All his other sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He said, “No, I will mourn for my son until I die.” This is how Joseph’s father cried over him.
But the man told Joab, “Even if I felt the weight of 25 pounds of silver in my hand, I wouldn’t raise my hand against the king’s son. We heard the order the king gave you, Abishai, and Ittai: ‘Protect the young man Absalom for my sake.’
Then Joab said, “I shouldn’t waste time with you like this.” He took three sharp sticks and plunged them into Absalom’s heart while he was still alive in the tree.
But Joab told him, “You won’t be the man carrying good news today. You can carry the news some other day. You must not deliver the news today because the king’s son is dead.”
The king was shaken ⌞by the news⌟. He went to the room above the gate and cried. “My son Absalom!” he said as he went. “My son, my son Absalom! I wish I had died in your place! Absalom, my son, my son!”
The king ordered Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, “Treat the young man Absalom gently for my sake.” All the troops heard him give all the commanders this order regarding Absalom.
“I will pour out the Spirit of blessing and mercy on David’s family and on those who live in Jerusalem. They will look at me, whom they have stabbed. Then they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only son, and they will cry bitterly for him as one cries for a firstborn son.
