2 Samuel 14-17

1Now Joab son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart longed for Absalom.

2So Joab sent to Tekoa to bring a wise woman from there. He told her, “Please pretend to be a mourner; put on clothes for mourning and do not anoint yourself with oil. Act like a woman who has mourned for the dead a long time.

3Then go to the king and speak these words to him.” And Joab put the words in her mouth.

4When the woman from Tekoa went to the king, she fell facedown in homage and said, “Help me, O king!”

5“What troubles you?” the king asked her. “Indeed,” she said, “I am a widow, for my husband is dead.

6And your maidservant had two sons who were fighting in the field with no one to separate them, and one struck the other and killed him.

7Now the whole clan has risen up against your maidservant and said, ‘Hand over the one who struck down his brother, that we may put him to death for the life of the brother whom he killed. Then we will cut off the heir as well!’ So they would extinguish my one remaining ember by not preserving my husband’s name or posterity on the earth.”

8“Go home,” the king said to the woman, “and I will give orders on your behalf.”

9But the woman of Tekoa said to the king, “My lord the king, may any blame be on me and on my father’s house, and may the king and his throne be guiltless.”

10“If anyone speaks to you,” said the king, “bring him to me, and he will not trouble you again!”

11“Please,” she replied, “may the king invoke the LORD your God to prevent the avenger of blood from increasing the devastation, so that my son may not be destroyed!” “As surely as the LORD lives,” he vowed, “not a hair of your son’s head will fall to the ground.”

12Then the woman said, “Please, may your servant speak a word to my lord the king?” “Speak,” he replied.

13The woman asked, “Why have you devised a thing like this against the people of God? When the king says this, does he not convict himself, since he has not brought back his own banished son?

14For we will surely die and be like water poured out on the ground, which cannot be recovered. Yet God does not take away a life, but He devises ways that the banished one may not be cast out from Him.

15Now therefore, I have come to present this matter to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king. Perhaps he will grant the request of his maidservant.

16For the king will hear and deliver his maidservant from the hand of the man who would cut off both me and my son from God’s inheritance.’

17And now your servant says, ‘May the word of my lord the king bring me rest, for my lord the king is able to discern good and evil, just like the angel of God. May the LORD your God be with you.’”

18Then the king said to the woman, “I am going to ask you something; do not conceal it from me!” “Let my lord the king speak,” she replied.

19So the king asked, “Is the hand of Joab behind all this?” The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything that my lord the king says. Yes, your servant Joab is the one who gave me orders; he told your maidservant exactly what to say.

20Joab your servant has done this to bring about this change of affairs, but my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God, to know everything that happens in the land.”

21Then the king said to Joab, “I hereby grant this request. Go, bring back the young man Absalom.”

22Joab fell facedown in homage and blessed the king. “Today,” said Joab, “your servant knows that he has found favor in your eyes, my lord the king, because the king has granted his request.”

23So Joab got up, went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.

24But the king added, “He may return to his house, but he must not see my face.” So Absalom returned to his own house, but he did not see the face of the king.

25Now there was not a man in all Israel as handsome and highly praised as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the top of his head, he did not have a single flaw.

26And when he cut the hair of his head—he shaved it every year because his hair got so heavy—he would weigh it out to be two hundred shekels, according to the royal standard.

27Three sons were born to Absalom, and a daughter named Tamar, who was a beautiful woman.

28Now Absalom lived in Jerusalem two years without seeing the face of the king.

29Then he sent for Joab to send him to the king, but Joab refused to come to him. So Absalom sent a second time, but Joab still would not come.

30Then Absalom said to his servants, “Look, Joab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire!” And Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.

31Then Joab came to Absalom’s house and demanded, “Why did your servants set my field on fire?”

32“Look,” said Absalom, “I sent for you and said, ‘Come here. I want to send you to the king to ask: Why have I come back from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there.’ So now, let me see the king’s face, and if there is iniquity in me, let him kill me.”

33So Joab went and told the king, and David summoned Absalom, who came to him and bowed facedown before him. Then the king kissed Absalom.

1Some time later, Absalom provided for himself a chariot with horses and fifty men to run ahead of him.

2He would get up early and stand beside the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone had a grievance to bring before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out and ask, “What city are you from?” And if he replied, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel,”

3Absalom would say, “Look, your claims are good and right, but the king has no deputy to hear you.”

