2 Samuel 16–17

Chapter 16

Ziba, a False Servant

¹Now when David had passed ^aa little beyond the summit, behold, ^bZiba the servant of Mephibosheth met him ^cwith a couple of saddled donkeys, and on them were two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred clusters of raisins, a hundred summer fruits, and a jug of wine.

²The king said to Ziba, “Why do you have these?” And Ziba said, “^aThe donkeys are for the king’s household to ride, and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine, ^bfor whoever is faint in the wilderness to drink.”

³Then the king said, “And where is ^ayour master’s son?” And ^bZiba said to the king, “Behold, he is staying in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will restore the kingdom of my father to me.’ ”

⁴So the king said to Ziba, “Behold, all that belongs to Mephibosheth is yours.” And Ziba said, “I prostrate myself; let me find favor in your sight, O my lord, the king!”

David Is Cursed

⁵When King David came to ^aBahurim, behold, there came out from there a man of the family of the house of Saul ^bwhose name was Shimei, the son of Gera; he came out ^ccursing continually as he came.

⁶He threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David; and all the people and all the mighty men were at his right hand and at his left.

⁷Thus Shimei said when he cursed, “Get out, get out, ^ayou man of bloodshed, and worthless fellow!

⁸“^aThe Lord has returned upon you all ^bthe bloodshed of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. And behold, you are taken in your own evil, for you are a man of bloodshed!”

⁹Then ^aAbishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should ^bthis dead dog ^ccurse my lord the king? Let me go over now and ¹cut off his head.”

¹⁰But the king said, “^aWhat have I to do with you, O sons of Zeruiah? ^bIf he curses, and if the Lord has told him, ‘Curse David,’ ^cthen who shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’ ”

¹¹Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, ^amy son who came out from ¹me seeks my life; how much more now this Benjamite? Let him alone and let him curse, ^bfor the Lord has told him.

¹²“Perhaps the Lord will look on my affliction and ^1areturn good to me instead of his cursing this day.”

¹³So David and his men went on the way; and Shimei went along on the hillside parallel with him and as he went he cursed and cast stones and threw dust at him.

¹⁴The king and all the people who were with him arrived weary and he refreshed himself there.

Absalom Enters Jerusalem

^15aThen Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, entered Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him.

¹⁶Now it came about when ^aHushai the Archite, David’s friend, came to Absalom, that ^bHushai said to Absalom, “^cLong live the king! Long live the king!”

¹⁷Absalom said to Hushai, “Is this your ¹loyalty to your friend? ^aWhy did you not go with your friend?”

¹⁸Then Hushai said to Absalom, “No! For whom the Lord, this people, and all the men of Israel have chosen, his I will be, and with him I will remain.

¹⁹“Besides, ^awhom should I serve? Should I not serve in the presence of his son? As I have served in your father’s presence, so I will be in your presence.”

²⁰Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give your advice. What shall we do?”

²¹Ahithophel said to Absalom, “^aGo in to your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the house; then all Israel will hear that you have made yourself odious to your father. The hands of all who are with you will also be strengthened.”

²²So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, ^aand Absalom went in to his father’s concubines ^bin the sight of all Israel.

^23aThe advice of Ahithophel, which he ¹gave in those days, was as if one inquired of the word of God; ^bso was all the advice of Ahithophel regarded by both David and Absalom.

Chapter 17

Hushai’s Counsel

¹Furthermore, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Please let me choose 12,000 men that I may arise and pursue David tonight.

²“^aI will come upon him while he is weary and ¹exhausted and terrify him, so that all the people who are with him will flee. Then ^bI will strike down the king alone,

³and I will bring back all the people to you. ¹The return of everyone depends on the man you seek; then all the people will be at ^apeace.”

⁴So the ¹plan pleased Absalom and all the elders of Israel.

⁵Then Absalom said, “Now call ^aHushai the Archite also, and let us hear what ¹he has to say.”

⁶When Hushai had come to Absalom, Absalom said to ¹him, “Ahithophel has spoken ²thus. Shall we ³carry out his plan? If not, you speak.”

⁷So Hushai said to Absalom, “^aThis time the advice that Ahithophel has ¹given is not good.”

⁸Moreover, Hushai said, “You know your father and his men, that they are mighty men and they are ¹fierce, ^alike a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. And your father is an ²expert in warfare, and will not spend the night with the people.

⁹“Behold, he has now hidden himself in one of the ¹caves or in another place; and it will be ²when he falls on them at the first attack, that whoever hears it will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom.’

¹⁰“And even the one who is valiant, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, ^awill completely ¹lose heart; for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man and those who are with him are valiant men.

¹¹“But I counsel that all Israel be surely gathered to you, ^afrom Dan even to Beersheba, ^bas the sand that is by the sea in abundance, and that ¹you personally go into battle.

¹²“So we shall come to him in one of the places where he can be found, and we will ¹fall on him ^aas the dew falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men who are with him, not even one will be left.

¹³“If he withdraws into a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city, and we will ^adrag it into the ¹valley until not even a small stone is found there.”

¹⁴Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” For ^athe Lord had ordained to thwart the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring calamity on Absalom.

Hushai’s Warning Saves David

¹⁵Then ^aHushai said to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, “¹This is what Ahithophel counseled Absalom and the elders of Israel, and this is what I have counseled.

¹⁶“Now therefore, send quickly and tell David, saying, ‘^aDo not spend the night at the fords of the wilderness, but by all means cross over, or else the king and all the people who are with him will be ¹destroyed.’ ”

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

¹⁸But a lad did see them and told Absalom; so the two of them departed 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 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.

²¹It came about after they had departed that they came up out of the well and went and told 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 when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not ¹followed, 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.

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

²⁵Absalom 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 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, parched grain, beans, lentils, parched 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.”