2 Samuel 15–18

Absalom Plans Rebellion

15After this, Absalom provided a chariot and horses for himself, and an escort of 50 men. ²He would get up early and go and stand by the road at the city gate. Whenever someone came there with a dispute that he wanted the king to settle, Absalom would call him over and ask him where he was from. And after the man had told him what tribe he was from, ³Absalom would say, “Look, the law is on your side, but there is no representative of the king to hear your case.” ⁴And he would add, “How I wish I were a judge! Then anyone who had a dispute or a claim could come to me, and I would give him justice.” ⁵When the man approached Absalom to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out, take hold of him, and kiss him. ⁶Absalom did this with every Israelite who came to the king for justice, and so he won their loyalty.

⁷After four^l years Absalom said to King David, “Sir, let me go to Hebron and keep a promise I made to the Lord. ⁸While I was living in Geshur in Syria, I promised the Lord that if he would take me back to Jerusalem, I would worship him in Hebron.”^m

⁹“Go in peace,” the king said. So Absalom went to Hebron. ¹⁰But he sent messengers to all the tribes of Israel to say, “When you hear the sound of trumpets, shout, ‘Absalom has become king at Hebron!’ ” ¹¹There were 200 men who at Absalom’s invitation had gone from Jerusalem with him; they knew nothing of the plot and went in all good faith. ¹²And while he was offering sacrifices, Absalom also sent to the town of Gilo for Ahithophel, who was one of King David’s advisers. The plot against the king gained strength, and Absalom’s followers grew in number.

David Flees from Jerusalem

¹³A messenger reported to David, “The Israelites are pledging their loyalty to Absalom.”

¹⁴So David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, “We must get away at once if we want to escape from Absalom! Hurry! Or else he will soon be here and defeat us and kill everyone in the city!”

¹⁵“Yes, Your Majesty,” they answered. “We are ready to do whatever you say.” ¹⁶So the king left, accompanied by all his family and officials, except for ten concubines, whom he left behind to take care of the palace.

¹⁷As the king and all his men were leaving the city, they stopped at the last house. ¹⁸All his officials stoodⁿ next to him as the royal bodyguard passed by in front of him. The 600 soldiers who had followed him from Gath also passed by, ¹⁹and the king said to Ittai, their leader, “Why are you going with us? Go back and stay with the new king. You are a foreigner, a refugee away from your own country. ²⁰You have lived here only a short time, so why should I make you wander round with me? I don’t even know where I’m going. Go back and take your fellow-countrymen with you—and may the Lord be kind and faithful to you.”^o

²¹But Ittai answered, “Your Majesty, I swear to you in the Lord’s name that I will always go with you wherever you go, even if it means death.”

²²“Fine!” David answered. “March on!” So Ittai went on with all his men and their dependants. ²³The people cried loudly as David’s followers left. The king crossed the brook of Kidron, followed by his men, and together they went out towards the wilderness.

²⁴Zadok the priest was there, and with him were the Levites, carrying the sacred Covenant Box. They set it down^p and didn’t pick it up again until all the people had left the city. The priest Abiathar was there too.^{q 25}Then the king said to Zadok, “Take the Covenant Box back to the city. If the Lord is pleased with me, some day he will let me come back to see it and the place where it stays. ²⁶But if he isn’t pleased with me—well, then, let him do to me what he wishes.” ²⁷And he went on to say to Zadok, “Look,^r take your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan and go back to the city in peace. ²⁸Meanwhile, I will wait at the river crossings in the wilderness until I receive news from you.” ²⁹So Zadok and Abiathar took the Covenant Box back into Jerusalem and stayed there.

³⁰David went on up the Mount of Olives weeping; he was barefoot and had his head covered as a sign of grief. All who followed him covered their heads and wept also. ³¹When David was told^s that Ahithophel had joined Absalom’s rebellion, he prayed, “Please, Lord, turn Ahithophel’s advice into nonsense!”

³²When David reached the top of the hill, where there was a place of worship, his trusted friend Hushai the Archite met him with his clothes torn and with earth on his head. ³³David said to him, “You will be of no help to me if you come with me, ³⁴but you can help me by returning to the city and telling Absalom that you will now serve him as faithfully as you served his father. And do all you can to oppose any advice that Ahithophel gives. ³⁵The priests Zadok and Abiathar will be there; tell them everything you hear in the king’s palace. ³⁶They have their sons Ahimaaz and Jonathan with them, and you can send them to me with all the information you gather.”

