Parallel Bible results for "2 samuel 18"

2 Samuel 18

The Bible in Basic English BBE

1 And David had the people who were with him numbered, and he put over them captains of thousands and captains of hundreds.

2 And David sent the people out, a third of them under the orders of Joab, and a third under the orders of Abishai, son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and a third under Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the people, And I myself will certainly go out with you.

3 But the people said, It is better for you not to go out: for if we are put to flight, they will not give a thought to us, and if death overtakes half of us, it will be nothing to them: but you are of more value than ten thousand of us: so it is better for you to be ready to come to our help from this town.

4 And the king said to them, I will do whatever seems best to you. So the king took his place by the door of the town, and all the people went out by hundreds and by thousands.

5 And the king gave orders to Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Because of me, be gentle to the young man Absalom. And this order about Absalom was given in the hearing of all the people.

6 So the people went out into the field against Israel, and the fight took place in the woods of Ephraim.

7 And the people of Israel were overcome there by the servants of David, and there was a great destruction that day, and twenty thousand men were put to the sword.

8 And the fighting went on over all the face of the country: and the woods were responsible for more deaths than the sword.

9 And Absalom came across some of David's men. And Absalom was seated on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great tree, and his head became fixed in the tree and he was lifted up between earth and heaven, and the beast under him went on.

10 And a certain man saw it and said to Joab, I saw Absalom hanging in a tree.

11 And Joab said to the man who had given him the news, If you saw this, why did you not put your sword through him, and I would have given you ten bits of silver and a band for your robe?

12 And the man said to Joab, Even if you gave me a thousand bits of silver, I would not put out my hand against the king's son: for in our hearing the king gave orders to you and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Take care that the young man Absalom is not touched.

13 And if I had falsely put him to death (and nothing may be kept secret from the king), you would have had nothing to do with me.

14 Then Joab said, I would have made it safe for you. And he took three spears in his hand, and put them through Absalom's heart, while he was still living, in the branches of the tree.

15 And ten young men, servants of Joab, came round Absalom and put an end to him.

16 And Joab had the horn sounded, and the people came back from going after Israel, for Joab kept them back.

17 And they took Absalom's body and put it into a great hole in the wood, and put a great mass of stones over it: and every man of Israel went in flight to his tent.

18 Now Absalom, before his death, had put up for himself a pillar in the king's valley, naming it after himself; for he said, I have no son to keep my name in memory: and to this day it is named Absalom's pillar.

19 Then Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, said, Let me go and give the king news of how the Lord has done right in his cause against those who took up arms against him.

20 And Joab said, You will take no news today; another day you may give him the news, but you will take no news today, because the king's son is dead.

21 Then Joab said to the Cushite, Go and give the king word of what you have seen. And the Cushite, making a sign of respect to Joab, went off running.

22 Then Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, said to Joab again, Whatever may come of it, let me go after the Cushite. And Joab said, Why have you a desire to go, my son, seeing that you will get no reward for your news?

23 Whatever may come of it, he said, I will go. Then he said to him, Go. So Ahimaaz went running by the lowland road and overtook the Cushite.

24 Now David was seated between the two town doors; and the watchman went up to the roof of the doorways, on the wall, and, lifting up his eyes, saw a man running by himself.

25 And the watchman gave news of it to the king. And the king said, If he is coming by himself, then he has news. And the man was travelling quickly, and came near.

26 Then the watchman saw another man running: and crying out in the direction of the door he said, Here is another man running by himself. And the king said, He, like the other, comes with news.

27 And the watchman said, It seems to me that the running of the first is like the running of Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok. And the king said, He is a good man, and his news will be good.

28 And Ahimaaz, crying out to the king, said, It is well. And falling down before the king, with his face to the earth, he said, May the Lord your God be praised, who has given up the men who took up arms against my lord the king!

29 And the king said, Is it well with the young man Absalom? And Ahimaaz said in answer, When Joab sent me, your servant, I saw a great outcry going on, but I had no knowledge of what it was.

30 And the king said, Get back and take your place here. So turning to one side, he took his place there.

31 And then the Cushite came and said, I have news for my lord the king: today the Lord has done right in your cause against all those who took up arms against you.

32 And the king said to the Cushite, Is the young man Absalom safe? And the Cushite said in answer, May all the king's haters and those who do evil against the king, be as that young man is!

33 Then the king was much moved, and went up into the room over the door, weeping, and saying, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! if only my life might have been given for yours, O Absalom, my son, my son!

