2 Samuel 18:12

12 The man said to Yo'av, Though I should receive a thousand [pieces of] silver in my hand, I still wouldn't put forth my hand against the king's son; for in our hearing the king charged you and Avishai and Ittai, saying, Beware that none touch the young man Avshalom.

2 Samuel 18:12 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 18:12

And the man said unto Joab
Disdaining his proposal:

though I should receive a thousand [shekels] of silver in mine hand;
or such a sum should be offered to me; the Arabic version is a million;

[yet] would I not put forth my hand against the king's son;
to smite him, and slay him:

for in our hearing the king charged thee, and Abishai, and Ittai;
his three generals:

saying, beware that none [touch] the young man Absalom;
so as to slay him; they were charged to abstain from it themselves, and to watch and observe others, and keep them from doing it.

2 Samuel 18:12 In-Context

10 A certain man saw it, and told Yo'av, and said, Behold, I saw Avshalom hanging in an oak.

11 Yo'av said to the man who told him, Behold, you saw it, and why didn't you strike him there to the ground? and I would have given you ten [pieces of] silver, and a sash.

12 The man said to Yo'av, Though I should receive a thousand [pieces of] silver in my hand, I still wouldn't put forth my hand against the king's son; for in our hearing the king charged you and Avishai and Ittai, saying, Beware that none touch the young man Avshalom.

13 Otherwise if I had dealt falsely against his life (and there is no matter hid from the king), then you yourself would have set yourself against [me].

14 Then said Yo'av, I may not wait thus with you. He took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Avshalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak.