2 Samuel 16–17

16TH CHAPTER

¹When David had gone over the top ⸤of the Mount of Olives⸥, Ziba, Mephibosheth’s servant, met him with a pair of saddled donkeys. They were loaded with 200 loaves of bread, 100 bunches of raisins, 100 pieces of ripened fruit, and a full wineskin. 

²“Why did you bring these?” David asked Ziba. 

“The donkeys are for the king’s family to ride on,” Ziba answered. “The bread and the ripe fruit are for ⸤your⸥ servants to eat. The wine is for those who become tired and thirsty in the desert.” 

³“Where is your master Saul’s grandson?” the king asked. 

“He’s staying in Jerusalem,” Ziba answered the king. “He said, ‘Today the house of Israel will give me back my grandfather’s kingdom.’ ” 

⁴The king told Ziba, “In that case everything that belonged to Mephibosheth now belongs to you.” 

“I sincerely thank you,” said Ziba. “I hope to remain in your good graces, Your Majesty.” 

⁵When King David came to Bahurim, a man who was a distant cousin of Saul came out cursing. His name was Shimei, son of Gera. ⁶He threw stones at David and David’s servants, although all the people and all the warriors were shielding David. ⁷Shimei cursed and said, “Get out! Get out, you bloodthirsty man! You worthless person! ⁸The Lord is paying you back for all the blood you spilled in the family of Saul, whom you succeeded as king. The Lord is giving the kingship to your son Absalom. Now you’re in trouble because you’re a bloodthirsty man.” 

⁹Abishai, Zeruiah’s son, asked the king, “Why should this dead dog curse you, Your Majesty? Let me go over there and tear off his head.” 

¹⁰But the king said, “You don’t think like me at all, sons of Zeruiah. Let him curse. If the Lord has told him, ‘Curse David,’ should anyone ask, ‘Why do you do that?’ ” ¹¹David told Abishai and all his servants, “My own son, my own flesh and blood, is trying to kill me. Why, then, shouldn’t this Benjaminite do this? Leave him alone. Let him curse, since the Lord has told him to do it. ¹²Maybe the Lord will see my misery and turn his curse into a blessing for me today.” 

¹³As David and his men went along the road, Shimei was walking along the hillside parallel to him. Shimei cursed, hurled stones, and threw dirt at David. ¹⁴The king and all the people with him finally arrived ⸤at their destination⸥ and rested there. 

Absalom Enters Jerusalem

¹⁵Meanwhile, Absalom and all Israel’s troops came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel was with him. ¹⁶When David’s friend Hushai from Archi’s family came to Absalom, he said, “Long live the king! Long live the king!” 

¹⁷“Is that how loyal you are to your friend?” Absalom asked Hushai. “Why didn’t you go with him?” 

¹⁸Hushai answered Absalom, “No, I want to be with the one whom the Lord, these people, and all Israel have chosen. I will be his ⸤friend⸥ and stay with him. ¹⁹And besides, whom should I serve? Shouldn’t it be his son? As I served your father, so I’ll serve you.” 

²⁰Then Absalom asked Ahithophel, “What’s your advice? What should we do?” 

²¹Ahithophel told Absalom, “Sleep with your father’s concubines^awhom he left to take care of the palace. Then all Israel will hear about how you have made your father despise you. Everyone who is with you will support you even more.” 

²²So a tent was put up on the roof for Absalom, and he slept with his father’s concubines in plain sight of Israel. 

²³In those days both David and Absalom thought that Ahithophel’s advice was like getting an answer from God. 

17TH CHAPTER

Absalom Pursues David

¹Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose 12,000 men and leave tonight to go after David. ²I’ll attack him while he’s tired and weak, and I’ll cause him to panic. All the people with him will flee, but I’ll kill only him. ³I’ll return all the people to you as a bride is returned to her husband. Since you will be seeking the life of only one man,all the people will have peace.” ⁴Absalom and all the leaders of Israel approved this plan. 

