Add parallel Print Page Options

31 Just then the Ethiopian arrived. He[a] reported, “Good news, your majesty the king! The Lord has delivered you from the control of everyone who rebelled against you!”

32 The king asked the Ethiopian, “Is the young man safe?”

The Ethiopian answered, “May the enemies of your majesty the king—including everyone who rebels and tries to harm you—become like that young man….”

David Mourns for Absalom

33 [b]Deeply shaken, the king went up to the chamber overlooking the city gate, weeping bitterly and crying out as he went along, “My son Absalom! My son! My son Absalom! I wish I had died instead of you, Absalom my son, my son!”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 18:31 Lit. The Cushite
  2. 2 Samuel 18:33 This v. is 19:1 in MT

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.”

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.”(A)

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(B) instead of you—O Absalom, my son, my son!”[a](C)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 18:33 In Hebrew texts this verse (18:33) is numbered 19:1.