2 Samuel 18:17

Young's Literal Translation

and they take Absalom and cast him in the forest unto the great pit, and set up over him a very great heap of stones, and all Israel have fled -- each to his tent.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
They took Absalom, threw him into a large pit in the forest, and raised up a huge mound of stones over him. And all Israel fled, each to his tent.

Hebrew Names Version
They took Avshalom, and cast him into the great pit in the forest, and raised over him a very great heap of stones: and all Yisra'el fled everyone to his tent.

King James Version
And they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the wood, and laid a very great heap of stones upon him: and all Israel fled every one to his tent.

Lexham English Bible
They took Absalom and they threw him into the large pit in the forest and raised a very great heap of stones over him. Then all of Israel fled, each to his tent.

English Standard Version
And they took Absalom 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.

New Century Version
Then Joab's men took Absalom's body and threw it into a large pit in the forest and filled the pit with many stones. All the Israelites ran away to their homes.

New English Translation
They took Absalom, threw him into a large pit in the forest, and stacked a huge pile of stones over him. In the meantime all the Israelite soldiers fled to their homes.

Amplified Bible
They took [down the body of] Absalom and threw him into a deep pit in the forest and set up a huge mound of stones over him. Then all Israel fled, everyone to his own tent.

New American Standard Bible
And they took Absalom and threw him into a deep pit in the forest, and erected over him a very large pile of stones. And all Israel fled, each to his own tent.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And they tooke Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the wood, and layed a mightie great heape of stones vpon him: and all Israel fled euery one to his tent.

Legacy Standard Bible
And they took Absalom and cast him into a deep pit in the forest and set over him a very great heap of stones. And all Israel fled, each to his tent.

Contemporary English Version
They threw Absalom's body into a deep pit in the forest and put a big pile of rocks over it. Meanwhile, the people of Israel had all run back to their own homes.

Complete Jewish Bible
They took Avshalom and threw him into a big pit in the forest and piled a big heap of stones over him. All Isra'el fled, each one to his tent.

Darby Translation
And they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the wood, and raised a very great heap of stones upon him. And all Israel fled every one to his tent.

Easy-to-Read Version
Then Joab's men took Absalom's body and threw it into a large hole in the forest and covered it with stones. All the Israelites ran away and went home.

George Lamsa Translation
And they took Absaloms body and cast it into a great pit, and raised over it a great heap of large stones; and all Israel fled every man to his tent.

Good News Translation
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.

Literal Translation
And they took Absalom and threw him into a great pit in the forest, and set up a very great heap of stones over him. And all Israel fled, each one to his tent.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And they toke Absalom, and cast him in the wod in to a greate pytt, and layed a greate heape of stones vpon him. And all Israel fled, euery one vnto his tente.

American Standard Version
And they took Absalom, and cast him into the great pit in the forest, and raised over him a very great heap of stones: and all Israel fled every one to his tent.

Bible in Basic English
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.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And they toke Absalom, and cast him into a great pyt in the wood, and layed a mightie great heape of stones vpon him: And all Israel fled euery one to their tentes.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And they took Absalom, and cast him into the great pit in the forest, and raised over him a very great heap of stones; and all Israel fled every one to his tent.--

King James Version (1611)
And they tooke Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the wood, and layd a very great heape of stones vpon him: and all Israel fled euery one to his tent.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And he took Abessalom, and cast him into a great cavern in the wood, into a deep pit, and set up over him a very great heap of stones: and all Israel fled every man to his tent.

English Revised Version
And they took Absalom, and cast him into the great pit in the forest, and raised over him a very great heap of stones: and all Israel fled every one to his tent.

Berean Standard Bible
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.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And thei token Absolon, and castiden forth him in to a greet dich in the forest, and baren togidere a ful greet heep of stoonys on hym; forsothe al Israel fledde in to his tabernaclis.

Update Bible Version
And they took Absalom, and cast him into the great pit in the forest, and raised over him a very great heap of stones: and all Israel fled every one to his tent.

Webster's Bible Translation
And they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the wood, and laid a very great heap of stones upon him: and all Israel fled every one to his tent.

World English Bible
They took Absalom, and cast him into the great pit in the forest, and raised over him a very great heap of stones: and all Israel fled everyone to his tent.

New King James Version
And they took Absalom and cast him into a large pit in the woods, and laid a very large heap of stones over him. Then all Israel fled, everyone to his tent.

New Living Translation
They threw Absalom's body into a deep pit in the forest and piled a great heap of stones over it. And all Israel fled to their homes.

New Life Bible
They took Absalom and threw him into a deep hole among the trees, and set many stones over him. And all Israel ran away, every one to his own home.

New Revised Standard
They took Absalom, threw him into a great pit in the forest, and raised over him a very great heap of stones. Meanwhile all the Israelites fled to their homes.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And they took Absolom, and cast him, in the forest, into a large pit, and raised up over him a very great heap of stones, - and, all Israel, fled, every man to his home.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the forest, and they laid an exceeding great heap of stones upon him: but all Israel fled to their own dwellings.

Revised Standard Version
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.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
They took Absalom and cast him into a deep pit in the forest and erected over him a very great heap of stones. And all Israel fled, each to his tent.

