Ii Samuelis 15

1 Igitur post hæc fecit sibi Absalom currus, et equites, et quinquaginta viros, qui præcederent eum.

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

2 Et mane consurgens Absalom, stabat iuxta introitum portæ, et omnem virum, qui habebat negotium ut veniret ad regis iudicium, vocabat Absalom ad se, et dicebat: De qua civitate es tu? Qui respondens aiebat: Ex una tribu Israel ego sum servus tuus.

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 Respondebatque ei Absalom: Videntur mihi sermones tui boni et iusti. Sed non est qui te audiat constitutus a rege. Dicebatque Absalom:

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 Quis me constituat iudicem super terram, ut ad me veniant omnes, qui habent negotium, et iuste iudicem?

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 Sed et cum accederet ad eum homo ut salutaret illum, extendebat manum suam, et apprehendens, osculabatur eum.

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

6 Faciebatque hoc omni Israel venienti ad iudicium, ut audiretur a rege, et solicitabat corda virorum 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 Post quadraginta autem annos, dixit Absalom ad regem David: Vadam, et reddam vota mea quæ vovi Domino in Hebron.

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 Vovens enim vovit servus tuus, cum esset in Gessur Syriæ, dicens: Si reduxerit me Dominus in Ierusalem, sacrificabo Domino.

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 Dixitque ei rex David: Vade in pace. Et surrexit, et abiit in Hebron.

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

10 Misit autem Absalom exploratores in universas tribus Israel, dicens: Statim ut audieritis clangorem buccinæ, dicite: Regnavit Absalom 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 Porro cum Absalom ierunt ducenti viri de Ierusalem vocati, euntes simplici corde, et causam penitus ignorantes.

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

12 Accersivit quoque Absalom Achitophel Gilonitem consiliarium David, de civitate sua Gilo. Cumque immolaret victimas, facta est coniuratio valida, populusque concurrens augebatur cum Absalom.

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 Venit igitur nuncius ad David, dicens: Toto corde universus Israel sequitur Absalom.

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

14 Et ait David servis suis, qui erant cum eo in Ierusalem: Surgite, fugiamus: neque enim erit nobis effugium a facie Absalom: festinate egredi, ne forte veniens occupet nos, et impellat super nos ruinam, et percutiat civitatem in ore gladii.

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 Dixeruntque servi regis ad eum: omnia quæcumque præceperit dominus noster rex, libenter exequemur servi tui.

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 Egressus est ergo rex, et universa domus eius pedibus suis: et dereliquit rex decem mulieres concubinas ad custodiendam domum.

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 Egressusque rex et omnis Israel pedibus suis, stetit procul a domo:

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

18 et universi servi eius ambulabant iuxta eum, et legiones Cerethi, et Phelethi, et omnes Gethæi, pugnatores validi, sexcenti viri qui secuti eum fuerant de Geth pedites, præcedebant regem.

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 Dixit autem rex ad Ethai Gethæum: Cur venis nobiscum? Revertere, et habita cum rege, quia peregrinus es, et egressus es de loco tuo.

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 Heri venisti, et hodie compelleris nobiscum egredi? Ego autem vadam quo iturus sum: revertere, et reduc tecum fratres tuos, et Dominus faciet tecum misericordiam, et veritatem, quia ostendisti gratiam et fidem.

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 Et respondit Ethai regi, dicens: Vivit Dominus, et vivit dominus meus rex: quoniam in quocumque loco fueris domine mi rex, sive in morte, sive in vita, ibi erit servus tuus.

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 Et ait David Ethai: Veni, et transi. Et transivit Ethai Gethæus, et omnes viri, qui cum eo erant, et reliqua multitudo.

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 Omnesque flebant voce magna, et universus populus transibat: rex quoque transgrediebatur Torrentem Cedron, et cunctus populus incedebat contra viam, quæ respicit ad desertum.

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 Venit autem et Sadoc sacerdos, et universi Levitæ cum eo, portantes arcam fœderis Dei, et deposuerunt arcam Dei: et ascendit Abiathar, donec expletus esset omnis populus, qui egressus fuerat de civitate.

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 Et dixit rex ad Sadoc: Reporta arcam Dei in urbem: si invenero gratiam in oculis Domini, reducet me, et ostendet mihi eam, et tabernaculum suum.

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 Si autem dixerit mihi: Non places: præsto sum, faciat quod bonum est coram se.

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 Et dixit rex ad Sadoc sacerdotem: O videns revertere in civitatem in pace: et Achimaas filius tuus, et Ionathas filius Abiathar duo filii vestri, sint vobiscum.

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 Ecce ego abscondar in campestribus deserti, donec veniat sermo a vobis indicans mihi.

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

29 Reportaverunt ergo Sadoc, et Abiathar arcam Dei in Ierusalem: et manserunt ibi.

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

30 Porro David ascendebat clivum Olivarum, scandens et flens, nudis pedibus incedens, et operto capite, sed et omnis populus, qui erat cum eo, operto capite ascendebat plorans.

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 Nunciatum est autem David quod et Achitophel esset in coniuratione cum Absalom, dixitque David: Infatua, quæso, Domine consilium Achitophel.

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 Cumque ascenderet David summitatem montis, in quo adoraturus erat Dominum, ecce occurrit ei Chusai Arachites, scissa veste, et terra pleno capite.

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 Et dixit ei David: Si veneris mecum, eris mihi oneri:

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

34 si autem in civitatem revertaris, et dixeris Absalom: Servus tuus sum, rex: sicut fui servus patris tui, sic ero servus tuus: dissipabis consilium Achitophel.

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 Habes autem tecum Sadoc, et Abiathar sacerdotes: et omne verbum quodcumque audieris de domo regis, indicabis Sadoc, et Abiathar sacerdotibus.

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 Sunt autem cum eis duo filii eorum Achimaas filius Sadoc, et Ionathas filius Abiathar: et mittetis per eos ad me omne verbum quod audieritis.

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 Veniente ergo Chusai amico David in civitatem, Absalom quoque ingressus est Ierusalem.

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