21 Then Joab said to a man from Ethiopia, “Go tell the king what you have seen.” The man bowed and ran off.
22 But Ahimaaz continued to plead with Joab, “Whatever happens, please let me go, too.”“Why should you go, my son?” Joab replied. “There will be no reward for your news.”
23 “Yes, but let me go anyway,” he begged.Joab finally said, “All right, go ahead.” So Ahimaaz took the less demanding route by way of the plain and ran to Mahanaim ahead of the Ethiopian.
24 While David was sitting between the inner and outer gates of the town, the watchman climbed to the roof of the gateway by the wall. As he looked, he saw a lone man running toward them.
25 He shouted the news down to David, and the king replied, “If he is alone, he has news.”As the messenger came closer,
26 the watchman saw another man running toward them. He shouted down, “Here comes another one!”The king replied, “He also will have news.”
27 “The first man runs like Ahimaaz son of Zadok,” the watchman said.“He is a good man and comes with good news,” the king replied.