2Samuel:18:1-18
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Then David mustered the men who were with him ,
and set over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds .
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And David sent forth the army ,
one third under the command of Jo '
ab ,
one third under the command of Abi '
shai the son of Zeru '
iah ,
Jo '
ab '
s brother ,
and one third under the command of It '
tai the Gittite .
And the king said to the men , "
I myself will also go out with you ."
*
But the men said , "
You shall not go out .
For if we flee ,
they will not care about us .
If half of us die ,
they will not care about us .
But you are worth ten thousand of us ;
therefore it is better that you send us help from the city ."
*
The king said to them , "
Whatever seems best to you I will do ."
So the king stood at the side of the gate ,
while all the army marched out by hundreds and by thousands .
*
And the king ordered Jo '
ab and Abi '
shai and It '
tai , "
Deal gently for my sake with the young man Ab '
salom ."
And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Ab '
salom .
*
So the army went out into the field against Israel ;
and the battle was fought in the forest of E '
phraim .
*
And the men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David ,
and the slaughter there was great on that day ,
twenty thousand men .
*
The battle spread over the face of all the country ;
and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword .
*
And Ab '
salom chanced to meet the servants of David .
Ab '
salom was riding upon his mule ,
and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak ,
and his head caught fast in the oak ,
and he was left hanging between heaven and earth ,
while the mule that was under him went on .
*
And a certain man saw it ,
and told Jo '
ab , "
Behold ,
I saw Ab '
salom hanging in an oak ."
*
Jo '
ab said to the man who told him , "
What ,
you saw him !
Why then did you not strike him there to the ground ?
I would have been glad to give you ten pieces of silver and a girdle ."
*
But the man said to Jo '
ab , "
Even if I felt in my hand the weight of a thousand pieces of silver ,
I would not put forth my hand against the king '
s son ;
for in our hearing the king commanded you and Abi '
shai and It '
tai , `
For my sake protect the young man Ab '
salom .'
*
On the other hand ,
if I had dealt treacherously against his life (
and there is nothing hidden from the king ),
then you yourself would have stood aloof ."
*
Jo '
ab said , "
I will not waste time like this with you ."
And he took three darts in his hand ,
and thrust them into the heart of Ab '
salom ,
while he was still alive in the oak .
*
And ten young men ,
Jo '
ab '
s armor-bearers ,
surrounded Ab '
salom and struck him ,
and killed him .
*
Then Jo '
ab blew the trumpet ,
and the troops came back from pursuing Israel ;
for Jo '
ab restrained them .
*
And they took Ab '
salom ,
and threw him into a great pit in the forest ,
and raised over him a very great heap of stones ;
and all Israel fled every one to his own home .
*
Now Ab '
salom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself the pillar which is in the King '
s Valley ,
for he said , "
I have no son to keep my name in remembrance ";
he called the pillar after his own name ,
and it is called Ab '
salom '
s monument to this day .
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