Absalom ta tewa ndele ta dipawa
1 Ndele David okwa ongela omatanga ovakwaita ava va li puye, ndele e va hoololela ovakulunhu veyovi novakulunhu vefele. 2 Ndele David okwa tuma omatanga ovakwaita: Oshitukulwa shimwe shomoitukulwa itatu, shomepangelo laJoab, noshitukulwa oshitivali shomoitukulwa itatu, sha li mepangelo laAbisai yaSeruja, omumwaina waJoab, noshitukulwa oshititatu shomoitukulwa itatu sha li mepangelo laIttai, Omugat. Nohamba ya li ya lombwela ovakwaita, tai ti: “Naame yo nda hala shili okuya pamwe nanye.” 3 Ndelenee ovakwaita va tya: “Ino ya kolwoodi, osheshi fye ngeenge hatu i onhapo, venya itave tu yavala, heeno, nande etata lomovakwaita vetu va fye, itave tu yavala, ndelenee ove u li ngaashi omayovi omulongo vomufye. Shi dule ove u uye oku tu kwafa to di moshilando.” 4 Opo nee ohamba tai ti kuvo: “Osho she mu wapalela ame ohandi ke shi ninga.” Nohamba ya ya noya ka kala ofika poshivelo, fimbo omatanga ovakwaita aveshe va ya nomayovi nomafele. 5 Ndelenee ohamba ya lombwela Joab naAbisai naIttai ndele tai ti: “Omunyasha Absalom mu ningeni nawa.” Novakwaita aveshe va uda ohamba eshi tai lombwele ovakulunhu aveshe omolwaAbsalom.
6 Opo nee ovakwaita va fikama va ka shakeneke Ovaisraeli moixwa. Ve lidengela momuulu waEfraim. 7 Novakwaita vaIsrael va tewa kovapiya vaDavid, netewatewo lavo la li linene efiku tuu olo, ovalumenhu omayovi omilongo mbali. 8 Ndelenee olwoodi la tandavela medu linya alishe, nomuulu wa lya ovanhu vahapu ve dule ovo va dipawa keongamukonda.
9 Novapiya vaDavid va shakena naAbsalom fimbo ye a londa kemula. Ndele fimbo emula tali i momwandi u noitai ya fita, opo ye a kala a endjelela pokati keulu nedu, fimbo emula la faduka po. 10 Omulumenhu umwe eshi e shi mona, okwa lombwela Joab ndele ta ti: “Tala, ame nda mona Absalom a endjelela momwandi.” 11 Ndele Joab ta ti komulumenhu ou e mu etela ondaka: “Ove ngeenge we shi mona, omolwashike ino mu dipaela opo? Ngeno nde ku pa eesekeli omulongo doshisiliveli nekwamo.” 12 Ndelenee omulumenhu ou e mu etela ondaka ta ti kuJoab: “Nande ndi pewe meke lange eesekeli eyovi limwe doshisiliveli, ame itandi nanene eke lange komona wohamba. Osheshi ohamba ye ku lombwela noya lombwela yo Abisai naIttai momatwi etu ndele tai ti: ‘Kaleni noshisho shomunyasha Absalom.’ 13 Ile ondi kengelele ngahelipi omwenyo wange? Osheshi kape noshinima sha holekwa ohamba. Naave yo to likufa mo mwaame.” 14 Opo nee Joab ta ti: “Ame inandi hala okumana po efimbo naave!” Ndele ye okwa kufa omaonga atatu meke laye a twa momutima waAbsalom fimbo ye kwa li e nomwenyo natango momwandi. 15 Novamati omulongo ovahumbati voiti yaJoab ve uya po ndele va dindolola Absalom. 16 Opo nee Joab a shika enghuma loluvinga lodi yomhedi, novakwaita aveshe va aluka ndele inava shikula vali Israel, osheshi Joab a kangheka ovakwaita. 17 Opo nee va kufa Absalom ndele ve mu ekela mekololo linene lomomuulu, ndele va ndubila onduba inene yomamanya kombada yaye, fimbo Ovaisraeli aveshe, keshe umwe, a ya onhapo ketwali laye.
18 Ndelenee fimbo Absalom kwa li e nomwenyo, okwa kufa emanya nokwe lilidikila edimbulukifomanya mOlufilu lEemhaba neendjovo edi: “Ame ndihe nomona omumati ou a diinina edina lange li dimbulukiwe. Ndele okwa luka edimbulukifomanya padina laye, ndele otali ifanwa fiyo onena eli edimbulukifodidiliko laAbsalom.
