Absalom Killed

18 Then David mustered the men who were with him and set over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. ² And David sent out the army, one third under the command of Joab, one third under the command of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and one third under the command of ^(A)Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the men, “I myself will also go out with you.” ^3 (B)But the men said, “You shall not go out. For if we flee, they will not care about us. If half of us die, they will not care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us. Therefore it is better that you send us help from the city.” ⁴ The king said to them, “Whatever seems best to you I will do.” So the king stood at the side of the gate, while all the army marched out by hundreds and by thousands. ⁵ And the king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” ^(C)And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Absalom.

⁶ So the army went out into the field against Israel, and the battle was fought in the ^(D)forest of Ephraim. ⁷ And the men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the loss there was great on that day, twenty thousand men. ⁸ The battle spread over the face of all the country, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword.

⁹ And 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,^{[a] (E)}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. ¹⁰ And a certain man saw it and told Joab, “Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.” ¹¹ Joab 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.” ¹² But 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 ^(F)in our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘For my sake protect the young man Absalom.’ ¹³ On the other hand, if I had dealt treacherously against his life^[b] (and there is nothing hidden from the king), then you yourself would have stood aloof.” ¹⁴ Joab 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. ¹⁵ And ten young men, Joab's armor-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him and killed him.

¹⁶ Then Joab blew the trumpet, and the troops came back from pursuing Israel, for Joab restrained them. ¹⁷ And they took Absalom and threw him into a great pit in the forest and raised over him ^(G)a very great heap of stones. And all Israel ^(H)fled every one to his own home. ¹⁸ Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself ^(I)the pillar that is in ^(J)the King's Valley, for he said, ^(K)“I have no son to keep my name in remembrance.” He called the pillar after his own name, and it is called Absalom's monument^[c] to this day.

David Hears of Absalom's Death

¹⁹ Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, ^(L)“Let me run and carry news to the king that ^(M)the Lord has delivered him from the hand of his enemies.” ²⁰ And Joab said to him, “You are not to carry news today. You may carry news another day, but today you shall carry no news, because the king's son is dead.” ²¹ Then Joab said to the Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” The Cushite bowed before Joab, and ran. ²² Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said again to Joab, “Come what may, let me also run after the Cushite.” And Joab said, “Why will you run, my son, seeing that you will have no reward for the news?” ²³ “Come what may,” he said, “I will run.” So he said to him, “Run.” Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of ^(N)the plain, and outran the Cushite.

²⁴ Now David ^(O)was sitting between the two gates, and ^(P)the watchman went up to the roof of the gate by the wall, and when he lifted up his eyes and looked, he saw a man running alone. ²⁵ The watchman called out and told the king. And the king said, “If he is alone, there is news in his mouth.” And he drew nearer and nearer. ²⁶ The watchman saw another man running. And the watchman called to the gate and said, “See, another man running alone!” The king said, “He also brings news.” ²⁷ The watchman said, “I think the running of the first is ^(Q)like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok.” And the king said, ^(R)“He is a good man and comes with good news.”

²⁸ Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, “All is well.” And he bowed before the king with his face to the earth and said, ^(S)“Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my lord the king.” ²⁹ And the king said, ^(T)“Is it well with the young man Absalom?” Ahimaaz answered, “When Joab sent the king's servant, your servant, I saw a great commotion, but I do not know what it was.” ³⁰ And the king said, “Turn aside and stand here.” So he turned aside and stood still.

David's Grief

³¹ And behold, the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, “Good news for my lord the king! For ^(U)the Lord has delivered you this day from the hand of all who rose up against you.” ³² The king said to the Cushite, ^(V)“Is it well with the young man Absalom?” And the Cushite answered, ^(W)“May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up against you for evil be like that young man.” ^33 [d] And the king was deeply moved and went up ^(X)to the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he went, he said, ^(Y)“O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

Prophecy Against the Shepherds of Israel

34 The word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (A)“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: ^(B)Ah, shepherds of Israel ^(C)who have been feeding yourselves! ^(D)Should not shepherds feed the sheep? ^3 (E)You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, ^(F)you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. ^4 (G)The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, ^(H)the injured you have not bound up, ^(I)the strayed you have not brought back, ^(J)the lost you have not sought, and with force and ^(K)harshness you have ruled them. ^5 (L)So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and ^(M)they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; ⁶ they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, ^(N)with none to search or seek for them.