Good News Translation GNT

1 King David brought all his men together, divided them into units of a thousand and of a hundred, and placed officers in command of them.

2 Then he sent them out in three groups, with Joab and Joab's brother Abishai and Ittai from Gath, each in command of a group. And the king said to his men, "I will go with you myself."

3 "You mustn't go with us," they answered. "It won't make any difference to the enemy if the rest of us turn and run, or even if half of us are killed; but you are worth ten thousand of us. It will be better if you stay here in the city and send us help."

4 "I will do whatever you think best," the king answered. Then he stood by the side of the gate as his men marched out in units of a thousand and of a hundred.

5 He gave orders to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai: "For my sake don't harm the young man Absalom." And all the troops heard David give this command to his officers.

6 David's army went out into the countryside and fought the Israelites in Ephraim Forest.

7 The Israelites were defeated by David's men; it was a terrible defeat, with twenty thousand men killed that day.

8 The fighting spread over the countryside, and more men died in the forest than were killed in battle.

9 Suddenly Absalom met some of David's men. Absalom was riding a mule, and as it went under a large oak tree, Absalom's head got caught in the branches. The mule ran on and Absalom was left hanging in midair.

10 One of David's men saw him and reported to Joab, "Sir, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree!"

11 Joab answered, "If you saw him, why didn't you kill him on the spot? I myself would have given you ten pieces of silver and a belt."

12 But the man answered, "Even if you gave me a thousand pieces of silver, I wouldn't lift a finger against the king's son. We all heard the king command you and Abishai and Ittai, "For my sake don't harm the young man Absalom.'

13 But if I had disobeyed the king and killed Absalom, the king would have heard about it - he hears about everything - and you would not have defended me."

14 "I'm not going to waste any more time with you," Joab said. He took three spears and plunged them into Absalom's chest while he was still alive, hanging in the oak tree.

15 Then ten of Joab's soldiers closed in on Absalom and finished killing him.

16 Joab had the trumpet blown to stop the fighting, and his troops came back from pursuing the Israelites.

17 They took Absalom's body, threw it into a deep pit in the forest, and covered it with a huge pile of stones. All the Israelites fled to their own hometowns.

18 During his lifetime Absalom had built a monument for himself in King's Valley, because he had no son to keep his name alive. So he named it after himself, and to this day it is known as Absalom's Monument.

19 Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said to Joab, "Let me run to the king with the good news that the Lord has saved him from his enemies."

20 "No," Joab said, "today you will not take any good news. Some other day you may do so, but not today, for the king's son is dead."

21 Then he said to his Ethiopian slave, "Go and tell the king what you have seen." The slave bowed and ran off.

22 Ahimaaz insisted, "I don't care what happens; please let me take the news also." "Why do you want to do it, my son?" Joab asked. "You will get no reward for it."

23 "Whatever happens," Ahimaaz said again, "I want to go." "Then go," Joab said. So Ahimaaz ran off down the road through the Jordan Valley, and soon he passed the slave.

24 David was sitting in the space between the inner and outer gates of the city. The lookout went up to the top of the wall and stood on the roof of the gateway; he looked out and saw a man running alone.

25 He called down and told the king, and the king said, "If he is alone, he is bringing good news." The runner kept coming closer.

26 Then the lookout saw another man running alone, and he called down to the gatekeeper, "Look! There's another man running!" The king answered, "This one also is bringing good news."

27 The lookout said, "I can see that the first man runs like Ahimaaz." "He's a good man," the king said, "and he is bringing good news."

28 Ahimaaz called out a greeting to the king, threw himself down to the ground before him, and said, "Praise the Lord your God, who has given you victory over the men who rebelled against Your Majesty!"

29 "Is the young man Absalom all right?" the king asked. Ahimaaz answered, "Sir, when your officer Joab sent me, I saw a great commotion, but I couldn't tell what it was."

30 "Stand over there," the king told him; and he went over and stood there.

31 Then the Ethiopian slave arrived and said to the king, "I have good news for Your Majesty! Today the Lord has given you victory over all who rebelled against you!"

32 "Is the young man Absalom all right?" the king asked. The slave answered, "I wish that what has happened to him would happen to all your enemies, sir, and to all who rebel against you."

33 The king was overcome with grief. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he cried, "O my son! My son Absalom! Absalom, my son! If only I had died in your place, my son! Absalom, my son!"