David ta lili Absalom
19 Opo nee Ahimas yaSadok ta ti: “Efe nge, ndi tondoke ndi twale kohamba ondaka ei iwa, nokutya Omwene e mu alulila ouyuki moipafi yovatondadi vaye.” 20 Ndelenee Joab ta ti kuye: “Nena eli ove ku fi omutwali wondaka, ndelenee efiku limwe to dulu okutwala ondaka, ino twala nena eli ondaka, osheshi omona wohamba a fya.” 21 Opo nee Joab ta ti kOmuetiopia: “Inda u ka lombwele ohamba eshi we shi mona!” NOmuetiopia okwe linyongamena koshipala shaJoab ndele ta faduka po. 22 Ndelenee Ahimas yaSadok okwa lombwela vali Joab ndele ta ti: “Keshe tuu osho tashi hange nge kashi na sha, efe nge naame ndi shikule Omuetiopia.” Ndele Joab ta pula: “Omolwashike wa hala okulotoka paife, omumwange? Ove ito ka mona ko ondjabi yomutumwa.” 23 Ye ta ti: “Nashi uye keshe eshi, ame ohandi ka faduka po.” Ndele ye okwe mu nyamukula: “Faduka po hano!” Ndele Ahimas okwa lotoka nondjila yedu la lalakana nokwa teta ko Omuetiopia. 24 Ndele David fimbo e li omutumba pokati koivelo ivali, omunangeli okwa londa kohotekuma kombada yoshivelo. Ye eshi a yelula omesho aye, okwa mona omulumenhu umwe aeke ta tondoka. 25 Opo nee omunangeli a ingida nokwe shi hepaululila ohamba. Nohamba tai ti: “Ye ngeenge e li aeke, e nondaka iwa mokanya kaye.” Ndele fimbo winya ta ende nokweehena ko. 26 Omunangeli ta mono omulumenhu umwe vali ta tondoka. Nomunangeli okwa ifana omunangeli woposhivelo ndele ta ti: “Tala, oku na vali omulumenhu umwe ta tondoka oye aeke.” Opo nee ohamba tai ti: “Naye yo ta eta ondaka iwa.” 27 Omunangeli ta ti vali: “Ame ondi wete okulotoka kwaau wotete ku li ngaashi okulotoka kwaAhimas yaSadok.” Opo nee ohamba tai ti: “Ye omulumenhu muwa, ye ota eta ondaka iwa.” 28 Ndele Ahimas okwa ingida ndele ta ti kohamba: “Ombili!” Ndele e linyongamena moipafi yohamba nokwa twa oshipala shaye poshi ndele ta ti: “Omwene Kalunga koye na hambelelwe, ou a yandja momake oye ovalumenhu ovo va yelulila omwene wange ohamba omake avo.” 29 Opo nee ohamba tai ti: “Omumati Absalom oku li nawa?” Ndele Ahimas ta nyamukula: “Ame nda mona ongudu inene yovanhu ya dongakana, omupiya wohamba Joab eshi a tuma nge, omupiya woye. Ndelenee nghi shi shii, osho oshike.” 30 Opo nee ohamba tai ti: “Kanduka po, kala ofika opo.” Ye a kanduka po, a kala ko ofika. 31 Omuetiopia e uya. NOmuetiopia ta ti: “Omwene wange ohamba nai tambule ondaka yehafo nokutya, Omwene e ku pa nena eli ouyuki moipafi yaaveshe ovo ve ku twila ondubo.” 32 Nohamba ya pula Omuetiopia: “Omumati Absalom oku li tuu nawa?” NOmuetiopia ta ti: “Ovatondadi vomwene wange naaveshe ovo tava fikama oku ku twila ondubo nava ningilwe ngaashi omumati winya.” 33 Opo nee ohamba ya nyika oluhodi unene nokukakama ndele ya londa, ya ya molupale li li kombada yoshivelo ndele tai lili, mokuya kwayo tai ti: “Omumwange Absalom, omumwange, omumwange Absalom! Woo, ngeno ame mwene nda fya ponhele yoye! Absalom, omumwange, omumwange.”
