2 Samuel 17:17–29

^17aNow Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at ^bEn-rogel, and a servant-woman would go and inform them, and they would go and inform King David, for they could not be seen entering the city.

¹⁸But a boy did see them and informed Absalom; so the two of them went quickly and came to the house of a man ^ain Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard, and they went down ¹into it.

¹⁹And ^athe woman ¹took a covering and spread it over the well’s mouth and scattered crushed grain on it, so that nothing was known.

²⁰Then Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house and said, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” And ^athe woman said to them, “They have crossed the brook of water.” And when they searched and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.

²¹Now it happened after they went away, that they came up out of the well and went and informed King David; and they said to David, “^aArise and cross over the water quickly for thus Ahithophel has counseled against you.”

²²Then David and all the people who were with him arose and crossed the Jordan; and by ¹dawn not even one remained who had not crossed the Jordan.

²³Now Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not ¹followed. So he ²saddled his donkey and arose and went to his home, to ^ahis city, and ^3bset his house in order, and ^cstrangled himself; thus he died and was buried in the grave of his father.

²⁴Now David came to ^aMahanaim. And Absalom crossed the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him.

²⁵And Absalom set ^aAmasa over the army in place of Joab. Now Amasa was the son of a man whose name was ¹Ithra the Israelite, who went in to Abigail the daughter of ^bNahash, sister of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother.

²⁶And Israel and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead.

²⁷Now it happened that when David had come to Mahanaim, Shobi ^athe son of Nahash from ^bRabbah of the sons of Ammon, ^cMachir the son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and ^dBarzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim,

²⁸brought ^abeds, basins, pottery, wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils, roasted seeds,

²⁹honey, curds, sheep, and cheese of the herd, for David and for the people who were with him, ^ato eat; for they said, “The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.”