³⁷So Hushai, David’s friend, returned to the city just as Absalom was arriving.

David and Ziba

16^*When David had gone a little beyond the top of the hill, he was suddenly met by Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, who had with him a couple of donkeys loaded with 200 loaves of bread, a hundred bunches of raisins, a hundred bunches of fresh fruit, and a leather bag full of wine. ²King David asked him, “What are you going to do with all that?”

Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for Your Majesty’s family to ride, the bread and the fruit are for the men to eat, and the wine is for them to drink when they get tired in the wilderness.”

^3*“Where is Mephibosheth, the grandson of your master Saul?” the king asked him. “He is staying in Jerusalem,” Ziba answered, “because he is convinced that the Israelites will now restore to him the kingdom of his grandfather Saul.”

⁴The king said to Ziba, “Everything that belonged to Mephibosheth is yours.”

“I am your servant,” Ziba replied. “May I always please Your Majesty!”

David and Shimei

⁵When King David arrived at Bahurim, one of Saul’s relatives, Shimei son of Gera, came out to meet him, cursing him as he came. ⁶Shimei started throwing stones at David and his officials, even though David was surrounded by his men and his bodyguard. ⁷Shimei cursed him and said, “Get out! Get out! Murderer! Criminal! ⁸You took Saul’s kingdom, and now the Lord is punishing you for murdering so many of Saul’s family. The Lord has given the kingdom to your son Absalom, and you are ruined, you murderer!”

⁹Abishai, whose mother was Zeruiah, said to the king, “Your Majesty, why do you let this dog curse you? Let me go over there and cut off his head!”

¹⁰“This is none of your business,” the king said to Abishai and his brother Joab. “If he curses me because the Lord told him to, who has the right to ask why he does it?” ¹¹And David said to Abishai and to all his officials, “My own son is trying to kill me; so why should you be surprised at this Benjaminite? The Lord told him to curse; so leave him alone and let him do it. ¹²Perhaps the Lord will notice my misery^t and give me some blessings to take the place of his curse.” ¹³So David and his men continued along the road. Shimei kept up with them, walking on the hillside; he was cursing and throwing stones and earth at them as he went. ¹⁴The king and all his men were worn out when they reached the Jordan,^u and there they rested.

Absalom in Jerusalem

¹⁵Absalom and all the Israelites with him entered Jerusalem, and Ahithophel was with them. ¹⁶When Hushai, David’s trusted friend, met Absalom, he shouted, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”

¹⁷“What has happened to your loyalty to your friend David?” Absalom asked him. “Why didn’t you go with him?”

¹⁸Hushai answered, “How could I? I am on the side of the one chosen by the Lord, by these people, and by all the Israelites. I will stay with you. ¹⁹After all, whom should I serve, if not my master’s son? As I served your father, so now I will serve you.”

²⁰Then Absalom turned to Ahithophel and said, “Now that we are here, what do you advise us to do?”

²¹Ahithophel answered, “Go and have intercourse with your father’s concubines whom he left behind to take care of the palace. Then everyone in Israel will know that your father regards you as his enemy, and your followers will be greatly encouraged.” ^22*So they set up a tent for Absalom on the palace roof, and in the sight of everyone Absalom went in and had intercourse with his father’s concubines.

²³Any advice that Ahithophel gave in those days was accepted as though it were the very word of God; both David and Absalom followed it.

Hushai Misleads Absalom

17Not long after that, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose twelve thousand men, and tonight I will set out after David. ²I will attack him while he is tired and discouraged. He will be frightened, and all his men will run away. I will kill only the king ³and then bring back all his men to you, like a bride returning to her husband. You want to kill only one man;^v the rest of the people will be safe.” ⁴This seemed like good advice to Absalom and all the Israelite leaders.

⁵Absalom said, “Now call Hushai, and let us hear what he has to say.” ⁶When Hushai arrived, Absalom said to him, “This is the advice that Ahithophel has given us; shall we follow it? If not, you tell us what to do.”

⁷Hushai answered, “The advice Ahithophel gave you this time is no good. ⁸You know that your father David and his men are hard fighters and that they are as fierce as a mother bear robbed of her cubs. Your father is an experienced soldier and does not stay with his men at night. ⁹Just now he is probably hiding in a cave or some other place. As soon as David attacks your men, whoever hears about it will say that your men have been defeated. ¹⁰Then even the bravest men, as fearless as lions, will be afraid because everyone in Israel knows that your father is a great soldier and that his men are hard fighters. ¹¹My advice is that you…