4And he would add, “If only someone would appoint me judge in the land, then everyone with a grievance or dispute could come to me, and I would give him justice.”

5Also, when anyone approached to bow down to him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him, and kiss him.

6Absalom did this to all the Israelites who came to the king for justice. In this way he stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

7After four years had passed, Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go to Hebron to fulfill a vow I have made to the LORD.

8For your servant made a vow while dwelling in Geshur of Aram, saying: ‘If indeed the LORD brings me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the LORD in Hebron.’”

9“Go in peace,” said the king. So Absalom got up and went to Hebron.

10Then Absalom sent spies throughout the tribes of Israel with this message: “When you hear the sound of the horn, you are to say, ‘Absalom reigns in Hebron!’”

11Two hundred men from Jerusalem accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and they went along innocently, for they knew nothing about the matter.

12While Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, to come from his hometown of Giloh. So the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom’s following kept increasing.

13Then a messenger came to David and reported, “The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.”

14And David said to all the servants with him in Jerusalem, “Arise and let us flee, or we will not escape from Absalom! We must leave quickly, or he will soon overtake us, heap disaster on us, and put the city to the sword.”

15The king’s servants replied, “Whatever our lord the king decides, we are your servants.”

16Then the king set out, and his entire household followed him. But he left behind ten concubines to take care of the palace.

17So the king set out with all the people following him. He stopped at the last house,

18and all his servants marched past him—all the Cherethites and Pelethites, and six hundred Gittites who had followed him from Gath.

19Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why should you also go with us? Go back and stay with the new king, since you are both a foreigner and an exile from your homeland.

20In fact, you arrived only yesterday; should I make you wander around with us today while I do not know where I am going? Go back and take your brothers with you. May the LORD show you loving devotion and faithfulness.”

21But Ittai answered the king, “As surely as the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be!”

22“March on then,” said David to Ittai. So Ittai the Gittite marched past with all his men and all the little ones who were with him.

23Everyone in the countryside was weeping loudly as all the people passed by. And as the king crossed the Kidron Valley, all the people also passed toward the way of the wilderness.

24Zadok was also there, and all the Levites with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until all the people had passed out of the city.

25Then the king said to Zadok, “Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, He will bring me back and let me see both it and His dwelling place again.

26But if He should say, ‘I do not delight in you,’ then here I am; let Him do to me whatever seems good to Him.”

27The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a seer? Return to the city in peace—you with your son Ahimaaz, and Abiathar with his son Jonathan.

28See, I will wait at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.”

29So Zadok and Abiathar returned the ark of God to Jerusalem and stayed there.

30But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went up. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. And all the people with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went.

31Now someone told David: “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David pleaded, “O LORD, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!”

32When David came to the summit, where he used to worship God, Hushai the Archite was there to meet him with his robe torn and dust on his head.

33David said to him, “If you go on with me, you will be a burden to me.

34But you can thwart the counsel of Ahithophel for me if you return to the city and say to Absalom: ‘I will be your servant, my king; in the past I was your father’s servant, but now I will be your servant.’

35Will not Zadok and Abiathar the priests be there with you? Report to them everything you hear from the king’s palace.

36Indeed, their two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and Jonathan son of Abiathar, are there with them. Send them to me with everything you hear.”

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

1When David had gone a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth was there to meet him. He had a pair of saddled donkeys loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred clusters of raisins, a hundred summer fruits, and a skin of wine.

2“Why do you have these?” asked the king. Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride, the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”

3“Where is your master’s grandson?” asked the king. And Ziba answered, “Indeed, he is staying in Jerusalem, for he has said, ‘Today, the house of Israel will restore to me the kingdom of my grandfather.’”

4So the king said to Ziba, “All that belongs to Mephibosheth is now yours!” “I humbly bow before you,” said Ziba. “May I find favor in your eyes, my lord the king!”

5As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the family of the house of Saul was just coming out. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and as he approached, he kept yelling out curses.

6He threw stones at David and at all the servants of the king, though the troops and all the mighty men were on David’s right and left.

7And as he yelled curses, Shimei said, “Get out, get out, you worthless man of bloodshed!

8The LORD has paid you back for all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned, and the LORD has delivered the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. See, you have come to ruin because you are a man of bloodshed!”

9Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head!”

