2 Samuel 18:13
Verse 13 of 33. The 18th of 24 chapters in 2 Samuel, in History.
9And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away.
10And a certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanged in an oak.
11And Joab said unto the man that told him, And, behold, thou sawest him, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten shekels of silver, and a girdle.
12And the man said unto Joab, Though I should receive a thousand shekels of silver in mine hand, yet would I not put forth mine hand against the king’s son: for in our hearing the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Beware that none touch the young man Absalom.
13Otherwise I should have wrought falsehood against mine own life: for there is no matter hid from the king, and thou thyself wouldest have set thyself against me.
14Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak.
15And ten young men that bare Joab’s armour compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him.
16And Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing after Israel: for Joab held back the people.
17And they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the wood, and laid a very great heap of stones upon him: and all Israel fled every one to his tent.
2 Samuel 18:13 in the World English Bible
Otherwise, if I had dealt falsely against his life (and there is no matter hidden from the king), then you yourself would have set yourself against me.”Read 2 Samuel 18:13 in the WEB
Matthew Henry on 2 Samuel 18:13
But the man, though zealous enough against Absalom, justified himself in not doing it: "Dispatch him!" says he, "not for all the world: it would have cost my head: and thou thyself wast witness to the king's charge concerning him (v. 12), and, for all thy talk, wouldst have been my prosecutor if I had done it," v. 13. Those that love the treason hate the traitor.
Read Matthew Henry on 2 Samuel 18:9–18: The Death of Absalom. (b. c. 1023.)
Pray 2 Samuel 18:13 with someone reading it aloud.
Start praying with Pray.comKing James Version. Public domain. Set as prose throughout, including the poetry, because the text is published to us without its lines.