18:1 大衛數點跟隨他的人，立千夫長、百夫長率領他們。
18:2 大衛打發軍兵出戰，分為三隊：一隊在約押手下，一隊在洗魯雅的兒子、約押兄弟亞比篩手下，一隊在迦特人以太手下。大衛對軍兵說：「我必與你們一同出戰。」
18:3 軍兵卻說：「你不可出戰。若是我們逃跑，敵人必不介意；我們陣亡一半，敵人也不介意。因為你一人強似我們萬人，你不如在城裡預備幫助我們。」
18:4 王向他們說：「你們以為怎樣好，我就怎樣行。」於是王站在城門旁，軍兵或百或千地挨次出去了。
18:5 王囑咐約押、亞比篩、以太說：「你們要為我的緣故寬待那少年人押沙龍。」王為押沙龍囑咐眾將的話，兵都聽見了。
18:6 兵就出到田野迎著以色列人，在以法蓮樹林裡交戰。
18:7 以色列人敗在大衛的僕人面前；那日陣亡的甚多，共有二萬人。
18:8 因為在那裡四面打仗，死於樹林的比死於刀劍的更多。
18:9 押沙龍偶然遇見大衛的僕人。押沙龍騎著騾子，從大橡樹密枝底下經過，他的頭髮被樹枝繞住，就懸掛起來，所騎的騾子便離他去了。
18:10 有個人看見，就告訴約押說：「我看見押沙龍掛在橡樹上了。」
18:11 約押對報信的人說：「你既看見他，為甚麼不將他打死落在地上呢？你若打死他，我就賞你十舍客勒銀子，一條帶子。」
18:12 那人對約押說：「我就是得你一千舍客勒銀子，我也不敢伸手害王的兒子；因為我們聽見王囑咐你和亞比篩並以太說：『你們要謹慎，不可害那少年人押沙龍。』
18:13 我若妄為害了他的性命，就是你自己也必與我為敵（原來，無論何事都瞞不過王。）」
18:14 約押說：「我不能與你留連。」約押手拿三杆短槍，趁押沙龍在橡樹上還活著，就刺透他的心。
18:15 給約押拿兵器的十個少年人圍繞押沙龍，將他殺死。
18:16 約押吹角，攔阻眾人，他們就回來，不再追趕以色列人。
18:17 他們將押沙龍丟在林中一個大坑裡，上頭堆起一大堆石頭。以色列眾人都逃跑，各回各家去了。
18:18 押沙龍活著的時候，在王谷立了一根石柱，因他說：「我沒有兒子為我留名。」他就以自己的名稱那石柱叫押沙龍柱，直到今日。
18:19 撒督的兒子亞希瑪斯說：「容我跑去，將耶和華向仇敵給王報仇的信息報與王知。」
18:20 約押對他說：「你今日不可去報信，改日可以報信；因為今日王的兒子死了，所以你不可去報信。」
18:21 約押對古示人說：「你去將你所看見的告訴王。」古示人在約押面前下拜，就跑去了。
18:22 撒督的兒子亞希瑪斯又對約押說：「無論怎樣，求你容我隨著古示人跑去。」約押說：「我兒，你報這信息，既不得賞賜，何必要跑去呢？」
18:23 他又說：「無論怎樣，我要跑去。」約押說：「你跑去吧！」亞希瑪斯就從平原往前跑，跑過古示人去了。
18:24 大衛正坐在城甕裡。守望的人上城門樓的頂上，舉目觀看，見有一個人獨自跑來。
18:25 守望的人就大聲告訴王。王說：「他若獨自來，必是報口信的。」那人跑得漸漸近了。
18:26 守望的人又見一人跑來，就對守城門的人說：「又有一人獨自跑來。」王說：「這也必是報信的。」
18:27 守望的人說：「我看前頭人的跑法，好像撒督的兒子亞希瑪斯的跑法一樣。」王說：「他是個好人，必是報好信息。」
18:28 亞希瑪斯向王呼叫說：「平安了！」就在王面前臉伏於地叩拜，說：「耶和華─你的上帝是應當稱頌的，因他已將那舉手攻擊我主我王的人交給王了。」
18:29 王問說：「少年人押沙龍平安不平安？」亞希瑪斯回答說：「約押打發王的僕人，那時僕人聽見眾民大聲喧嘩，卻不知道是甚麼事。」
18:30 王說：「你退去，站在旁邊。」他就退去，站在旁邊。
18:31 古示人也來到，說：「有信息報給我主我王！耶和華今日向一切興起攻擊你的人給你報仇了。」
18:32 王問古示人說：「少年人押沙龍平安不平安？」古示人回答說：「願我主我王的仇敵，和一切興起要殺害你的人，都與那少年人一樣。」
18:33 王就心裡傷慟，上城門樓去哀哭，一面走一面說：「我兒押沙龍啊！我兒，我兒押沙龍啊！我恨不得替你死，押沙龍啊，我兒！我兒！」
David mustered the men who were with him and appointed over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. 2 David sent out his troops, a third under the command of Joab, a third under Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai the Gittite. The king told the troops, “I myself will surely march out with you.”
3 But the men said, “You must not go out; if we are forced to flee, they won’t care about us. Even if half of us die, they won’t care; but you are worth ten thousand of us.[a] It would be better now for you to give us support from the city.”
