2 Samuel 18:1-8
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 18
Preparation for Battle. 1 David mustered the men who were with him, and he appointed commanders to be in charge of units of a thousand and units of a hundred.[a] 2 Then David divided his army into three groups: one under the command of Joab, another under the command of Abishai, the son of Zeruiah and the brother of Joab, and the third under the command of Ittai the Gittite. After that, the king said to the soldiers: “I myself will also march forth with you.”
3 However, the soldiers replied: “You must not come with us. If we are forced to flee, they will not be concerned about us, not even if half of us should die. However, you are worth ten thousand of us. It would be better if you remain in the city to supply whatever help we may need.”
4 The king said to them: “I shall do whatever seems best to you.” Then he stood beside the gate while all the soldiers marched out by hundreds and by thousands. 5 He also gave this order to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai: “For my sake, deal gently with the young man Absalom.” And all of the soldiers heard the king give this directive to the commanders in regard to Absalom.
Defeat of Absalom. 6 Then the army marched into the field against Israel, and a battle was fought in the forest near Mahanaim. 7 The Israelite forces were defeated there by the forces of David, and the casualties numbered twenty thousand men. 8 The battle spread over the entire countryside, and the forest claimed more victims that day than the sword.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Samuel 18:1 In stark contrast to the ineffectual behavior David has recently adopted, he finally acts like the leader he had formerly been. This is the beginning of the end for Absalom.
