Help QuickNav Adv. Options
NIV

NIV

Click to Change

Return to Top

Return to Top

Printer Icon

Print

Copy
Copy Options
Format by: Verse Paragraph
Strong's
Red Letter
Audio Bibles
Copy Options
Cite Print
The Blue Letter Bible

2 Samuel 18 :: New International Version (NIV)

Choose a new font size and typeface
Audio Bibles

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:1

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:1 - David mustered the men who were with him and appointed over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:2

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:2 - David sent out his troops, a third under the command of Joab, a third under Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai the Gittite. The king told the troops, “I myself will surely march out with you.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:3

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:3 - But the men said, “You must not go out; if we are forced to flee, they won’t care about us. Even if half of us die, they won’t care; but you are worth ten thousand of us.[fn] It would be better now for you to give us support from the city.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:4

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:4 - The king answered, “I will do whatever seems best to you.” So the king stood beside the gate while all his men marched out in units of hundreds and of thousands.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:5

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:5 - The king commanded Joab, Abishai and Ittai, “Be gentle with the young man Absalom for my sake.” And all the troops heard the king giving orders concerning Absalom to each of the commanders.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:6

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:6 - David’s army marched out of the city to fight Israel, and the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:7

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:7 - There Israel’s troops were routed by David’s men, and the casualties that day were great—twenty thousand men.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:8

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:8 - The battle spread out over the whole countryside, and the forest swallowed up more men that day than the sword.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:9

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:9 - Now Absalom happened to meet David’s men. He was riding his mule, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s hair got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:10

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:10 - When one of the men saw what had happened, he told Joab, “I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:11

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:11 - Joab said to the man who had told him this, “What! You saw him? Why didn’t you strike him to the ground right there? Then I would have had to give you ten shekels[fn] of silver and a warrior’s belt.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:12

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:12 - But the man replied, “Even if a thousand shekels[fn] were weighed out into my hands, I would not lay a hand on the king’s son. In our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘Protect the young man Absalom for my sake.[fn]’

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:13

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:13 - And if I had put my life in jeopardy[fn]—and nothing is hidden from the king—you would have kept your distance from me.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:14

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:14 - Joab said, “I’m not going to wait like this for you.” So he took three javelins in his hand and plunged them into Absalom’s heart while Absalom was still alive in the oak tree.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:15

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:15 - And ten of Joab’s armor-bearers surrounded Absalom, struck him and killed him.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:16

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:16 - Then Joab sounded the trumpet, and the troops stopped pursuing Israel, for Joab halted them.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:17

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:17 - They took Absalom, threw him into a big pit in the forest and piled up a large heap of rocks over him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled to their homes.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:18

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:18 - During his lifetime Absalom had taken a pillar and erected it in the King’s Valley as a monument to himself, for he thought, “I have no son to carry on the memory of my name.” He named the pillar after himself, and it is called Absalom’s Monument to this day.

David Mourns

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:19

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:19 - Now Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Let me run and take the news to the king that the LORD has vindicated him by delivering him from the hand of his enemies.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:20

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:20 - “You are not the one to take the news today,” Joab told him. “You may take the news another time, but you must not do so today, because the king’s son is dead.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:21

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:21 - Then Joab said to a Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” The Cushite bowed down before Joab and ran off.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:22

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:22 - Ahimaaz son of Zadok again said to Joab, “Come what may, please let me run behind the Cushite.” But Joab replied, “My son, why do you want to go? You don’t have any news that will bring you a reward.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:23

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:23 - He said, “Come what may, I want to run.” So Joab said, “Run!” Then Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain[fn] and outran the Cushite.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:24

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:24 - While David was sitting between the inner and outer gates, the watchman went up to the roof of the gateway by the wall. As he looked out, he saw a man running alone.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:25

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:25 - The watchman called out to the king and reported it. The king said, “If he is alone, he must have good news.” And the runner came closer and closer.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:26

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:26 - Then the watchman saw another runner, and he called down to the gatekeeper, “Look, another man running alone!” The king said, “He must be bringing good news, too.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:27

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:27 - The watchman said, “It seems to me that the first one runs like Ahimaaz son of Zadok.” “He’s a good man,” the king said. “He comes with good news.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:28

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:28 - Then Ahimaaz called out to the king, “All is well!” He bowed down before the king with his face to the ground and said, “Praise be to the LORD your God! He has delivered up those who lifted their hands against my lord the king.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:29

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:29 - The king asked, “Is the young man Absalom safe?” Ahimaaz answered, “I saw great confusion just as Joab was about to send the king’s servant and me, your servant, but I don’t know what it was.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:30

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:30 - The king said, “Stand aside and wait here.” So he stepped aside and stood there.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:31

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:31 - Then the Cushite arrived and said, “My lord the king, hear the good news! The LORD has vindicated you today by delivering you from the hand of all who rose up against you.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:32

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:32 - The king asked the Cushite, “Is the young man Absalom safe?” The Cushite replied, “May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up to harm you be like that young man.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 18:33

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 18:33 - The king was shaken. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he said: “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you—O Absalom, my son, my son!”[fn]
See the NIV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NIV Footnotes
Two Hebrew manuscripts, some Septuagint manuscripts and Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts care; for now there are ten thousand like us
That is, about 4 ounces or about 115 grams
That is, about 25 pounds or about 12 kilograms
A few Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts may be translated Absalom, whoever you may be.
Or Otherwise, if I had acted treacherously toward him
That is, the plain of the Jordan
In Hebrew texts this verse (18:33) is numbered 19:1.
NIV

HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.
Used with permission. All rights reserved worldwide.


See detailed copyright information.

For more information on this translation, see the NIV Preface.

BLB Searches
Search the Bible
NIV
  [?]

Advanced Options

Other Searches

Multi-Verse Retrieval
x
NIV
Daily Devotionals
x

Blue Letter Bible offers several daily devotional readings in order to help you refocus on Christ and the Gospel of His peace and righteousness.

Daily Bible Reading Plans
x

Recognizing the value of consistent reflection upon the Word of God in order to refocus one's mind and heart upon Christ and His Gospel of peace, we provide several reading plans designed to cover the entire Bible in a year.

One-Year Plans

Two-Year Plan

2 Samuel Chapter 18 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New Living Translation English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras