2 Samuel 18:18

JPS Old Testament

Now Absalom in his life-time had taken and reared up for himself the pillar, which is in the king's dale; for he said: 'I have no son to keep my name in remembrance'; and he called the pillar after his own name; and it is called Absalom's monument unto this day.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
When he was alive, Absalom had taken a pillar and raised it up for himself in the King’s Valley, since he thought, “I have no son to preserve the memory of my name.” So he named the pillar after himself. It is still called Absalom’s Monument today.

Hebrew Names Version
Now Avshalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself the pillar, which is in the king's dale; for he said, I have no son to keep my name in memory: and he called the pillar after his own name; and it is called Avshalom's monument, to this day.

King James Version
Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the king's dale: for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called the pillar after his own name: and it is called unto this day, Absalom's place.

Lexham English Bible
(Now Absalom had taken and set up for himself in his lifetime a stone pillar that is in the valley of the king, because he said, "I have no son in order to remember my name," and he called the stone pillar by his name. It is called the monument of Absalom until this day).

English Standard Version
Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself the pillar that is in the King's Valley, for he said, "I have no son to keep my name in remembrance." He called the pillar after his own name, and it is called Absalom's monument to this day.

New Century Version
When Absalom was alive, he had set up a pillar for himself in the King's Valley. He said, "I have no son to keep my name alive." So he named the pillar after himself, and it is called Absalom's Monument even today.

New English Translation
Prior to this Absalom had set up a monument and dedicated it to himself in the King's Valley, reasoning "I have no son who will carry on my name." He named the monument after himself, and to this day it is known as Absalom's Memorial.

Amplified Bible
Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself a memorial pillar which is in the King's Valley, for he said, "I have no son to keep my name in remembrance." He named the memorial pillar after himself, and to this day it is called Absalom's Monument.

New American Standard Bible
Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself a memorial stone, which is in the King's Valley, for he said, "I have no son to continue my name." So he named the memorial stone after his own name, and it is called Absalom's Monument to this day.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Nowe Absalom in his life time had taken and reared him vp a pillar, which is in the kings dale: for he saide, I haue no sonne to keepe my name in remembrance. and he called the pillar after his owne name, & it is called vnto this day, Absaloms place.

Legacy Standard Bible
Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself a pillar which is in the King's Valley, for he had said, "I have no son to preserve my name." So he named the pillar after his own name, and it is called Absalom's Monument to this day.

Contemporary English Version
When Absalom was alive, he had set up a stone monument for himself in King's Valley. He explained, "I don't have any sons to keep my name alive." He called it Absalom's Monument, and that is the name it still has today.

Complete Jewish Bible
In his own lifetime Avshalom had taken and raised for himself the pillar which stands in the King's Valley; because he said, "I don't have a son to preserve the memory of my name." So he named the pillar after himself, and it's called Avshalom's Monument to this day.

Darby Translation
Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a monument, which is in the king's dale; for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance; and he called the monument after his own name; and it is called unto this day, Absalom's memorial.

Easy-to-Read Version
While Absalom was alive he put up a memorial stone in King's Valley. He said, "I have no son to keep my name alive." So he named that monument after himself. It is called "Absalom's Monument" even today.

George Lamsa Translation
Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself a monument in the valley of the kings; for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance; and he called the monument by his own name; and it is called the work of Absalom to this day.

Good News Translation
During his lifetime Absalom had built a monument for himself in King's Valley, because he had no son to keep his name alive. So he named it after himself, and to this day it is known as Absalom's Monument.

Literal Translation
And during his lifetime Absalom had taken and set up for himself a standing-pillar, which is in the King's Valley. For he said, I have no son to cause my name to be remembered. And he called the standing pillar by his name and it is calledAbsalom's Monument to this day.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Absalom had set him vp a piler whyle he was yet alyue, which stode in the kynges valley, for he sayde: I haue no sonne, therfore shall this be a remembraunce of my name: and he called the piler after his owne name. And vnto this daie it is yet called Absaloms place.

American Standard Version
Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself the pillar, which is in the king's dale; for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called the pillar after his own name; and it is called Absalom's monument, unto this day.

Bible in Basic English
Now Absalom, before his death, had put up for himself a pillar in the king's valley, naming it after himself; for he said, I have no son to keep my name in memory: and to this day it is named Absalom's pillar.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And this Absalom yet in his lyfe time toke and reared vp a piller, whiche is in the kinges dale: For he sayd, I haue no sonne to kepe my name in remembraunce, and he called the piller after his owne name, and it is called vnto this day Absaloms place.

King James Version (1611)
Now Absalom in his life time had taken and reared vp for himselfe a pillar, which is in the Kings dale: for hee said, I haue no sonne to keepe my name in remembrance: And hee called the pillar after his owne name, and it is called vnto this day, Absaloms place.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Now Abessalom while yet alive had taken and set up for himself the pillar near which he was taken, and set it up so as to have the pillar in the king’s dale; for he said he had no son to keep his name in remembrance: and he called the pillar, Abessalom’s hand, until this day.

English Revised Version
Now Absalom in his life time had taken and reared up for himself the pillar, which is in the king’s dale: for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called the pillar after his own name: and it is called Absalom’s monument, unto this day.

