2 Samuel 15–19

Absalom’s Treason

15After this ^ait happened that Absalom ^bprovided himself with chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him. ²Now Absalom would rise early and stand beside the way to the gate. So it was, whenever anyone who had a ^clawsuit ¹came to the king for a decision, that Absalom would call to him and say, “What city are you from?” And he would say, “Your servant is from such and such a tribe of Israel.” ³Then Absalom would say to him, “Look, your ²case is good and right; but there is no ³deputy of the king to hear you.” ⁴Moreover Absalom would say, ^d“Oh, that I were made judge in the land, and everyone who has any suit or cause would come to me; then I would give him justice.” ⁵And so it was, whenever anyone came near to bow down to him, that he would put out his hand and take him and ^ekiss him. ⁶In this manner Absalom acted toward all Israel who came to the king for judgment. ^fSo Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

⁷Now it came to pass ^gafter ⁴forty years that Absalom said to the king, “Please, let me go to ^hHebron and pay the vow which I made to the Lord. ⁸ⁱFor your servant ^jtook a vow ^kwhile I dwelt at Geshur in Syria, saying, ‘If the Lord indeed brings me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.’ ”

⁹And the king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he arose and went to Hebron.

¹⁰Then Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, ‘Absalom ^lreigns in Hebron!’ ” ¹¹And with Absalom went two hundred men ^minvited from Jerusalem, and they ⁿwent along innocently and did not know anything. ¹²Then Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, ^oDavid’s counselor, from his city—from ^pGiloh—while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy grew strong, for the people with Absalom ^qcontinually increased in number.

David Escapes from Jerusalem

¹³Now a messenger came to David, saying, ^r“The hearts of the men of Israel are ⁵with Absalom.”

¹⁴So David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Arise, and let us ^sflee, or we shall not escape from Absalom. Make haste to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly and bring disaster upon us, and strike the city with the edge of the sword.”

¹⁵And the king’s servants said to the king, “We are your servants, ready to do whatever my lord the king commands.” ¹⁶Then ^tthe king went out with all his household after him. But the king left ^uten women, concubines, to keep the house. ¹⁷And the king went out with all the people after him, and stopped at the outskirts. ¹⁸Then all his servants passed ⁶before him; ^vand all the Cherethites, all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, ^wsix hundred men who had followed him from Gath, passed before the king.

¹⁹Then the king said to ^xIttai the Gittite, “Why are you also going with us? Return and remain with the king. For you are a foreigner and also an exile from your own place. ²⁰In fact, you came only yesterday. Should I make you wander up and down with us today, since I go ^yI know not where? Return, and take your brethren back. Mercy and truth be with you.”

²¹But Ittai answered the king and said, ^z“As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely in whatever place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also your servant will be.”

²²So David said to Ittai, “Go, and cross over.” Then Ittai the Gittite and all his men and all the little ones who were with him crossed over. ²³And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people crossed over. The king himself also crossed over the Brook Kidron, and all the people crossed over toward the way of the ^awilderness.

²⁴There was ^bZadok also, and all the Levites with him, bearing the ^cark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and ^dAbiathar went up until all the people had finished crossing over from the city. ²⁵Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, He ^ewill bring me back and show me both it and ^fHis dwelling place. ²⁶But if He says thus: ‘I have no ^gdelight in you,’ here I am, ^hlet Him do to me as seems good to Him.” ²⁷The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a ⁱseer? ⁷Return to the city in peace, and ^jyour two sons with you, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. ²⁸See, ^kI will wait in the plains of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” ²⁹Therefore Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God back to Jerusalem. And they remained there.

³⁰So David went up by the Ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went up; and he ^lhad his head covered and went ^mbarefoot. And all the people who were with him ⁿcovered their heads and went up, ^oweeping as they went up. ³¹Then someone told David, saying, ^p“Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O Lord, I pray, ^qturn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!”

