⁵ And the king gave this command to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai: “For my sake, deal gently with young Absalom.” And all the troops heard the king give this order to his commanders.

⁶ So the battle began in the forest of Ephraim, ⁷ and the Israelite troops were beaten back by David’s men. There was a great slaughter that day, and 20,000 men laid down their lives. ⁸ The battle raged all across the countryside, and more men died because of the forest than were killed by the sword.

⁹ During 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^[a] got caught in the tree. His mule kept going and left him dangling in the air.

¹⁵ Ten of Joab’s young armor bearers then surrounded Absalom and killed him.

³¹ Then the man from Ethiopia arrived and said, “I have good news for my lord the king. Today the Lord has rescued you from all those who rebelled against you.”

³² “What about young Absalom?” the king demanded. “Is he all right?”

And the Ethiopian replied, “May all of your enemies, my lord the king, both now and in the future, share the fate of that young man!”

^33 [a]The king was overcome with emotion. He went up to the room over the gateway and burst into tears. And as he went, he cried, “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you! O Absalom, my son, my son.”