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2 Samuel 18:8-17
New American Standard Bible

Chapter 18

8For the battle there was spread over the whole countryside, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.
9Now Absalom encountered the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the branches of a massive oak. Then his head caught firmly in the oak, and he was left hanging between the sky and earth, while the mule that was under him kept going. 10When a certain man saw him, he informed Joab and said, 'Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.' 11Then Joab said to the man who had informed him, 'So behold, you saw him! Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? And it would have been my duty to give you ten pieces of silver and a belt.' 12But the man said to Joab, 'Even if I were to receive a thousand pieces of silver in my hand, I would not put out my hand against the king’s son; for in our hearing the king commanded you, Abishai, and Ittai, saying, ‘ Protect the young man Absalom for me!’ 13Otherwise, if I had dealt treacherously against his life (and there is nothing hidden from the king), then you yourself would have avoided me.' 14Then Joab said, 'I will not waste time here with you.' So he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the midst of the oak. 15And ten young men who carried Joab’s armor gathered around and struck Absalom and killed him.
16Then Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing Israel, for Joab restrained the people. 17And 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.
King James Version

Chapter 18

8For the battle was there scattered over the face of all the country: and the wood devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.
9And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a 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 heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away.
10And a certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanged in an oak. 11And Joab said unto the man that told him, And, behold, thou sawest him, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten shekels of silver, and a girdle.
12And the man said unto Joab, Though I should receive a thousand shekels of silver in mine hand, yet would I not put forth mine hand against the king's son: for in our hearing the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Beware that none touch the young man Absalom. 13Otherwise I should have wrought falsehood against mine own life: for there is no matter hid from the king, and thou thyself wouldest have set thyself against me.
14Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And 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. 15And ten young men that bare Joab's armour compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him.
16And Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing after Israel: for Joab held back the people. 17And 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.
Christian Standard Bible

Chapter 18

8The battle spread over the entire area, and that day the forest claimed more people than the sword.
9Absalom was riding on his mule when he happened to meet David’s soldiers. When the mule went under the tangled branches of a large oak tree, Absalom’s head was caught fast in the tree. The mule under him kept going, so he was suspended in midair. 10One of the men saw him and informed Joab. He said, "I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree!"
11"You just saw him!" Joab exclaimed. "Why didn’t you strike him to the ground right there? I would have given you ten silver pieces and a belt!"
12The man replied to Joab, "Even if I had the weight of a thousand pieces of silver in my hand, I would not raise my hand against the king’s son. For we heard the king command you, Abishai, and Ittai, ‘Protect the young man Absalom for me.’ 13If I had jeopardized my own life—and nothing is hidden from the king—you would have abandoned me."
14Joab said, "I’m not going to waste time with you!" He then took three spears in his hand and thrust them into Absalom’s chest. While Absalom was still alive in the oak tree, 15ten young men who were Joab’s armor-bearers surrounded Absalom, struck him, and killed him. 16Joab blew the ram’s horn, and the troops broke off their pursuit of Israel because Joab restrained them. 17They 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.
New Living Translation

Chapter 18

8The battle raged all across the countryside, and more men died because of the forest than were killed by the sword.
9During the battle, Absalom happened to come upon some of David’s men. He tried to escape on his mule, but as he rode beneath the thick branches of a great tree, his hair got caught in the tree. His mule kept going and left him dangling in the air. 10One of David’s men saw what had happened and told Joab, 'I saw Absalom dangling from a great tree.'
11What?' Joab demanded. 'You saw him there and didn’t kill him? I would have rewarded you with ten pieces of silver and a hero’s belt!'
12I would not kill the king’s son for even a thousand pieces of silver, ' the man replied to Joab. 'We all heard the king say to you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘For my sake, please spare young Absalom.’ 13And if I had betrayed the king by killing his son — and the king would certainly find out who did it — you yourself would be the first to abandon me.'
14Enough of this nonsense,' Joab said. Then he took three daggers and plunged them into Absalom’s heart as he dangled, still alive, in the great tree. 15Ten of Joab’s young armor bearers then surrounded Absalom and killed him.
16Then Joab blew the ram’s horn, and his men returned from chasing the army of Israel. 17They 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.
English Standard Version

Chapter 18

8The battle spread over the face of all the country, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword.
9And Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak, and his head caught fast in the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on. 10And a certain man saw it and told Joab, "Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak." 11Joab said to the man who told him, "What, you saw him! Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have been glad to give you ten pieces of silver and a belt." 12But the man said to Joab, "Even if I felt in my hand the weight of a thousand pieces of silver, I would not reach out my hand against the king 's son, for in our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘For my sake protect the young man Absalom.’ 13On the other hand, if I had dealt treacherously against his life (and there is nothing hidden from the king), then you yourself would have stood aloof." 14Joab said, "I will not waste time like this with you." And he took three javelins in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak. 15And ten young men, Joab 's armor-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him and killed him.
16Then Joab blew the trumpet, and the troops came back from pursuing Israel, for Joab restrained them. 17And 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 International Version

Chapter 18

8The battle spread out over the whole countryside, and the forest swallowed up more men that day than the sword.
9Now Absalom happened to meet David’s men. He was riding his mule, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s hair got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going.
10When one of the men saw what had happened, he told Joab, "I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree."
11Joab said to the man who had told him this, "What! You saw him? Why didn’t you strike him to the ground right there? Then I would have had to give you ten shekels of silver and a warrior’s belt."
12But the man replied, "Even if a thousand shekels were weighed out into my hands, I would not lay a hand on the king’s son. In our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘Protect the young man Absalom for my sake. ’ 13And if I had put my life in jeopardy —and nothing is hidden from the king—you would have kept your distance from me."
14Joab said, "I’m not going to wait like this for you." So he took three javelins in his hand and plunged them into Absalom’s heart while Absalom was still alive in the oak tree. 15And ten of Joab’s armor-bearers surrounded Absalom, struck him and killed him.
16Then Joab sounded the trumpet, and the troops stopped pursuing Israel, for Joab halted them. 17They took Absalom, threw him into a big pit in the forest and piled up a large heap of rocks over him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled to their homes.
New King James Version

Chapter 18

8For the battle there was scattered over the face of the whole countryside, and the woods devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.
9Then Absalom met the servants of David. Absalom rode on a mule. The mule went under the thick boughs of a great terebinth tree, and his head caught in the terebinth; so he was left hanging between heaven and earth. And the mule which was under him went on. 10Now a certain man saw it and told Joab, and said, “I just saw Absalom hanging in a terebinth tree!”
11So Joab said to the man who told him, “You just saw him! And why did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have given you ten shekels of silver and a belt.”
12But the man said to Joab, “Though I were to receive a thousand shekels of silver in my hand, I would not raise my hand against the king’s son. For in our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, saying, ‘Beware lest anyone touch the young man Absalom!’ 13Otherwise I would have dealt falsely against my own life. For there is nothing hidden from the king, and you yourself would have set yourself against me.”
14Then Joab said, “I cannot linger with you.” And he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through Absalom’s heart, while he was still alive in the midst of the terebinth tree. 15And ten young men who bore Joab’s armor surrounded Absalom, and struck and killed him.
16So Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing Israel. For Joab held back the people. 17And 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.
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