2 Samuel 18:27-33

18:27 The watchman said, “It appears to me that the first runner is Ahimaaz ¹  son of Zadok.” The king said, “He is a good man, and he comes with good news.”

18:28 Then Ahimaaz called out and said to the king, “Greetings!” ²  He bowed down before the king with his face toward the ground and said, “May the Lord your God be praised because he has defeated ³  the men who opposed ⁴  my lord the king!”

18:29 The king replied, “How is the young man Absalom?” Ahimaaz replied, “I saw a great deal of confusion when Joab was sending the king’s servant and me, your servant, but I don’t know what it was all about.” 18:30 The king said, “Turn aside and take your place here.” So he turned aside and waited.

18:31 Then the Cushite arrived and said, ⁵  “May my lord the king now receive the good news! The Lord has vindicated you today and delivered you from the hand of all who have rebelled against you!” ⁶  18:32 The king asked the Cushite, “How is the young man Absalom?” The Cushite replied, “May the enemies of my lord the king and all who have plotted against you ⁷  be like that young man!”

18:33 (19:1) ⁸  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, ⁹  Absalom! If only I could have died in your place! Absalom, my son, my son!” ¹⁰ 

[18:27]  ¹ tn Heb “I am seeing the running of the first one like the running of Ahimaaz.”

[18:28]  ² tn Heb “Peace.”

[18:28]  ³ tn Heb “delivered over.”

[18:28]  ⁴ tn Heb “lifted their hand against.”

[18:31]  ⁵ tn Heb “And look, the Cushite came and the Cushite said.”

[18:31]  ⁶ tn Heb “for the Lord has vindicated you today from the hand of all those rising against you.”

[18:32]  ⁷ tn Heb “and all those rising against you for evil.”

[18:33]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tc The Lucianic Greek recension and Syriac Peshitta lack this repeated occurrence of “my son” due to haplography.