¹Raja Daud mengumpulkan seluruh anak buahnya, lalu dibaginya menjadi kesatuan-kesatuan yang terdiri dari seribu dan dari seratus orang. Kemudian diangkatnya perwira-perwira untuk mengepalai kesatuan-kesatuan itu.

¹David numbered the people who were with him, and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them.

²Setelah itu diberangkatkannya mereka maju berperang dalam tiga kelompok, masing-masing dipimpin oleh Yoab, Abisai adik Yoab dan Itai dari Gat. Kata raja kepada anak buahnya, "Aku juga ikut bersama kamu."

²David sent forth the people, a third part under the hand of Joab, and a third part under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. The king said to the people, “I will surely go forth with you myself also.”

³Tetapi orang-orang itu menjawab, "Jangan Baginda. Sebab jika kami terpaksa lari, atau walaupun separuh dari kami mati, musuh belum merasa puas, sebab Bagindalah yang mereka cari. Baginda sama nilainya dengan sepuluh ribu orang dari kami. Lagipula lebih baik Baginda mengirim bantuan saja kepada kami dari dalam kota."

³But the people said, “You shall not go forth; for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us. But you are worth ten thousand of us. Therefore now it is better that you are ready to help us out of the city.”

⁴Lalu kata raja, "Baiklah, terserah kepadamu." Kemudian ia berdiri di samping pintu gerbang kota, sedang seluruh pasukan berbaris ke luar dalam kesatuan-kesatuan yang terdiri dari seribu dan seratus orang.

⁴The king said to them, “I will do what seems best to you.” The king stood beside the gate, and all the people went out by hundreds and by thousands.

⁵Lalu raja memerintahkan kepada Yoab, Abisai dan Itai, katanya, "Janganlah kamu lukai Absalom anak muda itu demi aku." Seluruh pasukan mendengar perintah Daud itu.

⁵The king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom.” All the people heard when the king commanded all the captains concerning Absalom.

⁶Lalu berangkatlah pasukan Daud memerangi pasukan Israel, dan mereka bertempur di hutan Efraim.

⁶So the people went out into the field against Israel: and the battle was in the forest of Ephraim.

⁷Pasukan Israel dikalahkan oleh anak buah Daud; kekalahan itu sungguh besar, 20.000 orang tewas pada hari itu.

⁷The people of Israel were struck there before the servants of David, and there was a great slaughter there that day of twenty thousand men.

⁸Pertempuran meluas ke seluruh daerah itu, dan lebih banyak orang yang mati terjebak di hutan daripada tewas di medan pertempuran.

⁸For the battle was there spread over the surface of all the country; and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.

⁹Sewaktu Absalom menunggangi bagalnya, tiba-tiba ia bertemu dengan anak buah Daud. Bagal itu lewat di bawah pohon yang besar dan rendah, maka tersangkutlah kepala Absalom pada sebuah dahannya. Bagalnya berlari terus sedangkan Absalom ketinggalan dan tergantung di situ.

⁹Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the sky and earth; and the mule that was under him went on.

¹⁰Seorang dari anak buah Daud melihatnya dan melaporkannya kepada Yoab, "Tuan, tadi kulihat Absalom tergantung pada sebatang pohon besar!"

¹⁰A certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, “Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.”

¹¹Yoab menjawab, "Apa? Kaulihat dia? Mengapa tidak segera kaubunuh? Pastilah kuberikan kepadamu sepuluh uang perak dan sebuah ikat pinggang."

¹¹Joab said to the man who told him, “Behold, you saw it, and why didn’t you strike him there to the ground? I would have given you ten pieces of silver, and a sash.”

¹²Tetapi orang itu menjawab, "Meskipun diberi 1.000 uang perak kepadaku, aku takkan mau menyakiti putra raja. Kami semua mendengar apa yang diperintahkan raja kepada Tuan dan kepada Abisai serta Itai, supaya jangan melukai Absalom anak muda itu demi raja.

