29 The servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose, and every man got up on his mule, and fled.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
Upon his mule - So in 1-Kings 1:33, 1-Kings 1:38 the mule is the royal animal on which David himself rides. In 2-Samuel 18:9 Absalom rides upon a mule.
And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded,.... They smote him, and killed him, when he gave the word:
then all the king's sons arose; from the feast, imagining they were all designed to be slain:
and every man gat him up upon his mule, and fled; creatures much used in Judea instead of horses, which, though they might not be bred, might be used (o).
(o) Vid. Misn. Celaim, c. 8. sect. 1.
every man gat him up upon his mule--This had become the favorite equipage of the great. King David himself had a state mule (1-Kings 1:33). The Syrian mules are, in activity, strength, and capabilities, still far superior to ours.
The servants did as he commanded, whereupon the other king's sons all fled upon their mules. - 2-Samuel 13:30. But whilst they were on the road, the report of what Absalom had done reached the ears of the king, and, as generally happens in such cases, with very great exaggeration: "Absalom hath slain all the king's sons, and there is not one of them left."
Commanded - Now the threatened sword is drawn in David's house, which will not depart from it. His eldest son falls by it, thro' his own wickedness, and his father by his connivance is accessory to it.
*More commentary available at chapter level.