2 Samuel 15–18

Absalom Makes Secret Plans Against David

15Some time later, Absalom got a chariot and horses for himself. He also got 50 men to run in front of him. ²He would get up early. He would stand by the side of the road that led to the city gate. Sometimes a person would come with a case for the king to decide.

Then Absalom would call out to him, “What town are you from?”

He would answer, “I’m from one of the tribes of Israel.”

³Absalom would say, “Look, your claims are based on the law. So you have every right to make them. But the king doesn’t have anyone here who can listen to your case.” ⁴Absalom would continue, “I wish I were appointed judge in the land! Then anyone who has a case or a claim could come to me. I would make sure he is treated fairly.”

⁵Sometimes people would approach Absalom and bow down to him. Then he would reach out his hand. He would take hold of them and kiss them.

⁶Absalom did that to all of the people of Israel who came to the king with their cases or claims. That’s why the hearts of the people were turned toward him.

⁷After Absalom had lived in Jerusalem for four years, he went and spoke to the king. He said, “Let me go to Hebron. I want to keep a promise I made to the Lord. ⁸When I was living at Geshur in Aram, I made a promise. I said, ‘If the Lord takes me back to Jerusalem, I’ll go to Hebron and worship him there.’ ”

⁹The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he went to Hebron.

¹⁰Then Absalom sent messengers secretly to all of the tribes of Israel. They said, “Listen for the sound of trumpets. As soon as you hear them, say, ‘Absalom has become king in Hebron.’ ”

¹¹Absalom had taken 200 men from Jerusalem with him to Hebron. He had invited them to be his guests. They went without having any idea what was going to happen. ¹²While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel. Ahithophel was David’s adviser. He came to Absalom from Giloh, his hometown. The number of people who followed Absalom kept growing. So he became more and more able to carry out his plans against David.

David Runs Away From Absalom

¹³A messenger came and spoke to David. He told him, “The hearts of the people are turned toward Absalom.”

¹⁴Then David spoke to all of his officials who were with him in Jerusalem. He said, “Come on! We have to leave right away! If we don’t, none of us will escape from Absalom. He’ll move quickly to catch up with us. He’ll destroy us. His men will kill everyone in the city with their swords.”

¹⁵The king’s officials answered him, “You are our king and master. We’re ready to do anything you want.”

¹⁶The king started out. Everyone in his whole family went with him. But he left ten concubines behind to take care of the palace. ¹⁷So the king and all those who were with him left. They stopped at a place that wasn’t very far away.

¹⁸All of David’s officials marched past him. All of the Kerethites and Pelethites marched along with them. And all of the 600 men who had come with him from Gath marched in front of him.

¹⁹The king spoke to Ittai. He was from Gath. The king said to him, “Why do you want to come along with us? Go back. Stay with King Absalom. You are a stranger. You left your own country. ²⁰You came to join me only a short time ago. So why should I make you wander around with us now? I don’t even know where I’m going. So go on back. Take with you the others who are from your country. And may the Lord be kind and faithful to you.”

²¹But Ittai replied to the king, “You are my king and master. I want to be where you are. It doesn’t matter whether I live or die. And that’s just as sure as the Lord and you are alive.”

²²David said to Ittai, “Go ahead then. Keep marching with my men.”

So Ittai, the Gittite, kept marching. All of his men and their families marched with him.

²³All of the people in the countryside sobbed out loud as David and all of his followers passed by. The king went across the Kidron Valley. He and all of the people who were with him moved on toward the desert.

²⁴Zadok also went with them. Some of the Levites went with him. They were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set the ark down. Abiathar offered sacrifices until all of the people had left the city.

²⁵Then the king said to Zadok, “Take the ark of God back into the city. If the Lord is pleased with me, he’ll bring me back. He’ll let me see the ark again. He’ll also let me see Jerusalem again. That’s the place where he lives. ²⁶But suppose he says, ‘I am not pleased with you.’ Then I accept that. Let him do to me what he thinks is best.”

²⁷The king spoke again to the priest Zadok. He said, “You are a prophet, aren’t you? Go back to the city in peace. Take your son Ahimaaz with you. Also take Abiathar and his son Jonathan with you. ²⁸I’ll wait at the place in the desert where we can go across the Jordan River. I’ll wait there until you send word to let me know what’s happening.”

²⁹So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem. They stayed there.

³⁰But David went on up the Mount of Olives. He was sobbing as he went. His head was covered, and he was barefoot. All of the people who were with him covered their heads too. And they were sobbing as they went up.