¹²The man said to Joab, “Though I should receive a thousand pieces of silver in my hand, I still wouldn’t put forth my hand against the king’s son; for in our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, saying, ‘Beware that none touch the young man Absalom.’

¹³Dan seandainya kubunuh Absalom tadi, pastilah ketahuan oleh raja, sebab raja tentu mendengar tentang segala sesuatu--dan Tuan pun pasti tidak akan membelaku."

¹³Otherwise if I had dealt falsely against his life (and there is no matter hidden from the king), then you yourself would have set yourself against me.”

¹⁴"Sudahlah! Habis waktu hanya bersoal jawab dengan engkau," kata Yoab. Lalu Yoab mengambil tiga batang tombak dan menikamnya ke dada Absalom yang ketika itu masih hidup dan tergantung pada pohon.

¹⁴Then Joab said, “I’m not going to wait like this with you.” He took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak.

¹⁵Kemudian sepuluh orang anak buah Yoab mengeroyoknya dan membunuhnya.

¹⁵Ten young men who bore Joab’s armor surrounded and struck Absalom, and killed him.

¹⁶Yoab membunyikan trompet sehingga anak buahnya berhenti mengejar pasukan Israel.

¹⁶Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing after Israel; for Joab held back the people.

¹⁷Kemudian mayat Absalom diangkat dan dilemparkan ke dalam sumur yang dalam di hutan. Sumur itu mereka timbuni dengan batu sampai tinggi. Seluruh pasukan Israel melarikan diri masing-masing ke rumahnya.

¹⁷They took Absalom, and cast him into the great pit in the forest, and raised over him a very great heap of stones. Then all Israel fled everyone to his tent.

¹⁸Sewaktu hidupnya Absalom telah membangun bagi dirinya sebuah tugu di Lembah Raja, sebab dia tidak mempunyai anak laki-laki untuk meneruskan keturunannya. Tugu itu dinamakannya menurut namanya sendiri, dan sampai hari ini tugu ini dikenal sebagai Tugu Absalom.

¹⁸Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself the pillar, which is in the king’s dale; for he said, “I have no son to keep my name in memory.” He called the pillar after his own name; and it is called Absalom’s monument, to this day.

¹⁹Kemudian berkatalah Ahimaas anak Zadok kepada Yoab, "Izinkanlah aku lari menemui raja dan membawa kabar gembira bahwa TUHAN telah menyelamatkan Baginda dari musuhnya."

¹⁹Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, “Let me now run, and bear the king news, how that Yahweh has avenged him of his enemies.”

²⁰"Jangan," kata Yoab, "lain kali saja. Hari ini tidak boleh engkau membawa kabar, sebab putra raja telah gugur."

²⁰Joab said to him, “You shall not be the bearer of news this day, but you shall bear news another day. But today you shall bear no news, because the king’s son is dead.”

²¹Kemudian Yoab berkata kepada budaknya seorang Sudan, "Pergilah memberitahukan kepada raja apa yang telah kaulihat." Budak itu sujud menyembah lalu pergi dengan berlari.

²¹Then Joab said to the Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen!” The Cushite bowed himself to Joab, and ran.

²²Tetapi Ahimaas mendesak kepada Yoab, "Apa pun yang terjadi, izinkanlah juga aku membawa kabar." "Mengapa kau begitu keras mau pergi juga, anakku?" tanya Yoab. "Engkau tidak akan menerima upah untuk itu."

²²Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said yet again to Joab, “But come what may, please let me also run after the Cushite.” Joab said, “Why do you want to run, my son, since that you will have no reward for the news?”

²³"Tidak mengapa," kata Ahimaas lagi, "Aku akan pergi." "Kalau begitu, pergilah," kata Yoab. Maka berlarilah Ahimaas menyusuri jalan yang melewati Lembah Yordan, dan tak lama kemudian ia berhasil mendahului budak Sudan tadi.