Absalom Is Defeated and Killed
1 King David brought all his men together, divided them into units of a thousand and of a hundred, and placed officers in command of them. 2 Then he sent them out in three groups, with Joab and Joab's brother Abishai and Ittai from Gath, each in command of a group. And the king said to his men, “I will go with you myself.”
3 “You mustn't go with us,” they answered. “It won't make any difference to the enemy if the rest of us turn and run, or even if half of us are killed; but you are worth ten thousand of us. It will be better if you stay here in the city and send us help.”
4 “I will do whatever you think best,” the king answered. Then he stood by the side of the gate as his men marched out in units of a thousand and of a hundred. 5 He gave orders to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai: “For my sake don't harm the young man Absalom.” And all the troops heard David give this command to his officers.
6 David's army went out into the countryside and fought the Israelites in Ephraim Forest. 7 The Israelites were defeated by David's men; it was a terrible defeat, with twenty thousand men killed that day. 8 The fighting spread over the countryside, and more men died in the forest than were killed in battle.
9 Suddenly Absalom met some of David's men. Absalom was riding a mule, and as it went under a large oak tree, Absalom's head got caught in the branches. The mule ran on and Absalom was left hanging in midair. 10 One of David's men saw him and reported to Joab, “Sir, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree!”
11 Joab answered, “If you saw him, why didn't you kill him on the spot? I myself would have given you ten pieces of silver and a belt.”
12 But the man answered, “Even if you gave me a thousand pieces of silver, I wouldn't lift a finger against the king's son. We all heard the king command you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘For my sake don't harm the young man Absalom.’ 13 But if I had disobeyed the king and killed Absalom, the king would have heard about it—he hears about everything—and you would not have defended me.”
14 “I'm not going to waste any more time with you,” Joab said. He took three spears and plunged them into Absalom's chest while he was still alive, hanging in the oak tree. 15 Then ten of Joab's soldiers closed in on Absalom and finished killing him.
16 Joab had the trumpet blown to stop the fighting, and his troops came back from pursuing the Israelites. 17 They took Absalom's body, threw it into a deep pit in the forest, and covered it with a huge pile of stones. All the Israelites fled to their own hometowns.
18 During his lifetime Absalom had built a monument for himself in King's Valley, because he had no son to keep his name alive. So he named it after himself, and to this day it is known as Absalom's Monument.
David Is Told of Absalom's Death
19 Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said to Joab, “Let me run to the king with the good news that the Lord has saved him from his enemies.”
20 “No,” Joab said, “today you will not take any good news. Some other day you may do so, but not today, for the king's son is dead.” 21 Then he said to his Ethiopian slave, “Go and tell the king what you have seen.” The slave bowed and ran off.
22 Ahimaaz insisted, “I don't care what happens; please let me take the news also.”
“Why do you want to do it, my son?” Joab asked. “You will get no reward for it.”
23 “Whatever happens,” Ahimaaz said again, “I want to go.”
“Then go,” Joab said. So Ahimaaz ran off down the road through the Jordan Valley, and soon he passed the slave.
24 David was sitting in the space between the inner and outer gates of the city. The lookout went up to the top of the wall and stood on the roof of the gateway; he looked out and saw a man running alone. 25 He called down and told the king, and the king said, “If he is alone, he is bringing good news.” The runner kept coming closer.
26 Then the lookout saw another man running alone, and he called down to the gatekeeper, “Look! There's another man running!”
The king answered, “This one also is bringing good news.”
27 The lookout said, “I can see that the first man runs like Ahimaaz.”
“He's a good man,” the king said, “and he is bringing good news.”
28 Ahimaaz called out a greeting to the king, threw himself down to the ground before him, and said, “Praise the Lord your God, who has given you victory over the men who rebelled against Your Majesty!”
29 “Is the young man Absalom all right?” the king asked.
Ahimaaz answered, “Sir, when your officer Joab sent me, I saw a great commotion, but I couldn't tell what it was.”
30 “Stand over there,” the king told him; and he went over and stood there.
31 Then the Ethiopian slave arrived and said to the king, “I have good news for Your Majesty! Today the Lord has given you victory over all who rebelled against you!”
32 “Is the young man Absalom all right?” the king asked.
The slave answered, “I wish that what has happened to him would happen to all your enemies, sir, and to all who rebel against you.”
33 The king was overcome with grief. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he cried, “O my son! My son Absalom! Absalom, my son! If only I had died in your place, my son! Absalom, my son!”
