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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>2 Samuel 18 MSB</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; cts.dataset.appid=i;cts.src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/catch_rp.js?cb='+Math.random(); document.head.appendChild(cts); }) (window,document,'head','script','rc-anksrH');</script></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/2_samuel/18.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap//2_samuel/18-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">MSB</a> > 2 Samuel 18</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/msb/menu.htm" width="100%" height="48" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../2_samuel/17.htm" title="2 Samuel 17">◄</a> 2 Samuel 18 <a href="../2_samuel/19.htm" title="2 Samuel 19">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">Majority Standard Bible</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/bsb/heb/2_samuel/18.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><A name="2"></a><p class="hdg">Absalom Killed<p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>Then David reviewed his troops and appointed over them commanders of thousands and of hundreds. <A name="3"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>He sent out the troops, a third under Joab, a third under Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the troops, “I will surely march out with you as well.” <A name="4"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>But the people pleaded, “You must not go out! For if we have to flee, they will not care about us. Even if half of us die, they will not care. But you are worth ten thousand of us.<span class="fn"><a href="#fn">a</a></span> It is better now if you support us from the city.” <A name="5"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>“I will do whatever seems best to you,” the king replied. So he stood beside the gate, while all the troops marched out by hundreds and by thousands. <A name="6"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>Now the king had commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, “Treat the young man Absalom gently for my sake.” And all the people heard the king’s orders to each of the commanders regarding Absalom. <A name="7"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>So David’s army marched into the field to engage Israel, and the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim. <A name="8"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>There the people of Israel were defeated by David’s servants, and the slaughter was great that day—twenty thousand men. <A name="9"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>The battle spread over the whole countryside, and that day the forest devoured more people than the sword. <A name="10"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>Now Absalom was riding on his mule when he met the servants of David, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak,<span class="fn"><a href="#fn">b</a></span> Absalom’s head was caught fast in the tree. The mule under him kept going, so that he was suspended in midair. <A name="11"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>When one of the men saw this, he told Joab, “I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree!” <A name="12"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>“You just saw him!” Joab exclaimed. “Why did you not strike him to the ground right there? I would have given you ten shekels of silver<span class="fn"><a href="#fn">c</a></span> and a warrior’s belt!” <A name="13"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>The man replied, “Even if a thousand shekels of silver<span class="fn"><a href="#fn">d</a></span> were weighed out into my hands, I would not raise my hand against the son of the king. For we heard the king command you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘Protect the young man Absalom for my sake.<span class="fn"><a href="#fn">e</a></span>’ <A name="14"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>If I had jeopardized my own life<span class="fn"><a href="#fn">f</a></span>—and nothing is hidden from the king—you would have abandoned me.” <A name="15"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>But Joab declared, “I am not going to wait like this with you!” And he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak tree. <A name="16"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>And ten young men who carried Joab’s armor surrounded Absalom, struck him, and killed him. <A name="17"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>Then Joab blew the ram’s horn, and the troops broke off their pursuit of Israel because Joab had restrained them. <A name="18"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>They took Absalom, cast him into a large pit in the forest, and piled a huge mound of stones over him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled, each to his home. <A name="19"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>During his lifetime, Absalom had set up for himself a pillar in the King’s Valley, for he had said, “I have no son to preserve the memory of my name.” So he gave the pillar his name, and to this day it is called Absalom’s Monument. <A name="20"></a><p class="hdg">David Mourns for Absalom<p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Please let me run and tell the king the good news that the LORD has avenged him of his enemies.” <A name="21"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>But Joab replied, “You are not the man to take good news today. You may