18. Now Absalom had raised up for himself, when he was still alive, a monument, which is in the Valley of the King. For he said, "I have no son, and so this shall be the memorial to my name." And he called the monument by his own name. And it is called the Hand of Absalom, even to this day.
19. Then Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, said, "I will run and report to the king that the Lord has accomplished judgment for him, from the hand of his enemies."
20. And Joab said to him: "You shall not be the messenger on this day. Instead, you shall report on another day. I am not willing for you to give the report today, because the son of the king is dead."
21. Then Joab said to Hushai, "Go, and report to the king what you have seen." Hushai reverenced Joab, and he ran.
22. And Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, said to Joab again, "What prevents me from running after Hushai also?" And Joab said to him: "Why do you want to run, my son? You would not be the bearer of good news."
23. And he responded, "But what if I do run?" And he said to him, "Run." Then Ahimaaz, running along a shorter way, passed Hushai.
24. Now David was sitting between the two gates. Truly, the watchman, who was at the summit of the gate upon the wall, lifting up his eyes, saw a man running alone.
25. And crying out, he told the king. And the king said, "If he is alone, there is good news in his mouth." But as he was advancing and drawing nearer,
26. the watchman saw another man running. And so, crying out from the height, he said: "Another man has appeared, running alone." And the king said, "This one also is a good messenger."
27. Then the watchman said, "The running of the closest one seems like the running of Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok." And the king said, "He is a good man, and he arrives bearing good news."
28. Then, Ahimaaz, crying out, said to the king, "Be well, O king." And reverencing the king prone on the ground before him, he said, "Blessed be the Lord your God, who has enclosed the men who had lifted up their hands against my lord the king."
29. And the king said, "Is there peace for the boy Absalom?" And Ahimaaz said: "I saw a great tumult, O king, when your servant Joab sent me, your servant. I know nothing else."
30. And the king said to him, "Pass, and stand here." And when he had passed and stood still,
31. Hushai appeared. And approaching, he said: "I bear good news, my lord the king. For today the Lord has judged for you, from the hand of all who had risen up against you."
32. But the king said to Hushai, "Is there peace for the boy Absalom?" And responding, Hushai said to him, "May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise against him for evil, be as the boy is."
33. And so the king, being greatly saddened, ascended to the upper room of the gate, and he wept. And as he went, he was speaking in this manner: "My son Absalom! Absalom my son! Who can grant to me that I may die on your behalf? Absalom, my son! My son, Absalom!"