David told all his men who were with him in Jerusalem, “Let’s flee immediately, or none of us will escape from Absalom. Let’s leave right away, or he’ll catch up to us and bring disaster on us when he massacres the city.”
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.
What all Israel was saying reached the king at his house. So King David sent ⌞this message⌟ to the priests Zadok and Abiathar: “Ask the leaders of Judah, ‘Why should you be the last ⌞tribe⌟ to bring the king back to his palace?
All the people in all the tribes of Israel were arguing with one another, saying, “The king rescued us from our enemies and saved us from the Philistines, but now he has fled from Absalom and left the country.
“They chose their own kings, kings I didn’t approve. They chose their own princes, princes I didn’t know. They chose to make idols with their own silver and gold. Because of this, they will be destroyed.