Berean Standard Bible
During his lifetime, Absalom had set up for himself a pillar in the King's Valley, for he had said, "I have no son to preserve the memory of my name." So he gave the pillar his name, and to this day it is called Absalom's Monument.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe Absolon, while he lyuyde yit, hadde reisid to hym a memorial, which is in the valey of the kyng; for he seide, Y haue no sone, and this schal be the mynde of my name; and he clepide `the memorial bi his name, and it is clepid the Hond, `that is, werk, of Absolon `til to this dai.

Young's Literal Translation
And Absalom hath taken, and setteth up for himself in his life, the standing-pillar that [is] in the king's valley, for he said, `I have no son to cause my name to be remembered;' and he calleth the standing-pillar by his own name, and it is called `The monument of Absalom' unto this day.

Update Bible Version
Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself the pillar, which is in the king's dale; for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called the pillar after his own name; and it is called Absalom's monument, to this day.

Webster's Bible Translation
Now Absalom in his life-time had taken and raised for himself a pillar, which [is] in the king's dale: for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called the pillar after his own name: and it is called to this day, Absalom's place.

World English Bible
Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself the pillar, which is in the king's dale; for he said, I have no son to keep my name in memory: and he called the pillar after his own name; and it is called Absalom's monument, to this day.

New King James Version
Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up a pillar for himself, which is in the King's Valley. For he said, "I have no son to keep my name in remembrance." He called the pillar after his own name. And to this day it is called Absalom's Monument.

New Living Translation
During his lifetime, Absalom had built a monument to himself in the King's Valley, for he said, "I have no son to carry on my name." He named the monument after himself, and it is known as Absalom's Monument to this day.

New Life Bible
While Absalom was alive, he had set up stones in his honor in the King's Valley. For he said, "I have no son to let my name be remembered." So he called the stones after his own name. And they are there to have Absalom be remembered to this day.

New Revised Standard
Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself a pillar that is in the King's Valley, for he said, "I have no son to keep my name in remembrance"; he called the pillar by his own name. It is called Absalom's Monument to this day.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But, Absolom, had taken, and raised up for himself, in his lifetime, the pillar that is in the king's vale, for he said, I have no son, to keep in remembrance my name, so he called the pillar after his own name, and it is called Absolom's monument unto this day.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Now Absalom had reared up for himself, in his lifetime, a pillar, which is in the king’s valley: for he said: I have no son, and this shall be the monument of my name. And he called the pillar by his own name, and it is called the hand of Absalom, to this day.

Revised Standard Version
Now Ab'salom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself the pillar which is in the King's Valley, for he said, "I have no son to keep my name in remembrance"; he called the pillar after his own name, and it is called Ab'salom's monument to this day.

THE MESSAGE
While alive, Absalom had erected for himself a pillar in the Valley of the King, "because," he said, "I have no son to carry on my name." He inscribed the pillar with his own name. To this day it is called "The Absalom Memorial."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself a pillar which is in the King's Valley, for he said, "I have no son to preserve my name." So he named the pillar after his own name, and it is called Absalom's Monument to this day.

Contextual Overview

⁹ And Absalom chanced to meet the servants of David. And Absalom was riding upon his mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great terebinth, and his head caught hold of the terebinth, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went on. ¹⁰ And a certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said: 'Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in a terebinth.' ¹¹ And Joab said unto the man that told him: 'And, behold, thou sawest it, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have had to give thee ten pieces of silver, and a girdle.' ¹² And the man said unto Joab: 'Though I should receive a thousand pieces of silver in my hand, yet would I not put forth my 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. ¹³ Otherwise if I had dealt falsely against mine own life--and there is no matter hid from the king--then thou thyself wouldest have stood aloof.' ¹⁴ Then 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 terebinth. ¹⁵ And ten young men that bore Joab's armour compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him. ¹⁶ And Joab blew the horn, and the people returned from pursuing after Israel; for Joab held back the people. ¹⁷ And they took Absalom, and cast him into the great pit in the forest, and raised over him a very great heap of stones; and all Israel fled every one to his tent.-- ¹⁸ Now Absalom in his life-time had taken and reared up for himself the pillar, which is in the king's dale; for he said: 'I have no son to keep my name in remembrance'; and he called the pillar after his own name; and it is called Absalom's monument unto this day.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

reared up: 1 Samuel 15:12

the king's: Genesis 14:17

I have no son: 2 Samuel 14:27, Job 18:16, Job 18:17, Psalms 109:13, Jeremiah 22:30

he called: Genesis 11:4, 1 Samuel 15:12, Psalms 49:11, Daniel 4:30

Absalom's place: Josephus says there was in his time, about two furlongs from Jerusalem, a marble pillar called Absalom's hand, as it is in the Hebrew - see note on 1 Samuel 15:12, and there is one shown to the present day, in the valley of Jehoshaphat, which, though comparatively a modern structure, probably occupies the site of the original one set up by Absalom. Genesis 11:9, Acts 1:18, Acts 1:19

Reciprocal: Genesis 4:17 - the name Genesis 28:18 - set it Genesis 35:20 - the pillar 1 Chronicles 3:2 - Absalom Ecclesiastes 2:4 - made Ecclesiastes 3:5 - to cast Isaiah 22:16 - hewed

Cross-References

Genesis 18:2
and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood over against him; and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed down to the earth,

Genesis 18:3
and said: 'My lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant.

