2 Samuel 13:28-29

13:28 Absalom instructed his servants, “Look! When Amnon is drunk ¹  and I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon down,’ kill him then and there. Don’t fear! Is it not I who have given you these instructions? Be strong and courageous!” ²  13:29 So Absalom’s servants did to Amnon exactly what Absalom had instructed. Then all the king’s sons got up; each one rode away on his mule and fled.

2 Samuel 18:14-15

18:14 Joab replied, “I will not wait around like this for you!” He took three spears in his hand and thrust them into the middle of Absalom while he was still alive in the middle of the oak tree. ³  18:15 Then ten soldiers who were Joab’s armor bearers struck Absalom and finished him off.

2 Samuel 18:33

18:33 (19:1) ⁴  The king then became very upset. He went up to the upper room over the gate and wept. As he went he said, “My son, Absalom! My son, my son, ⁵  Absalom! If only I could have died in your place! Absalom, my son, my son!” ⁶ 

2 Samuel 18:1

The Death of Absalom

18:1 David assembled the army that was with him. He appointed leaders of thousands and leaders of hundreds.

2 Samuel 2:23-25

2:23 But Asahel ⁷  refused to turn aside. So Abner struck him in the abdomen with the back end of his ⁸  spear. The spear came out his back; Asahel ⁹  collapsed on the spot and died there right before Abner. ¹⁰  Everyone who now comes to the place where Asahel fell dead pauses in respect. ¹¹ 

2:24 So Joab and Abishai chased Abner. At sunset they came to the hill of Ammah near Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon. 2:25 The Benjaminites formed their ranks ¹²  behind Abner and were like a single army, standing at the top of a certain hill.

Amos 7:9

7:9 Isaac’s centers of worship ¹³  will become desolate;

Israel’s holy places will be in ruins.

I will attack Jeroboam’s dynasty with the sword.” ¹⁴ 

Matthew 26:52

26:52 Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back in its place! ¹⁵  For all who take hold of the sword will die by the sword.

[13:28]  ¹ tn Heb “when good is the heart of Amnon with wine.”

[13:28]  ² tn Heb “and become sons of valor.”

[18:14]  ³ tn There is a play on the word “heart” here that is difficult to reproduce in English. Literally the Hebrew text says “he took three spears in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the heart of the oak tree.” This figure of speech involves the use of the same word in different senses and is known as antanaclasis. It is illustrated in the familiar saying from the time of the American Revolution: “If we don’t hang together, we will all hang separately.” The present translation understands “heart” to be used somewhat figuratively for “chest” (cf. TEV, CEV), which explains why Joab’s armor bearers could still “kill” Absalom after he had been stabbed with three spears through the “heart.” Since trees do not have “chests” either, the translation uses “middle.”

[18:33]  ⁴ sn This marks the beginning of ch. 19 in the Hebrew text. Beginning with 18:33, the verse numbers through 19:43 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 18:33 ET = 19:1 HT, 19:1 ET = 19:2 HT, 19:2 ET = 19:3 HT, etc., through 19:43 ET = 19:44 HT. From 20:1 the versification in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible is again the same.

[18:33]  ⁵ tc One medieval Hebrew ms, some mss of the LXX, and the Vulgate lack this repeated occurrence of “my son” due to haplography.

[18:33]  ⁶ tc The Lucianic Greek recension and Syriac Peshitta lack this repeated occurrence of “my son” due to haplography.

[2:23]  ⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Asahel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:23]  ⁸ tn Heb “the.” The article functions here as a possessive pronoun.

[2:23]  ⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Asahel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:23]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abner) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and they stand.”

[2:25]  ¹² tn Heb “were gathered together.”

[7:9]  ¹³ tn Traditionally, “the high places” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “pagan shrines.”

[7:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “And I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with a sword.”

[26:52]  ¹⁵ tn The translation “put your sword back in its place” for this phrase is given in L&N 85.52.