4 The king answered, “I will do whatever seems best to you.”
So the king stood beside the gate while all his men marched out in units of hundreds and of thousands. 5 The king commanded Joab, Abishai and Ittai, “Be gentle with the young man Absalom for my sake.” And all the troops heard the king giving orders concerning Absalom to each of the commanders.
6 David’s army marched out of the city to fight Israel, and the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim. 7 There Israel’s troops were routed by David’s men, and the casualties that day were great—twenty thousand men. 8 The battle spread out over the whole countryside, and the forest swallowed up more men that day than the sword.
9 Now 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.
10 When one of the men saw what had happened, he told Joab, “I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree.”
11 Joab 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[b] of silver and a warrior’s belt.”
12 But the man replied, “Even if a thousand shekels[c] 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.[d]’ 13 And if I had put my life in jeopardy[e]—and nothing is hidden from the king—you would have kept your distance from me.”
14 Joab 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. 15 And ten of Joab’s armor-bearers surrounded Absalom, struck him and killed him.
16 Then Joab sounded the trumpet, and the troops stopped pursuing Israel, for Joab halted them. 17 They 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.
18 During his lifetime Absalom had taken a pillar and erected it in the King’s Valley as a monument to himself, for he thought, “I have no son to carry on the memory of my name.” He named the pillar after himself, and it is called Absalom’s Monument to this day.
David Mourns
19 Now Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Let me run and take the news to the king that the Lord has vindicated him by delivering him from the hand of his enemies.”
20 “You are not the one to take the news today,” Joab told him. “You may take the news another time, but you must not do so today, because the king’s son is dead.”
21 Then Joab said to a Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” The Cushite bowed down before Joab and ran off.
22 Ahimaaz son of Zadok again said to Joab, “Come what may, please let me run behind the Cushite.”
But Joab replied, “My son, why do you want to go? You don’t have any news that will bring you a reward.”
23 He said, “Come what may, I want to run.”
So Joab said, “Run!” Then Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain[f] and outran the Cushite.
24 While David was sitting between the inner and outer gates, the watchman went up to the roof of the gateway by the wall. As he looked out, he saw a man running alone. 25 The watchman called out to the king and reported it.
The king said, “If he is alone, he must have good news.” And the runner came closer and closer.
26 Then the watchman saw another runner, and he called down to the gatekeeper, “Look, another man running alone!”
The king said, “He must be bringing good news, too.”
27 The watchman said, “It seems to me that the first one runs like Ahimaaz son of Zadok.”
“He’s a good man,” the king said. “He comes with good news.”
28 Then Ahimaaz called out to the king, “All is well!” He bowed down before the king with his face to the ground and said, “Praise be to the Lord your God! He has delivered up those who lifted their hands against my lord the king.”
29 The king asked, “Is the young man Absalom safe?”
Ahimaaz answered, “I saw great confusion just as Joab was about to send the king’s servant and me, your servant, but I don’t know what it was.”
30 The king said, “Stand aside and wait here.” So he stepped aside and stood there.
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.”
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 instead of you—O Absalom, my son, my son!”
*************
或許大衛一開始就清楚，押沙龍成不了大氣候，也清楚他必定是敗亡，可是心裡又不願這事發生的太快，所以一直是用逃避的方式。但是，最後還是需要一場決戰來收尾，這是不可避免的事情！
照這裡來看幾名大位的名將：約押、洗魯雅、亞比篩和以太，都在這裡出現，而且適用四面包圍的叢林法，發揮以少擊多的攻勢，也就這樣讓以色列臨時組起的烏合之眾無法抵擋，所以他們大吃敗仗！
然而他們吃敗仗的另一個原因，就是押沙龍並不知戰爭為何事的年輕人，只有莽撞和不知策略，沒有好好磨練過，最後竟然敗在自己的外表，因為他有一頭漂亮的頭髮，高大的身材，這些讓他在叢林中的戰爭是非常吃虧的因素，正如他後來被掛在樹枝上因為頭髮被樹枝勾住，完全沒有戰鬥力，最會還是免不了被殺死的命運！
這也警誡我們，不要為自己有甚麼好的條件就任意妄為，以為不可一視！在世上的事情都有兩面，在這一個方向是好的，可是轉到另一個方向卻是不好的！更何況押沙龍是做出背叛父親的事情，一切再好的是都是糟糕和可惡的事情！
這就像人一般，若不是敬畏上帝，靠著主耶穌與上帝和好，即使做了許多人認為良善的事情也是不好的！正如耶穌基督的門徒猶大，曾經為一個女人打破玉瓶把真哪噠香膏抹耶穌的腳，批評說：「這香膏為甚麼不賣三十兩銀子賙濟窮人呢？」(約翰福音12:5)
可是主耶穌卻說：「由她吧！她是為我安葬之日存留的。 因為常有窮人和你們同在，只是你們不常有我。」(約翰福音12:7-8)
可見，若不是尊主為大的，做再多和再好也是無法存留到永遠！所以，詩人說：「耶和華啊，榮耀不要歸與我們，不要歸與我們；要因你的慈愛和誠實歸在你的名下！」（詩篇115:1）
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