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4-6 David said, “All right, if you think I should.”

Then in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, he said, “Joab! Abishai! Ittai! For my sake, be sure that Absalom comes back unharmed.”

David stood beside the town gate as his army marched past in groups of 100 and in groups of 1,000.

Joab Kills Absalom

The war with Israel took place in Ephraim Forest. 7-8 Battles were being fought all over the forest, and David's soldiers were winning. Twenty thousand soldiers were killed[a] that day, and more of them died from the dangers of the forest than from the fighting itself.

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Footnotes

  1. 18.7,8 Twenty … killed: This may refer to the total number or to the number of Absalom's soldiers who were killed.

David’s army marched out of the city to fight Israel, and the battle took place in the forest(A) of Ephraim. There Israel’s troops were routed by David’s men, and the casualties that day were great—twenty thousand men. The battle spread out over the whole countryside, and the forest swallowed up more men that day than the sword.

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