do it another day, but you must not do so today, because the king’s son is dead.” <A name="22"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>So Joab said to a Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” The Cushite bowed to Joab and took off running. <A name="23"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>Ahimaaz son of Zadok, however, persisted and said to Joab, “No matter what, please let me also run behind the Cushite!” <p class="reg">“My son,” Joab replied, “why do you want to run, since you will not receive a reward?” <A name="24"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>“No matter what, I want to run!” he replied. <p class="reg">“Then run!” Joab told him. <p class="reg"> So Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain<span class="fn"><a href="#fn">g</a></span> and outran the Cushite. <A name="25"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>Now David was sitting between the two gates when the watchman went up to the roof of the gateway by the wall, looked out, and saw a man running alone. <A name="26"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>So he called out and told the king. <p class="reg">“If he is alone,” the king replied, “he bears good news.” <p class="reg"> As the first runner drew near, <A name="27"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>the watchman saw another man running, and he called out to the gatekeeper, “Look! Another man is running alone!” <p class="reg">“This one also brings good news,” said the king. <A name="28"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>The watchman said, “The first man appears to me to be running like Ahimaaz son of Zadok.” <p class="reg">“This is a good man,” said the king. “He comes with good news.” <A name="29"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span>Then Ahimaaz called out to the king, “All is well!” And he bowed facedown before the king. <p class="reg"> He continued, “Blessed be the LORD your God! He has delivered up the men who raised their hands against my lord the king.” <A name="30"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span>The king asked, “Is the young man Absalom all right?” <p class="reg"> And Ahimaaz replied, “When Joab sent the king’s servant and your servant, I saw a great tumult, but I do not know what it was.” <A name="31"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span>“Move aside,” said the king, “and stand here.” <p class="reg"> So he stepped aside. <A name="32"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-31.htm"><b>31</b></a></span>Just then the Cushite came and said, “May my lord the king hear the good news: Today the LORD has avenged you of all who rose up against you!” <A name="33"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-32.htm"><b>32</b></a></span>The king asked the Cushite, “Is the young man Absalom all right?” <p class="reg"> And the Cushite replied, “May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up against you to harm you be like that young man.” <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/2_samuel/18-33.htm"><b>33</b></a></span>The king was shaken and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he walked, he cried out, “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”</p><A name="fn"></a><div id="fnlink"><br /><br /><b>Footnotes:</b><br><br><span class="fnverse">3</span> <span class="footnotesbot">a</span> Two Hebrew manuscripts, some LXX manuscripts, and Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts <i>care; for now there are ten thousand like us</i><br><span class="fnverse">9</span> <span class="footnotesbot">b</span> Or <i>large terebinth</i> or <i>very great tree</i>; similarly in verses 10 and 14<br><span class="fnverse">11</span> <span class="footnotesbot">c</span> <i>10 shekels</i> is approximately 4 ounces or 114 grams of silver.<br><span class="fnverse">12</span> <span class="footnotesbot">d</span> <i>1,000 shekels</i> is approximately 25.1 pounds or 11.4 kilograms of silver.<br><span class="fnverse">12</span> <span class="footnotesbot">e</span> A few Hebrew manuscripts, LXX, Vulgate, and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts <i>Whoever you may be, protect the young man Absalom.</i> or <i>Let no one touch the young man Absalom.</i><br><span class="fnverse">13</span> <span class="footnotesbot">f</span> Or <i>If I had dealt treacherously against his life</i><br><span class="fnverse">23</span> <span class="footnotesbot">g</span> That is, the plain of the Jordan<br><br /></div><br /></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><a href="//majoritybible.com">The Holy Bible, Majority Standard Bible, MSB</a> is produced in cooperation with <a href="//biblehub.com">Bible Hub</a>, <a href="//discoverybible.com">Discovery Bible</a>, <a href="//openbible.com">OpenBible.com</a>, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been <a href="https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/"> dedicated to the public domain</a>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>The MSB is the Byzantine Majority Text version of the BSB, including the BSB OT plus the NT translated according to the Robinson-Pierpont Byzantine Majority Text (<a href="https://byzantinetext.com/">byzantinetext.com</a>).<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>The MSB includes footnotes for translatable variants from the modern Critical Texts (CT) such as the Nestle Aland GNT, SBL GNT, and Editio Critica Maior.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>Major variants between the Majority Text (MT) and Textus Receptus (TR) are also noted. 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