Contextual Overview

⁹ And Absalom meeteth before the servants of David, and Absalom is riding on the mule, and the mule cometh in under an entangled bough of the great oak, and his head taketh hold on the oak, and he is placed between the heavens and the earth, and the mule that [is] under him hath passed on. ¹⁰ And one man seeth, and declareth to Joab, and saith, `Lo, I saw Absalom hanged in an oak.' <sup>11</sup> And Joab saith to the man who is declaring [it] to him, `And lo, thou hast seen -- and wherefore didst thou not smite him there to the earth -- and on me to give to thee ten silverlings and one girdle?' ¹² And the man saith unto Joab, `Yea, though I am weighing on my hand a thousand silverlings, I do not put forth my hand unto the son of the king; for in our ears hath the king charged thee, and Abishai, and Ittai, saying, Observe ye who [is] against the youth -- against Absalom; <sup>13</sup> or I had done against my soul a vain thing, and no matter is hid from the king, and thou -- thou dost station thyself over-against.' <sup>14</sup> And Joab saith, `Not right -- I tarry before thee;' and he taketh three darts in his hand, and striketh them into the heart of Absalom, while he [is] alive, in the midst of the oak. ¹⁵ And they go round -- ten youths bearing weapons of Joab -- and smite Absalom, and put him to death. ¹⁶ And Joab bloweth with a trumpet, and the people turneth back from pursuing after Israel, for Joab hath kept back the people; ¹⁷ and they take Absalom and cast him in the forest unto the great pit, and set up over him a very great heap of stones, and all Israel have fled -- each to his tent. ¹⁸ And Absalom hath taken, and setteth up for himself in his life, the standing-pillar that [is] in the king's valley, for he said, `I have no son to cause my name to be remembered;' and he calleth the standing-pillar by his own name, and it is called `The monument of Absalom' unto this day.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

laid: This was the ancient method of burying, whether heroes or traitors; the heap of stones being designed to perpetuate the memory of the event, whether good or bad. The Arabs in general make use of no other monument than a heap of stones over a grave. Thus, in an Arabic poem, it is related, that Hatim the father, and Adi the grandfather of Kais, having been murdered, at a time before Kais was capable of reflection, his mother kept it a profound secret; and in order to guard him against having any suspicion, she collected a parcel of stone on two hillocks in the neighbourhood, and told her son that the one was the grave of his father, and the other of his grandfather. The ancient cairns in Ireland and Scotland, and the tumuli in England, are of this kind. Joshua 7:26, Joshua 8:29, Joshua 10:27, Proverbs 10:7, Jeremiah 22:18, Jeremiah 22:19

Reciprocal: Genesis 31:46 - Gather Genesis 35:20 - the pillar 2 Kings 14:12 - they fled Psalms 119:96 - I have seen Ecclesiastes 3:5 - to cast Acts 5:6 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 19:24
and Jehovah hath rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah, from the heavens;

2 Kings 4:27
And she cometh in unto the man of God, unto the hill, and layeth hold on his feet, and Gehazi cometh nigh to thrust her away, and the man of God saith, `Let her alone, for her soul [is] bitter to her, and Jehovah hath hidden [it] from me, and hath not declared [it] to me.'

2 Chronicles 20:7
`Art not Thou our God? Thou hast dispossessed the inhabitants of this land from before Thy people Israel, and dost give it to the seed of Abraham Thy friend to the age,

Psalms 25:14
The secret of Jehovah [is] for those fearing Him, And His covenant -- to cause them to know.

John 15:15
no more do I call you servants, because the servant hath not known what his lord doth, and you I have called friends, because all things that I heard from my Father, I did make known to you.

James 2:23
and fulfilled was the Writing that is saying, `And Abraham did believe God, and it was reckoned to him -- to righteousness;' and, `Friend of God' he was called.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the wood,.... In the wood of Ephraim, near to which the battle was fought, and into which Absalom fled, and where he was slain:

and laid a very great heap of stones upon him: his punishment was very exemplary; he was first hanged on an oak, and then thrust through with darts, and swords, and then covered with stones, 2 Samuel 18:9, pointing to the death that a rebellious son, according to the law, ought to die, Deuteronomy 21:21; though this might be done in honour of him as a king's son; for such "tumuli", or heaps of stones or earth, were used by the ancients as sepulchral monuments, and the larger the more honourable n; Deuteronomy 21:21- : and

Deuteronomy 21:21- :;

and all Israel fled everyone to his tent; or to his city, as the Targum; everyone returned to their own house, and to their own business, and so the rebellion ceased.

n Homer. Iliad. 23. ver. 245, 257.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A great heap of stones - See the marginal reference. This kind of monument is common to almost all early nations.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Samuel 18:17. And laid a very great heap of stones — This was the method of burying heroes, and even traitors, the heap of stones being designed to perpetuate the memory of the event, whether good or bad. The ancient cairns or heaps of stones, in different parts of the world, are of this kind. The various tumuli or barrows in England are the same as the cairns in different parts of Ireland and Scotland. In the former, stones were not plenty; hence they heaped up great mounds of earth.