³²Now it happened when David had come to the top of the mountain, where he worshiped God—there was Hushai the ^rArchite coming to meet him ^swith his robe torn and dust on his head. ³³David said to him, “If you go on with me, then you will become ^ta burden to me. ³⁴But if you return to the city, and say to Absalom, ^u‘I will be your servant, O king; as I was your father’s servant previously, so I will now also be your servant,’ then you may defeat the counsel of Ahithophel for me. ³⁵And do you not have Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there? Therefore it will be that whatever you hear from the king’s house, you shall tell to ^vZadok and Abiathar the priests. ³⁶Indeed they have there ^wwith them their two sons, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son, and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son; and by them you shall send me everything you hear.”

³⁷So Hushai, ^xDavid’s friend, went into the city. ^yAnd Absalom came into Jerusalem.

Mephibosheth’s Servant

16When ^aDavid was a little past the top of the mountain, there was ^bZiba the servant of Mephibosheth, who met him with a couple of saddled donkeys, and on them two hundred loaves of bread, one hundred clusters of raisins, one hundred summer fruits, and a skin of wine. ²And the king said to Ziba, “What do you mean to do with these?”

So Ziba said, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine for ^cthose who are faint in the wilderness to drink.”

³Then the king said, “And where is your ^dmaster’s son?”

^eAnd Ziba said to the king, “Indeed 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, “Here, all that belongs to Mephibosheth is yours.”

And Ziba said, “I humbly bow before you, that I may find favor in your sight, my lord, O king!”

Shimei Curses David

⁵Now when King David came to ^fBahurim, there was a man from the family of the house of Saul, whose name was ^gShimei the son of Gera, coming from there. He came out, cursing continuously as he came. ⁶And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David. And all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. ⁷Also Shimei said thus when he cursed: “Come out! Come out! You ¹bloodthirsty man, ^hyou ²rogue! ⁸The Lord has ⁱbrought upon you all ^jthe blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the Lord has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son. So now you are caught in your own evil, because you are a ³bloodthirsty man!”

⁹Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this ^kdead dog ^lcurse my lord the king? Please, let me go over and take off his head!”

¹⁰But the king said, ^m“What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? So let him curse, because ⁿthe Lord has said to him, ‘Curse David.’ ^oWho then shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’ ”

¹¹And David said to Abishai and all his servants, “See how ^pmy son who ^qcame from my own body seeks my life. How much more now may this Benjamite? Let him alone, and let him curse; for so the Lord has ordered him. ¹²It may be that the Lord will look on ⁴my affliction, and that the Lord will ^rrepay me with ^sgood for his cursing this day.” ¹³And as David and his men went along the road, Shimei went along the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went, threw stones at him and ⁵kicked up dust. ¹⁴Now the king and all the people who were with him became weary; so they refreshed themselves there.

The Advice of Ahithophel

¹⁵Meanwhile ^tAbsalom and all the people, the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem; and Ahithophel was with him. ¹⁶And so it was, when Hushai the Archite, ^uDavid’s friend, came to Absalom, that ^vHushai said to Absalom, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”

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

¹⁸And Hushai said to Absalom, “No, but whom the Lord and this people and all the men of Israel choose, his I will be, and with him I will remain. ¹⁹“Furthermore, ^xwhom should I serve? Should I not serve in the presence of his son? As I have served in your father’s presence, so will I be in your presence.”

²⁰Then Absalom said to ^yAhithophel, “Give advice as to what we should do.”

²¹And Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go in to your father’s ^zconcubines, whom he has left to keep the house; and all Israel will hear that you ^aare abhorred by your father. Then ^bthe hands of all who are with you will be strong.” ²²So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the top of the house, and Absalom went in to his father’s concubines ^cin the sight of all Israel.

²³Now the advice of Ahithophel, which he gave in those days, was as if one had inquired at the oracle of God. So was all the advice of Ahithophel ^dboth with David and with Absalom.

17Moreover Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Now let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue David tonight. ²I will come upon him while he is ^aweary and weak, and make him ¹afraid. And all the people who are with him will flee, and I will ^bstrike…