Absalom ta sindwa e ta dhipagwa
1 Omukwaniilwa David okwa gongele aantu ye ayehe e te ya topola momatanga geyuvi nogethele e te ga pe aawiliki. 2 Nena okwe ya tumu moongundu ndatu. Joab okwa li omuwiliki gwongundu yimwe, omumwayina Abisai ogwongundu onkwawo naIttai gwokuGat gwongundu ontintatu. Omukwaniilwa nokwa ti kaantu ye: “Otandi yi nane ngame mwene.”
3 Aantu oya yamukula ya ti: “Ku na kuya natse. Itashi ti unene sha komutondi, ngele yamwe yomutse taa fadhuka po, nenge ngaa nokuli etata lyetu tali dhipagwa po; ihe ngoye ou na ondilo u thike paantu omayuvi omulongo gomutse. Otashi opala, nge to kala mpoka moshilando e to tu tumine ekwatho.”
4 Omukwaniilwa okwa yamukula a ti: “Ote ningi shoka tamu tala shu uka.” Nena okwa thikama pooha dhosheelo, aalumentu ye sho taa katuka momatanga geyuvi nogethele. 5 Okwa lombwele Joab, Abisai naIttai a ti: “Inamu ehameka omugundjuka Absalom molwandje.” Omatanga agehe oga li gu uvite ko sho David ta lombwele omalenga ge.
6 Aakwiita yaDavid oya yi e taa kondjitha Aaisraeli mokuti kwaEfraim. 7 Aaisraeli oya sindika kaakwiita yaDavid. Olugodhi olwa li olululululu; aalumentu omayuvi omilongo mbali ya dhipagwa esiku ndyoka. 8 Olugodhi lwa taandele noshikandjo ashihe, aantu oyendji noya sile mokuti ye vule mboka ya sile molugodhi.
9 Ohaluka Absalom a tsakaneke yamwe yomaantu yaDavid. Absalom okwa li a londa kemulutiya, nolyo sho lye ende meni lyomuti omunene gwomwandi, okwa patekene pokati kiitayi. Emulutiya lya fadhuka po, naAbsalom okwa kala e endjelela. 10 Gumwe gwomaantu yaDavid okwe mu mono e te shi tseyithile Joab ta ti: “Tatekulu, onda mono Absalom e endjelela momwandi!”
11 Joab okwa yamukula a ti: “Ngele owe mu mona, omolwashike inoo mu dhipagela mo? Ando ngame mwene otii ku pe iimaliwa yiisiliveli omulongo nekwamo.”
12 Ihe omulumentu okwa yamukula a ti. “Nando nee u pe ndje iimaliwa yiisiliveli eyuvi, ite yelutha omunwe, ndi kondjithe omuna gwokombanda. Tse otu uvu shoka omukwaniilwa te mu kumagidha ne naAbisai naIttai, sho a ti: ‘Omugundjuka Absalom inamu mu ehameka omolwandje.’ 13 Ihe ngele ine vulika komukwaniilwa e tandi dhipaga Absalom, omukwaniilwa one shi uvu, ndishi ihu uvilwa nangoye ito ka popila ndje.”
14 Joab okwa ti: “Itandi mana po ethimbo nangoye.” Okwa kutha omagonga gatatu e te ga tsu montulo yaAbsalom, manga e na omwenyo e endjelela momwandi. 15 Nena aakwiita yaJoab omulongo oya hedha ko noya sigula Absalom.
16 Joab okwa hikitha ohiya, olugodhi lu zimbuke, nomatanga ge oga galuka kokutidha Aaisraeli. 17 Oya kutha ko omudhimba gwaAbsalom e taye gu umbile moshilambo oshile mokuti e taa siikile ko nondumba onene yomamanya. Aaisraeli ayehe oya fadhuka po, shaa ngoka kaandjawo.
18 Absalom sho a li e na omwenyo, okwi idhikithile ondhimbuluthomanya ye mwene mEsilu lyaakwaniilwa, oshoka ka li e na omwanamati a kaleke po edhina lye li na omwenyo. Okwe yi ilukile ye mwene, nosigo onena oya tseyika “Ondhimbulutho yaAbsalom.”
