David’s grief for Absalom halts Israel’s victory, and Joab delivers one of Scripture’s most direct leadership confrontations: arise, speak, or lose everything.
Full sung version coming soon.
Lyrics
Then it was told Joab, Behold, the king weeps and mourns for Absalom And the victory that day was turned into mourning amongst all the people For the people heard it said that day, The king grieves for his son
The people sneaked into the city that day as people who are ashamed steal away when they flee in battle The king covered his face and the king cried with a loud voice My son Absalom, Absalom, my son, my son Joab came into the house to the king and said, Today you have shamed the faces of all your servants
Who today have saved your life and the lives of your sons and of your daughters And the lives of your wives and the lives of your concubines In that you love those who hate you and hate those who love you For you have declared today that princes and servants are nothing to you
For today I perceive that if Absalom had lived and we had all died today Then it would have pleased you well Now therefore arise, go out and speak to comfort your servants For I swear by the LORD, if you don’t go out, not a man will stay with you this night
That would be worse to you than all the evil that has happened to you from your youth until now Then the king arose and sat in the gate The people were all told, Behold, the king is sitting in the gate All the people came before the king
Now Israel had fled every man to his tent All the people were at strife throughout all the tribes of Israel saying The king delivered us out of the hand of our enemies and he saved us out of the hand of the Philistines And now he has fled out of the land from Absalom
Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle Now therefore why don’t you speak a word of bringing the king back King David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests saying Speak to the elders of Judah saying, Why are you the last to bring the king back to his house
Since the speech of all Israel has come to the king to return him to his house You are my brothers. You are my bone and my flesh Why then are you the last to bring back the king Say to Amasa, Aren’t you my bone and my flesh
God do so to me and more also if you aren’t captain of the army before me continually instead of Joab He bowed the heart of all the men of Judah even as one man So that they sent to the king saying, Return, you and all your servants So the king returned and came to the Jordan
Judah came to Gilgal to go to meet the king to bring the king over the Jordan Shimei the son of Gera the Benjamite who was of Bahurim hurried and came down with the men of Judah To meet King David
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2 Samuel 19 sung by Psalm Selah. The whole Bible, one chapter at a time.
Published 2026-05-22 · Last updated 2026-06-06
Written by Reid Wender, Editorial Director at Psalmody Press