²³“But come what may,” he said, “I will run.” He said to him, “Run!” Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the Plain, and outran the Cushite.

²⁴Daud sedang duduk di ruang antara pintu gerbang dalam dan pintu gerbang luar kota itu. Penjaga naik ke atas tembok dan berdiri di atap pintu gerbang itu. Ketika ia melayangkan pandangannya, dilihatnya ada seorang datang berlari.

²⁴Now David was sitting between the two gates: and the watchman went up to the roof of the gate to the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, a man running alone.

²⁵Penjaga itu berseru ke bawah memberitahukan hal itu kepada raja, dan raja berkata, "Jika dia sendirian, pastilah kabar baik yang dibawanya." Ketika orang itu hampir sampai,

²⁵The watchman cried, and told the king. The king said, “If he is alone, there is news in his mouth.” He came closer and closer.

²⁶penjaga itu melihat ada seorang lagi datang berlari juga. Jadi ia berseru, "Lihat! Ada orang lain lagi yang lari ke mari sendirian." Raja menjawab, "Pasti ia membawa kabar yang baik juga."

²⁶The watchman saw another man running; and the watchman called to the porter, and said, “Behold, a man running alone!” The king said, “He also brings news.”

²⁷Penjaga itu berkata, "Orang yang pertama itu Ahimaas. Hamba tahu dari caranya berlari." "Dia orang baik," kata raja, "tentu dia membawa kabar baik."

²⁷The watchman said, “I think the running of the first one is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok.” The king said, “He is a good man, and comes with good news.”

²⁸Dengan berseru Ahimaas memberi salam kepada raja, lalu sujud dan berkata, "Terpujilah TUHAN Allah Baginda, yang telah menyerahkan kepada Baginda orang-orang yang memberontak kepada Tuanku!"

²⁸Ahimaaz called, and said to the king, “All is well.” He bowed himself before the king with his face to the earth, and said, “Blessed is Yahweh your God, who has delivered up the men who lifted up their hand against my lord the king!”

²⁹Raja bertanya, "Apakah Absalom orang muda itu selamat?" Ahimaas menjawab, "Baginda, tadi ketika hamba diutus oleh Yoab, hamba melihat keributan yang besar, tetapi hamba tidak tahu apa yang terjadi."

²⁹The king said, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” Ahimaaz answered, “When Joab sent the king’s servant, even me your servant, I saw a great tumult, but I don’t know what it was.”

³⁰"Berdirilah di sebelah sana," kata raja; maka Ahimaas pergi ke samping dan berdiri di situ.

³⁰The king said, “Turn aside, and stand here.” He turned aside, and stood still.

³¹Kemudian sampailah budak Yoab itu, dan berkata kepada raja, "Hamba membawa kabar baik untuk Baginda! Pada hari ini TUHAN telah memberikan kepada Baginda kemenangan atas semua orang yang memberontak."

³¹Behold, the Cushite came. The Cushite said, “News for my lord the king; for Yahweh has avenged you this day of all those who rose up against you.”

³²Raja bertanya kepadanya, "Apakah Absalom anak muda itu selamat?" Lalu budak itu menjawab, "Kiranya semua musuh Baginda, semua orang yang memberontak terhadap Baginda mengalami nasib yang sama seperti anak muda itu."

³²The king said to the Cushite, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” The Cushite answered, “May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up against you to do you harm, be as that young man is.”

³³Mendengar itu raja amat sedih, lalu naik ke ruangan di atas pintu gerbang sambil menangis meratap, "Oh anakku! Anakku Absalom! Absalom, anakku! Lebih baik aku saja yang mati menggantikan engkau, anakku! Absalom, anakku!"

³³The king was much moved, and went up to the room over the gate, and wept. As he went, he said, “My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! I wish I had died for you, Absalom, my son, my son!”