³¹David had been told, “Ahithophel is one of those who are making secret plans with Absalom against you.” So David prayed, “Lord, make Ahithophel’s advice look foolish.”

³²David arrived at the top of the Mount of Olives. That’s where people used to worship God. Hushai, the Arkite, was there to meet him. His robe was torn. There was dust on his head.

³³David said to him, “If you go with me, you will be too much trouble for me. ³⁴So return to the city. Say to Absalom, ‘King Absalom, I’ll be your servant. In the past, I was your father’s servant. But now I’ll be your servant.’ If you do that, you can help me by making sure Ahithophel’s advice fails. ³⁵The priests Zadok and Abiathar will be there with you. Tell them everything you hear in the king’s palace. ³⁶They have their sons Ahimaaz and Jonathan there with them. Send them to tell me everything you hear.”

³⁷So David’s friend Hushai went to Jerusalem. He arrived just as Absalom was entering the city.

Ziba Lies to David

16David went just beyond the top of the Mount of Olives. Ziba was waiting there to meet him. He was Mephibosheth’s manager. He had several donkeys with saddles on them. They were carrying 200 loaves of bread and 100 raisin cakes. They were also carrying 100 fig cakes and a bottle of wine. The bottle was made out of animal skin.

²The king asked Ziba, “Why have you brought all of these things?”

Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for the king’s family to ride on. The bread and fruit are for the people to eat. The wine will make those who get tired in the desert feel like new again.”

³Then the king asked, “Where is your master’s grandson Mephibosheth?”

Ziba said to him, “He’s staying in Jerusalem. He thinks, ‘Today the people of Israel will give me back my grandfather Saul’s kingdom.’ ”

⁴Then the king said to Ziba, “Everything that belonged to Mephibosheth belongs to you now.”

“You are my king and master,” Ziba said. “I make myself low in front of you. I bow down to you. May you be pleased with me.”

Shimei Calls Down Curses on David

⁵King David approached Bahurim. As he did, a man came out toward him. The man was from the same family group that Saul was from. His name was Shimei. He was the son of Gera. As he came out of the town, he called down curses on David. ⁶He threw stones at David and all of his officials. He did it even though all of the troops and the special guard were there. They were to the right and left of David.

⁷As Shimei called down curses, he said, “Get out! Get out, you murderer! You are a worthless and evil man! ⁸You spilled the blood of a lot of people in Saul’s family. You took over his kingdom. Now the Lord is paying you back. He has handed the kingdom over to your son Absalom. You have been destroyed because you are a murderer!”

⁹Then Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, spoke to the king. He said, “King David, why should we let this dead dog call down curses on you? Let me go over there. I’ll cut off his head.”

¹⁰But the king said, “You and Joab are sons of Zeruiah. What do you and I have in common? Maybe the Lord said to him, ‘Call down curses on David.’ If he did, who can ask him, ‘Why are you doing this?’ ”

¹¹Then David spoke to Abishai and all of his officials. He said, “My very own son Absalom is trying to kill me. How much more should this man from Benjamin want to kill me! Leave him alone. Let him call down curses. The Lord has told him to do it. ¹²Maybe the Lord will see how much I’m suffering. Maybe he’ll reward me with good things in place of the curses that are being called down on me today.”

¹³So David and his men kept going along the road. At the same time, Shimei was going along the hillside across from him. He was calling down curses as he went. He was throwing stones at David. He was showering him with dirt.

¹⁴The king and all of the people who were with him came to the place they had planned to go to. They were very tired. So David rested there.

Hushai and Ahithophel Give Advice to Absalom

¹⁵During that time, Absalom and all of the men of Israel came to Jerusalem. Ahithophel was with him.

¹⁶Then Hushai, the Arkite, went to Absalom. He said to him, “May the king live a long time! May the king live a long time!” Hushai was David’s friend.

¹⁷Absalom asked Hushai, “Is this the way you show love to your friend? Why didn’t you go with him?”

¹⁸Hushai said to Absalom, “Why should I? You are the one the Lord has chosen. These people and all of the men of Israel have also chosen you. I want to be on your side. I want to stay with you. ¹⁹After all, who else should I serve? Shouldn’t I serve the king’s son? I will serve you, just as I served your father.”

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

²¹Ahithophel answered, “Your father left some concubines behind to take care of the palace. Go and have sex with them. Then all of the…