2 Samuel 18:1-8
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 18
1Then David took a count of the people who were with him and appointed over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. 2And David sent the people out, a third under the command of Joab, a third under the command of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and a third under the command of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the people, 'I myself will certainly go out with you also.' 3But the people said, 'You should not go out; for if in fact we flee, they will not care about us; and if half of us die, they will not care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us; so now it is better that you will be ready to help us from the city.' 4Then the king said to them, 'Whatever seems best to you I will do.' So the king stood beside the gate, and all the people went out by hundreds and thousands. 5But the king commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, saying, 'Deal gently with the young man Absalom for my sake.' And all the people heard when the king commanded all the commanders regarding Absalom.
6Then the people went out to the field against Israel, and the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim.
7The people of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the slaughter there that day was great, twenty thousand men.
8For the battle there was spread over the whole countryside, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.
King James Version
Chapter 18
1And David numbered the people that were with him, and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them. 2And David sent forth a third part of the people under the hand of Joab, and a third part under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said unto the people, I will surely go forth with you myself also. 3But the people answered, Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us: but now thou art worth ten thousand of us: therefore now it is better that thou succour us out of the city. 4And the king said unto them, What seemeth you best I will do. And the king stood by the gate side, and all the people came out by hundreds and by thousands. 5And the king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom. And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains charge concerning Absalom. 6So the people went out into the field against Israel: and the battle was in the wood of Ephraim; 7Where the people of Israel were slain before the servants of David, and there was there a great slaughter that day of twenty thousand men. 8For the battle was there scattered over the face of all the country: and the wood devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 18
1David reviewed his troops and appointed commanders of thousands and of hundreds over them. 2He then sent out the troops, a third under Joab, a third under Joab's brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai of Gath. The king said to the troops, "I must also march out with you."
4"I will do whatever you think is best," the king replied to them. So he stood beside the city gate while all the troops marched out by hundreds and thousands.
5The king commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, "Treat the young man Absalom gently for my sake." All the people heard the king's orders to all the commanders about Absalom.
6Then David's forces marched into the field to engage Israel in battle, which took place in the forest of Ephraim.
7Israel's army was defeated by David's soldiers, and the slaughter there was vast that day--twenty thousand dead.
8The battle spread over the entire area, and that day the forest claimed more people than the sword.
New Living Translation
Chapter 18
1David now mustered the men who were with him and appointed generals and captains to lead them. 2He sent the troops out in three groups, placing one group under Joab, one under Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and one under Ittai, the man from Gath. The king told his troops, 'I am going out with you.'English Standard Version
Chapter 18
1Then David mustered the men who were with him and set over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. 2And David sent out the army, one third under the command of Joab, one third under the command of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and one third under the command of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the men, “I myself will also go out with you.” 3But the men said, “You shall not go out. For if we flee, they will not care about us. If half of us die, they will not care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us. Therefore it is better that you send us help from the city.” 4The king said to them, “Whatever seems best to you I will do.” So the king stood at the side of the gate, while all the army marched out by hundreds and by thousands. 5And the king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Absalom.
6So the army went out into the field against Israel, and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim.
7And the men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the loss there was great on that day, twenty thousand men.
8The battle spread over the face of all the country, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword.
New International Version
Chapter 18
1David mustered the men who were with him and appointed over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. 2David sent out his troops, a third under the command of Joab, a third under Joab's brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai the Gittite. The king told the troops, 'I myself will surely march out with you.'
4The king answered, 'I will do whatever seems best to you.' So the king stood beside the gate while all his men marched out in units of hundreds and of thousands.
5The king commanded Joab, Abishai and Ittai, 'Be gentle with the young man Absalom for my sake.' And all the troops heard the king giving orders concerning Absalom to each of the commanders.
6David's army marched out of the city to fight Israel, and the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim.
7There Israel's troops were routed by David's men, and the casualties that day were great--twenty thousand men.
8The battle spread out over the whole countryside, and the forest swallowed up more men that day than the sword.
New King James Version
Chapter 18
1And David numbered the people who were with him, and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them. 2Then David sent out one third of the people under the hand of Joab, one third under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and one third under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the people, “I also will surely go out with you myself.”
4Then the king said to them, “Whatever seems best to you I will do.” So the king stood beside the gate, and all the people went out by hundreds and by thousands.
5Now the king had commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, saying, “ Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains orders concerning Absalom.
6So the people went out into the field of battle against Israel. And the battle was in the woods of Ephraim.
7The people of Israel were overthrown there before the servants of David, and a great slaughter of twenty thousand took place there that day.
8For the battle there was scattered over the face of the whole countryside, and the woods devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.
