Study Desk

And now, sir, all my relatives have turned against me and are demanding that I hand my son over to them, so that they can kill him for murdering his brother. If they do this, I will be left without a son. They will destroy my last hope and leave my husband without a son to keep his name alive."

She said, "Your Majesty, please pray to the Lord your God, so that my relative who is responsible for avenging the death of my son will not commit a greater crime by killing my other son." "I promise by the living Lord ," David replied, "that your son will not be harmed in the least."

There was no one in Israel as famous for his good looks as Absalom; he had no defect from head to toe.

Then he sent for Joab, to ask him to go to the king for him; but Joab would not come. Again Absalom sent for him, and again Joab refused to come.

Absalom answered, "Because you wouldn't come when I sent for you. I wanted you to go to the king and ask for me: ‘Why did I leave Geshur and come here? It would have been better for me to have stayed there.'" And Absalom went on, "I want you to arrange for me to see the king, and if I'm guilty, then let him put me to death."

So Joab went to King David and told him what Absalom had said. The king sent for Absalom, who went to him and bowed down to the ground in front of him. The king welcomed him with a kiss.

After this, Absalom provided a chariot and horses for himself, and an escort of fifty men.

Absalom did this with every Israelite who came to the king for judgment, and so he won their loyalty.

And while he was offering sacrifices, Absalom also sent to the town of Gilo for Ahithophel, who was one of King David's advisers. The plot against the king gained strength, and Absalom's followers grew in number.

So the king left, accompanied by all his family and officials, except for ten concubines, whom he left behind to take care of the palace.

King David asked him, "What are you going to do with all that?" Ziba answered, "The donkeys are for Your Majesty's family to ride, the bread and the fruit are for the men to eat, and the wine is for them to drink when they get tired in the wilderness."

You took Saul's kingdom, and now the Lord is punishing you for murdering so many of Saul's family. The Lord has given the kingdom to your son Absalom, and you are ruined, you murderer!"

Hushai answered, "How could I? I am for the one chosen by the Lord , by these people, and by all the Israelites. I will stay with you.

So they set up a tent for Absalom on the palace roof, and in the sight of everyone Absalom went in and had intercourse with his father's concubines.

Absalom's officials came to the house and asked the woman, "Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?" "They crossed the river," she answered. The men looked for them but could not find them, and so they returned to Jerusalem.

They brought bowls, clay pots, and bedding, and also food for David and his men: wheat, barley, meal, roasted grain, beans, peas, honey, cheese, cream, and some sheep. They knew that David and his men would get hungry, thirsty, and tired in the wilderness.

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.

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.'

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.

"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."