⁵Absalom said, “Please call Hushai, who is descended from Archi’s family, and let us hear what he, too, has to say.” 

⁶When Hushai arrived, Absalom said to him, “Ahithophel has told us his plan. Should we do what he says? If not, tell us.” 

⁷“This time Ahithophel’s advice is no good,” Hushai said to Absalom. ⁸“You know your father and his men. They are warriors as fierce as a wild bear whose cubs have been stolen. Your father is an experienced soldier. He will not camp with the troops tonight. ⁹He has already hidden in one of the ravines or some other place. If some of our soldiers are killed in the initial attack, others will definitely hear about it and say, ‘The troops that support Absalom have been defeated.’ ¹⁰Even the bravest man with a heart like a lion would lose his courage, because all Israel knows that your father is a warrior and the men with him are brave. ¹¹So my advice is to gather all Israel’s troops from Dan to Beersheba, since they are as numerous as the sand on the seashore. Lead them into battle yourself. ¹²Then we’ll attack him wherever we find him. We’ll fall on him as dew falls on the ground. Neither he nor any of his men will be left ⸤alive⸥. ¹³If he retreats into a city, all Israel will bring ropes to that city and drag it into a valley so that not even a pebble will be found there.” 

¹⁴Absalom and all the people of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai from Archi’s family is better than Ahithophel’s advice.” (The Lord had commanded Ahithophel’s good advice to be defeated in order to ruin Absalom.) 

¹⁵Then Hushai told the priests Zadok and Abiathar, “Ahithophel advised Absalom and the leaders of Israel to do one thing, but I advised them to do something else. ¹⁶Now send messengers quickly to tell David, ‘Don’t rest tonight in the river crossings in the desert, but make sure you cross ⸤the river⸥, or Your Majesty and all the troops with him will be wiped out.’ ” 

¹⁷Jonathan and Ahimaaz were waiting at En Rogel. They could not risk being seen coming into the city, so a servant girl was to go and tell them, and they were to go and tell King David. ¹⁸But a young man saw Jonathan and Ahimaaz and told Absalom. So both of them left quickly and came to the home of a man in Bahurim who had a cistern in his courtyard, and they went down into it. ¹⁹The man’s wife took a cover, spread it over the top of the cistern, and scattered some grainover it so that no one could tell it was there. 

²⁰Absalom’s servants came to the woman at her home. “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” they asked. 

The woman said, “They’ve crossed the stream.” 

The servants looked for them but did not find them. So Absalom’s servants returned to Jerusalem. 

²¹After Absalom’s servants left, both men came out of the cistern and went and told King David. “Leave right away,” they told David. “Cross the river quickly because this is what Ahithophel has advised against you.…” 

²²David and all the troops with him left to cross the Jordan River. When the dawn came, everyone had crossed the Jordan River. 

²³When Ahithophel saw that his advice hadn’t been followed, he saddled his donkey, left, and went home to his own city. He gave instructions to his family. Then he hanged himself, died, and was buried in his father’s tomb. 

²⁴David had ⸤already⸥ come to Mahanaim by the time Absalom and all the men of Israel with him crossed the Jordan River. ²⁵Absalom appointed Amasa to take Joab’s place as commander of the army. (Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra, a descendant of Ishmael.^cHis mother was Abigail,^dthe daughter of Nahash and sister of Joab’s mother Zeruiah.) ²⁶The Israelites and Absalom camped in the region of Gilead. 

²⁷When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi, son of Nahash from Rabbah in Ammon, and Machir, son of Ammiel from Lo Debar, and Barzillai from Rogelim in Gilead ²⁸brought ⸤supplies⸥ and food for David and his troops: bedding, bowls, pots, wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils,^e29honey, buttermilk, sheep, and calves. They brought these things because they thought, “The troops in the desert are hungry, exhausted, and thirsty.”