2 Samuel 15

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

Now after this, Absalom got for himself a carriage and horses, and fifty runners to go before him.

2 He 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,”

And Absalom got up early, morning after morning, and took his place at the side of the public meeting-place: and when any man had a cause which had to come to the king to be judged, then Absalom, crying out to him, said, What is your town? and he would say, Your servant is of one of the tribes of Israel.

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

And Absalom would say to him, See, your cause is true and right; but no man has been named by the king to give you a hearing.

4 And 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.”

And more than this, Absalom said, If only I was made judge in the land, so that every man who has any cause or question might come to me, and I would give a right decision for him!

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

And if any man came near to give him honour, he took him by the hand and gave him a kiss.

6 Absalom 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.

And this Absalom did to everyone in Israel who came to the king to have his cause judged: so Absalom, like a thief, took away the hearts of the men of Israel.

7 After 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.

Now at the end of four years, Absalom said to the king, Let me go to Hebron and give effect to the oath which I made to the Lord:

8 For 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.’”

For while I was living in Geshur in Aram, your servant made an oath, saying, If ever the Lord lets me come back to Jerusalem, I will give him worship in Hebron.

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

And the king said to him, Go in peace. So he got up and went to Hebron.

10 Then 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!’”

But Absalom at the same time sent watchers through all the tribes of Israel to say, At the sound of the horn you are to say, Absalom is king in Hebron.

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

And with Absalom, at his request, went two hundred men from Jerusalem, who were completely unconscious of his designs.

12 While 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.

And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, one of David's helpers, from Giloh his town, while he was making the offerings. And the design against David became strong, for more and more people were joined to Absalom.

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

And one came to David and said, The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom.

14 And 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.”

And David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, Come, let us go in flight, or not one of us will be safe from Absalom: let us go without loss of time, or he will overtake us quickly and send evil on us, and put the town to the sword.

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

And the king's servants said to the king, See, your servants are ready to do whatever the king says is to be done.

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

So the king went out, taking with him all the people of his house, but for ten of his women, who were to take care of the house.

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

And the king went out, and all his servants went after him, and made a stop at the Far House.

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

And all the people went on by his side; and all the Cherethites and all the Pelethites and all the men of Ittai of Gath, six hundred men who came after him from Gath, went on before the king.

19 Then 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.

Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, Why are you coming with us? go back and keep with the king: for you are a man of another country, you are far from the land of your birth.

20 In 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.”

It was only yesterday you came to us; why then am I to make you go up and down with us? for I have to go where I may; go back then, and take your countrymen with you, and may the Lord's mercy and good faith be with you.

21 But 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!”

And Ittai the Gittite in answer said, By the living Lord, and by the life of my lord the king, in whatever place my lord the king may be, for 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.

And David said to Ittai, Go forward, then. And Ittai the Gittite went on, with all his men and all the little ones he had with him.

23 Everyone 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.

And there was great weeping in all the country when all the people went through; and the king himself was waiting in the Kidron valley and all the people went by him in the direction of the olive-tree on the edge of the waste land.

24 Zadok 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 the people had passed out of the city.

Then Zadok came, and Abiathar, and with them the ark of God's agreement: and they put down the ark of God, till all the people from the town had gone by.

25 Then 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.

And the king said to Zadok, Take the ark of God back into the town: if I have grace in the eyes of the Lord, he will let me come back and see it and his House again:

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

But if he says, I have no delight in you: then, here I am; let him do to me what seems good to him.

27 The 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.

The king said further to Zadok the priest, See, you and Abiathar are to go back to the town in peace, with your two sons, Ahimaaz, your son, and Jonathan, the son of Abiathar.

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

See, I will be waiting at the way across the river, in the waste land, till I get news from you.

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

So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem, and did not go away from there.

30 But 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.

And David went up the slopes of the Mount of Olives weeping all the way, with his head covered and no shoes on his feet: and all the people who were with him, covering their heads, went up weeping.

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

And word came to David, saying, Ahithophel is among those who are joined to Absalom. And David said, O Lord, let the wisdom of Ahithophel be made foolish.

32 When 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.

Now when David had come to the top of the slope, where they gave worship to God, Hushai the Archite came to him in great grief with dust on his head:

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

David said to him, If you go on with me, you will be a trouble to me:

34 But 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.’

But if you go back to the town and say to Absalom, I will be your servant, O king; as in the past I have been your father's servant, so now I will be yours: then you will be able to keep Ahithophel's designs against me from being put into effect.

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

And have you not there Zadok and Abiathar the priests? so whatever comes to your ears from the king's house, give word of it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests.

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

See, they have with them their two sons, Ahimaaz, Zadok's son, and Jonathan, the son of Abiathar; by them you may send word to me of everything which comes to your ears.

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

So Hushai, David's friend, went into the town, and Absalom came to Jerusalem.