David prophesies the punishment that will fall upon him, stating "the sword shall never depart from your house." When David acknowledges that he has sinned, Nathan advises him that his sin is forgiven and he will not die, but the child will. In fulfillment of Nathan's words, David's son Absalom, fueled by vengeance and lust for power, rebels. Absalom's forces are routed at the battle of the Wood of Ephraim, and he is caught by his long hair in the branches of a tree where, contrary to David's order, he is killed by Joab, the commander of David's army. David laments
Son of the Tree Joe Smith has to contend with the machinations of various alien societies in search of the Earthman who ran off with his girl. "Son of the Tree" begins with the arrival of Joe Smith on the planet Kyril, so distant that Earth is but a myth. Kyril is dominated by a religious aristocracy called "Druids", who rule over the five billion commoner "Laity", and who control worship of the "Tree of Life", a huge tree with a trunk five miles in diameter and twelve miles high. The Druids are xenophobic, and consider Joe to be a spy. For unknown reasons,