2 Samuel 17

17¹Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose 12,000 men, and I will set out in pursuit of David tonight. ²I will attack him while he is weak and weary, throw him into a panic, and all the people with him will scatter. I will strike down only the king ^a3and bring all the people back to you. When everyone returns except the man you’re seeking, all ^bthe people will be at peace.” ⁴This proposal seemed good to Absalom and all the elders of Israel.

⁵Then Absalom said, “Summon Hushai the Archite also. Let’s hear what he has to say as well.”

⁶So Hushai came to Absalom, and Absalom told him: “Ahithophel offered this proposal. Should we carry out his proposal? If not, what do you say?”

⁷Hushai replied to Absalom, “The advice Ahithophel has given this time is not good.” ⁸Hushai continued, “You know your father and his men. They are warriors and are desperate like a wild bear robbed of her cubs. ^cYour father is an experienced soldier who won’t spend the night with the people. ⁹He’s probably already hiding in one of the caves ^dor some other place. If some of our troops fall ^efirst, someone is sure to hear and say, ‘There’s been a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom.’ ¹⁰Then, even a brave man with the heart of a lion ^fwill melt because all Israel knows that your father and the valiant men with him are warriors. ¹¹Instead, I advise that all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba—as numerous as the sand by the sea ^g—be gathered to you and that you personally go into battle. ¹²Then we will attack David wherever we find him, and we will descend on him like dew on the ground. Not even one will be left of all the men with him. ¹³If he retreats to some city, all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we will drag its stones into the valley until not even a pebble can be found there.” ¹⁴Since the Lord had decreed ^hthat Ahithophel’s good advice be undermined ⁱin order to bring about Absalom’s ruin, Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than Ahithophel’s advice.”

David Informed of Absalom’s Plans

¹⁵Hushai then told the priests Zadok and Abiathar, “This is what ^jAhithophel advised Absalom and the elders of Israel, and this is what ^kI advised. ¹⁶Now send someone quickly and tell David, ‘Don’t spend the night at the wilderness ford of the Jordan, ^lbut be sure to cross over, or the king and all the people with him will be destroyed.’ ”

¹⁷Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En-rogel, where a servant girl would come and pass along information to them. They in turn would go and inform King David, because they dared not be seen entering the city. ¹⁸However, a young man did see them and informed Absalom. So the two left quickly and came to the house of a man in Bahurim. He had a well in his courtyard, and they climbed down into it. ¹⁹Then his wife took the cover, placed it over the mouth of the well, and scattered grain on it so nobody would know anything.

²⁰Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house and asked, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?”

“They passed by toward the water,” ^mthe woman replied to them. The men searched but did not find them, so they returned to Jerusalem.

²¹After they had gone, Ahimaaz and Jonathan climbed out of the well and went and informed King David. They told him, “Get up and immediately ford the river, for Ahithophel has given this advice against you.” ²²So David and all the people with him got up and crossed the Jordan. By daybreak, there was no one who had not crossed the Jordan. ²³When Ahithophel realized that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He set his affairs in order ⁿand hanged himself. ^oSo he died and was buried in his father’s tomb.

²⁴David had arrived at Mahanaim by the time Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel. ²⁵Now Absalom had appointed Amasa ^pover the army in Joab’s place. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra ^qthe Israelite; ^rsIthra had married Abigail daughter of Nahash. ^tAbigail was a sister to Zeruiah, Joab’s mother. ²⁶And Israel and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead. ²⁷When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi son of Nahash ^ufrom Rabbah ^vof the Ammonites, Machir son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, ^wand Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim ^x28brought beds, basins, ^yand pottery items. They also brought wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils, ^z29honey, curds, sheep, and cheese ^afrom the herd for David and the people with him to eat. They had reasoned, “The people must be hungry, exhausted, and thirsty in the desert.”