10But the king replied, “What have I to do with you, O sons of Zeruiah? If he curses me because the LORD told him, ‘Curse David,’ who can ask, ‘Why did you do this?’”

11Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, my own son, my own flesh and blood, seeks my life. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone and let him curse me, for the LORD has told him so.

12Perhaps the LORD will see my affliction and repay me with good for the cursing I receive today.”

13So David and his men proceeded along the road as Shimei went along the ridge of the hill opposite him. As Shimei went, he yelled curses, threw stones, and flung dust at David.

14Finally, the king and all the people with him arrived, exhausted. And there he refreshed himself.

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

16And David’s friend Hushai the Archite went to Absalom and said to him, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”

17“Is this the loyalty you show your friend?” Absalom replied. “Why did you not go with your friend?”

18“Not at all,” Hushai answered. “For the one chosen by the LORD, by this people, and by all the men of Israel—his I will be, and with him I will remain.

19Furthermore, whom should I serve if not his son? As I served in your father’s presence, so also I will serve in yours.”

20Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give me counsel. What should we do?”

21Ahithophel replied, “Sleep with your father’s concubines, whom he has left to take care of the palace. When all Israel hears that you have become a stench to your father, then the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.”

22So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he slept with his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.

23Now in those days the advice of Ahithophel was like the consultation of the word of God. Such was the regard that both David and Absalom had for Ahithophel’s advice.

1Furthermore, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose twelve thousand men and set out tonight in pursuit of David.

2I will attack him while he is weak and weary; I will throw him into a panic, and all the people with him will flee; I will strike down only the king

3and bring all the people back to you as a bride returning to her husband. You seek the life of only one man; then all the people will be at peace.”

4This proposal seemed good to Absalom and all the elders of Israel.

5Then Absalom said, “Summon Hushai the Archite as well, and let us hear what he too has to say.”

6So Hushai came to Absalom, who told him, “Ahithophel has spoken this proposal. Should we carry it out? If not, what do you say?”

7Hushai replied, “This time the advice of Ahithophel is not sound.”

8He continued, “You know your father and his men. They are mighty men, and as fierce as a wild bear robbed of her cubs. Moreover, your father is a man of war who will not spend the night with the troops.

9Surely by now he is hiding in a cave or some other location. If some of your troops fall first, whoever hears of it will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the troops who follow Absalom.’

10Then even the most valiant soldier with the heart of a lion will melt with fear, because all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man who has valiant men with him.

11Instead, I advise that all Israel from Dan to Beersheba—a multitude like the sand on the seashore—be gathered to you, and that you yourself lead them into battle.

12Then we will attack David wherever we find him, and we will descend on him like dew on the ground. And of all the men with him, not even one will remain.

13If he retreats to a city, all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we will drag it down to the valley until not even a pebble can be found there.”

14Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than that of Ahithophel.” For the LORD had purposed to thwart the good counsel of Ahithophel in order to bring disaster on Absalom.

15So Hushai told Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, “This is what Ahithophel has advised Absalom and the elders of Israel, and this is what I have advised.

16Now send quickly and tell David, ‘Do not spend the night at the fords of the wilderness, but be sure to cross over. Otherwise the king and all the people with him will be swallowed up.’”

17Now Jonathan 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, for they dared not be seen entering the city.

18But a young man did see them and told 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 the man’s wife took a covering, spread it over the mouth of the well, and scattered grain over it so nobody would know a thing.

20When Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house, they asked, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” “They have crossed over the brook,” she replied. The men searched but did not find them, so they returned to Jerusalem.

21After the men had gone, Ahimaaz and Jonathan climbed up out of the well and went to inform King David, saying, “Get up and cross over the river at once, 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 left who had not crossed the Jordan.

23When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He put his affairs in order and hanged himself. So he died and was buried in his father’s tomb.

24Then David went to Mahanaim, and Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel.

25Absalom had appointed Amasa over the army in place of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra, the Ishmaelite who had married Abigail, the daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah the mother of Joab.

26So the Israelites and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead.

27When David came to Mahanaim, he was met by Shobi son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, Machir son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim.

28They brought beds, basins, and earthen vessels, as well as wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils,

29honey, curds, sheep, and cheese from the herd for David and his people to eat. For they said, “The people have become hungry, exhausted, and thirsty in the wilderness.”