2 Samweli 15

Absalom plots against David

¹Some time after this, Absalom got himself a chariot and horses, with fifty men to run ahead of him. ²Absalom would get up early and stand beside the road that led to the city gate. Whenever anyone had a dispute to bring before the king for judgment, Absalom would call out to him, “What town are you from?” And he would answer, “Your servant is from such and such a tribe of Israel.” ³Absalom would say to him, “Look, your claims are good and right, but there is no one from the king to hear your case.” ⁴Absalom would also say, “If only someone would make me judge in the land! Then anyone with a dispute or a case could come to me, and I would see that justice is done.” ⁵And whenever anyone approached to bow low before him, Absalom would stretch out his hand, take hold of the man and kiss him. ⁶Absalom acted this way toward every Israelite who came to the king for judgment. In this way Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

⁷When forty years had come to an end, Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go to Hebron and fulfill the vow I made to the LORD.^{a 8}For your servant made a vow while I was living at Geshur in Aram. I said, ‘If the LORD really brings me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the LORD.’” ⁹The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he got up and went to Hebron.

Absalom’s revolt and David’s flight

¹⁰Meanwhile Absalom sent secret messengers throughout all the tribes of Israel to say, “As soon as you hear the sound of the ram’s horn, say, ‘Absalom has become king in Hebron!’” ¹¹Two hundred men from Jerusalem went with Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went in all innocence, knowing nothing about the plot. ¹²While Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his town of Giloh. So the conspiracy grew strong, and the number of people supporting Absalom kept increasing. ¹³A messenger came to David and said, “The hearts of the men of Israel have gone over to Absalom.” ¹⁴Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, “Get up! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. Leave at once, or he will move quickly, overtake us, bring disaster on us and put the city to the sword.” ¹⁵The king’s officials said to the king, “Whatever my lord the king decides, your servants are ready.” ¹⁶So the king set out, with all his household following him. But he left ten concubines behind to look after the palace. ¹⁷So the king went out with all the people following him, and they stopped at the last house. ¹⁸All his officials marched past him, with every one of the Cherethites and the Pelethites. And all the Gittites, the six hundred men who had followed him from Gath, marched past the king. ¹⁹Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why should you come with us too? Go back and stay with the king. You are a foreigner, and an exile from your own homeland as well. ²⁰You came only yesterday. Should I make you wander about with us today, when I do not even know where I am going? Go back, and take your kinsmen with you. May faithful love and faithfulness go with you.”^{b 21}But Ittai replied to the king, “As surely as the LORD lives, and by the life of my lord the king, in whatever place my lord the king may be, whether it means death or life, there your servant will be.” ²²David said to Ittai, “Go ahead, then, and march on.” So Ittai the Gittite marched on with all his men and all the families who were with him. ²³The whole countryside wept aloud as all the people passed by. The king crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people went on toward the road to the wilderness. ²⁴Zadok was there too, with all the Levites carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set the ark of God down, and Abiathar went up, while the people finished leaving the city.^{c 25}Then the king said to Zadok, “Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the sight of the LORD, he will bring me home again and let me see the ark and his dwelling place once more. ²⁶But if he says, ‘I am not pleased with you,’ then here I am; let him deal with me as he sees fit.”

David sends the priests back

²⁷The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Do you understand? Go back to the city in peace, and take your two sons with you: your son Ahimaaz and Jonathan son of Abiathar.^{d 28}Look, I will wait at the fords in the wilderness until word comes from you to let me know what is happening.”^{e 29}So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem and stayed there. ³⁰David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went. His head was covered, and he walked barefoot. All the people with him covered their heads too, and they went up weeping as they climbed. ³¹Then David was told, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David prayed, “LORD, please turn the advice of Ahithophel into foolishness.” ³²When David reached the summit, where God was worshiped, Hushai the Archite came to meet him there. His robe was torn and there was earth on his head. ³³David told him, “If you go on with me, you will only weigh me down. ³⁴But if you go back to the city and tell Absalom, ‘O king, I will be your servant. Before, I was your father’s servant, but now I will be yours,’ then you can defeat the advice of Ahithophel for me. ³⁵Zadok and Abiathar the priests will be there with you, will they not? Tell them everything you hear from the king’s palace. ³⁶Their two sons are there with them, Zadok’s son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan. Send them to me with everything you hear.” ³⁷So Hushai, David’s friend, came into the city just as Absalom was entering Jerusalem.