⁷ “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ^8 (O)As I live, declares the Lord God, surely because ^(P)my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep, ⁹ therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ¹⁰ Thus says the Lord God, ^(Q)Behold, I am against the shepherds, and ^(R)I will require my sheep at their hand and ^(S)put a stop to their feeding the sheep. ^(T)No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. ^(U)I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.

The Lord God Will Seek Them Out

¹¹ “For thus says the Lord God: ^(V)Behold, I, I ^(W)myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. ¹² As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on ^(X)a day of clouds and ^(Y)thick darkness. ¹³ And I will bring them out from the peoples ^(Z)and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on ^(AA)the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. ^14 (AB)I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. ^(AC)There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. ^15 (AD)I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, ^(AE)and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. ^16 (AF)I will seek the lost, ^(AG)and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and ^(AH)the fat and the strong I will destroy.^[a] I will feed them in justice.

¹⁷ “As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: ^(AI)Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and ^(AJ)male goats. ¹⁸ Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of ^(AK)clear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet? ¹⁹ And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet?

²⁰ “Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: Behold, I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. ²¹ Because you push with side and shoulder, and ^(AL)thrust at all the ^(AM)weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad, ²² I will rescue^[b] my flock; ^(AN)they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. ²³ And ^(AO)I will set up over them one shepherd, ^(AP)my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. ²⁴ And ^(AQ)I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. ^(AR)I am the Lord; I have spoken.

The Lord's Covenant of Peace

^25 (AS)“I will make with them a covenant of peace and ^(AT)banish wild beasts from the land, ^(AU)so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. ²⁶ And I will make them and the places all around my hill ^(AV)a blessing, and ^(AW)I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be ^(AX)showers of blessing. ^27 (AY)And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, ^(AZ)and they shall be secure in their land. And ^(BA)they shall know that I am the Lord, when ^(BB)I break the bars of their yoke, and ^(BC)deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them. ^28 (BD)They shall no more be a prey to the nations, ^(BE)nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. ^(BF)They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. ²⁹ And I will provide for them ^(BG)renowned plantations so that ^(BH)they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer ^(BI)suffer the reproach of the nations. ³⁰ And they shall know that ^(BJ)I am the Lord their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord God. ³¹ And you are my sheep, ^(BK)human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God.”

2 For I want you to know ^(A)how great a ^(B)struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, ² that ^(C)their hearts may be encouraged, being ^(D)knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of ^(E)God's mystery, which is Christ, ^3 (F)in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ⁴ I say this in order ^(G)that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. ⁵ For ^(H)though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your ^(I)good order and ^(J)the firmness of your faith in Christ.

Alive in Christ

^6 (K)Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, ^7 (L)rooted and ^(M)built up in him and ^(N)established in the faith, just ^(O)as you were taught, abounding ^(P)in thanksgiving.

⁸ See to it that no one takes you captive by ^(Q)philosophy and ^(R)empty deceit, according to ^(S)human tradition, according to the ^(T)elemental spirits^[a] of the world, and not according to Christ. ⁹ For ^(U)in him the whole fullness of deity dwells ^(V)bodily, ¹⁰ and ^(W)you have been filled in him, who is ^(X)the head of all rule and authority. ¹¹ In him also ^(Y)you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by ^(Z)putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, ^12 (AA)having been buried with him in baptism, in which ^(AB)you were also raised with him through faith in ^(AC)the powerful working of God, ^(AD)who raised him from the dead. ^13 (AE)And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God ^(AF)made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, ¹⁴ by ^(AG)canceling ^(AH)the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. ^15 (AI)He disarmed the rulers and authorities^[b] and ^(AJ)put them to open shame, by ^(AK)triumphing over them in him.^[c]

Let No One Disqualify You

¹⁶ Therefore let no one ^(AL)pass judgment on you ^(AM)in questions of food and drink, or with regard to ^(AN)a festival or ^(AO)a new moon or a Sabbath. ^17 (AP)These are a shadow of the things to come, but ^(AQ)the substance belongs to Christ. ¹⁸ Let no one ^(AR)disqualify you, ^(AS)insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, ^(AT)going on in detail about visions,^{[d] (AU)}puffed up without reason by ^(AV)his sensuous mind, ¹⁹ and ^(AW)not ^(AX)holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

²⁰ If with Christ ^(AY)you died to the ^(AZ)elemental spirits of the world, ^(BA)why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— ^21 (BB)“Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” ²² (^(BC)referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to ^(BD)human precepts and teachings? ²³ These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in ^(BE)promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are ^(BF)of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

The Lord Reigns