Genesis 18:17
And the LORD said: 'Shall I hide from Abraham that which I am doing;

Genesis 18:18
seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?

Genesis 18:25
That be far from Thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that so the righteous should be as the wicked; that be far from Thee; shall not the judge of all the earth do justly?'

Genesis 18:26
And the LORD said: 'If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will forgive all the place for their sake.'

Genesis 26:4
and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these lands; and by thy seed shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves;

Psalms 72:17
May his name endure for ever; may his name be continued as long as the sun;

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken,.... Had taken it into his head, had of himself devised it, as Kimchi explains it; he contrived the following scheme to perpetuate his memory:

and reared up for himself a pillar, which [is] in the king's dale: or valley, the valley of Jehoshaphat; this pillar was of marble, as Josephus o says, and stood about two furlongs or a quater mile from Jerusalem. The author of Cippi Hebraici p places it at the bottom of the mount of Olives: this is observed to show how vain are the devices and contrivances of men's hearts; Absalom intended to have been buried under or by this monumental pillar near Jerusalem, and, lo, he was buried in a pit, under an heap of stones, in a wood on the other side Jordan; whether his bones were ever removed hither it is not certain, though a notion has obtained that his grave was near this pillar. Rauwolff q says, that as you go from the valley of Jehoshaphat r to the Mount of Olives, you see below, towards your left hand, near unto the bridge of the river Kidron, an old square building like unto a steeple; this, although it is believed to this day, not only by Christians, but also by Turks and Moors, to be the grave of Absalom, as you shall see them fling stones into it as they go by, to revenge his unfaithfulness to his father, yet was he not buried there. Sandys s says, at the east end of the bridge (over Kidron), and a little on the north, stands the pillar of Absalom, being yet entire, and of a good fabric, rising in a lofty square, below adorned with half columns, wrought out of the sides and corners, of the Doric form; and then changing into a round, a good height higher doth grow to a point in fashion of a bell, all framed of the growing stone; against this there lies a great heap of stones, which increaseth daily, by Jews and Mahometans throwing stones as they pass by; so that the frontispiece of it, which faces the road, as Le Bruyn t says, looks like a mountain of stones; but as to the fabric itself, he says, there is not a finer piece of workmanship to be met with in all those parts; it takes up a compass of ground of eighty two feet and an half square; the body, which is square, with its moulding, is one entire piece; and the coping, which is an ornament to it, and runs up into a point, taken with the rest of the work, is above thirty feet high; twenty columns, cut out of the same rock, add to the beauty of this pile; one sees through a broken window a great many pieces of antiquity that hang up in a chamber. Adrichomius also relates u, from travellers, that in the king's valley is now a tower, and a large heap of stones, which is increased every day more and more; for Heathens and strangers passing by there have a custom to cast everyone a stone at it, as it were revenging, according to the law, Absalom's rebellion against David his father, and curse him after this manner; let Absalom the parricide be cursed, and whoever unrighteously persecutes their parents are cursed for ever:

for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance; for though he had three sons, it seems they were all dead, see 2 Samuel 14:27;

and he called the pillar after his own name, and it is called unto this day Absalom's place; or his "hand" w, the work of his hand; some wrongly think it was in the form of an hand; it was an obelisk, or monument, erected to preserve his name; but since it became so infamous, it would have been better to have had it buried in oblivion. Such sepulchral monuments were used in other nations; so Minerva advised Telemachus x to go in quest of his father Ulysses, and if he could not find him, but was assured of his death, then to raise a signal or monument in memory of him, which he resolved to do.

o Antiqu l. 7. c. 10. sect. 3. p P. 26. Ed. Hotting. q Travels, part 3. c. 21. p. 310, 311. Ed. Ray. r So Benjamin. Itinerar. p. 43. s Travels, l. 3. p. 147. Ed. 5. t Voyage to the Levant, c. 48. p. 188. u Theatrum Terrae Sanet. p 174. w יד χειρ, Sept. "manus", V. L. Montanus. x Homer. Odyss. 1. ver. 297. Odyss. 2. ver. 243.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The king’s dale - Anciently the “valley” of “Shaveh” (marginal reference), and apparently in the near neighborhood of Sodom; but the exact site is not known. It quite agrees with Absalom’s preference for Hebron 2 Samuel 15:7, that his monument should be reared by him in the south. If Absalom’s monument be placed in the ravine of the Kedron, the “king’s dale” here is a different place from the “dale of Shaveh.”

Absalom’s place - literally, “Absalom’s hand.” (1 Samuel 15:12 note.)

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Samuel 18:18. Reared up for himself a pillar — There was a marble pillar in the time of Josephus called Absalom's pillar: and there is one shown to the present day under this name; but it is comparatively a modern structure.

Absalom's place. — Literally Absalom's HAND. 1 Samuel 15:12.