David ta hokololelwa eso lyaAbsalom
19 Nena Ahimaaz yaSadok okwa ti kuJoab: “Pitika, ndi ye komukwaniilwa nda tya onkundana ombwanawa tayi hokolola Omuwa e mu hupitha kaatondi ye.”
20 Joab okwa ti: “Aawe, nena ito fala oonkundana oombwanawa. Esiku lyanofu oto ke shi ninga, ihe hanena, oshoka omuna gwokombanda okwa si.” 21 Nena okwa ti komupika gwe Omukusha: “Inda, u ka lombwele omukwaniilwa shoka wa mono.” Omupika okwi inyongamene pevi e ta yi ta matuka.
22 Ahimaaz okwa tsitsimike a ti: “Hi na ko naashoka tashi ningwa. Pitika ndje, ndi fale wo onkundana.”
Joab okwe mu pula a ti: “Mentu gwandje, omolwashike ano wa hala oku shi ninga? Ito ka mona ondjambi yasha.”
23 Ahimaaz okwa ti ishewe: “Onda hala okuya.”
Nena Joab okwa ti: “Inda.” Osho ngaaka Ahimaaz a matuka nondjila yesilu lyaJordan, nokwa pitilile nziya omupika.
24 David okwa li a kuutumba pomapitilo pokati komiyelo adhihe mbali dhoshilando. Omupekapeki okwa ka londa kombanda yekuma e ta thikama kontala yekuma lyopomiyelo. Okwa ligamene ko e ta mono omuntu ti imatukile oye awike. 25 Okwi igidha ta lombwele omukwaniilwa. Omukwaniilwa okwa ti: “Ngele oye awike, ote eta onkundana ombwanawa.” Omumatuki okwa hedha popepi, te ya, te ya.
26 Nena omupekapeki okwa mono omumatuki omukwawo e li awike, nokwi igidha komukeeleli gwomweelo ta ti: “Tala! Otaku zi ishewe omuntu ta matuka.”
Omukwaniilwa okwa yamukula a ti: “Nguka wo ote eta onkundana ombwanawa.”
27 Omupekapeki okwa ti: “Ote vulu okumona kutya omumatuki gwokomeho oku na iimatuka ya fa yaAhimaaz.”
Omukwaniilwa okwa ti: “Ote eta onkundana ombwanawa, oshoka oye omulumentu omwaanawa.”
28 Ahimaaz okwi igidha ekundo komukwaniilwa, okwi ihata pevi komeho gomukwaniilwa e ta ti: “Hambelela Omuwa Kalunga koye, ngoka e ku pe esindano lyokusinda aantu mboka ye ku tukulile oshipotha, ye ku kondjithe, Nkeyama!”
29 Omukwaniilwa okwa pula a ti: “Omugundjuka Absalom oku li tuu nawa?”
Ahimaaz okwa yamukula a ti: “Tatekulu, elenga lyoye Joab sho lya tumu ndje, onda mono epiyagano enene, ihe ite vulu okutya, olyashike.”
30 Omukwaniilwa okwa ti: “Thikama ano mpee,” nokwa yi e ta thikama poluha.
31 Nena omupika okwa thiki e ta ti komukwaniilwa: “Onde eta onkundana ombwanawa, Nkeyama. Nena Omuwa okwe ku pe esindano lyokusinda ayehe mboka ye ku tukulile oshipotha!”
32 Omukwaniilwa okwa pula a ti: “Omugundjuka Absalom oku li nawa?”
Omupika okwa yamukula a ti: “Onda hala shoka she mu ningilwa, otashi ningilwa aatondi yoye ayehe, tatekulu, notashi ningilwa ayehe mboka taye ku tukulile oshipotha.”
33 Omukwaniilwa nokwa kwatwa koluhodhi olunene. Okwa londo a yi mondunda kombanda yosheelo e ta lili. Manga te ende, okwa lili ta ti: “Mentu gwandje! Omumwandje Absalom! Absalom, mentu gwandje! Ando nda sile peha lyoye, mentu gwandje! Absalom omumwandje!”
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!”
