b] was chief of the Three; he raised his spear against eight hundred men, whom he killed^[c] in one encounter.

⁹ Next to him was Eleazar son of Dodai^(D) the Ahohite.^(E) As one of the three mighty warriors, he was with David when they taunted the Philistines gathered at Pas Dammim^[d] for battle. Then the Israelites retreated, ¹⁰ but Eleazar stood his ground and struck down the Philistines till his hand grew tired and froze to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day. The troops returned to Eleazar, but only to strip the dead.

¹¹ Next to him was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. When the Philistines banded together at a place where there was a field full of lentils, Israel’s troops fled from them. ¹² But Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field. He defended it and struck the Philistines down, and the Lord brought about a great victory.

¹³ During harvest time, three of the thirty chief warriors came down to David at the cave of Adullam,^(F) while a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim.^{(G) 14} At that time David was in the stronghold,^(H) and the Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem.^{(I) 15} David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!” ¹⁶ So the three mighty warriors broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured^(J) it out before the Lord. ¹⁷ “Far be it from me, Lord, to do this!” he said. “Is it not the blood^(K) of men who went at the risk of their lives?” And David would not drink it.

Such were the exploits of the three mighty warriors.

¹⁸ Abishai^(L) the brother of Joab son of Zeruiah was chief of the Three.^[e] He raised his spear against three hundred men, whom he killed, and so he became as famous as the Three. ¹⁹ Was he not held in greater honor than the Three? He became their commander, even though he was not included among them.

²⁰ Benaiah^(M) son of Jehoiada, a valiant fighter from Kabzeel,^(N) performed great exploits. He struck down Moab’s two mightiest warriors. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. ²¹ And he struck down a huge Egyptian. Although the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, Benaiah went against him with a club. He snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. ²² Such were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he too was as famous as the three mighty warriors. ²³ He was held in greater honor than any of the Thirty, but he was not included among the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.