2
Samuel
15
- In the course of time, Absalom provided
himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him.
- He would get up early and stand by the side
of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint
to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him,
"What town are you from?" He would answer, "Your servant is
from one of the tribes of Israel."
- Then Absalom would say to him, "Look,
your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king
to hear you."
- And Absalom would add, "If only I were
appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could
come to me and I would see that he gets justice."
- Also, whenever anyone approached him to
bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and
kiss him.
- Absalom behaved in this way toward all the
Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts
of the men of Israel.
- At the end of four years, Absalom said to
the king, "Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the LORD.
- While your servant was living at Geshur
in Aram, I made this vow: 'If the LORD takes me back to Jerusalem, I will
worship the LORD in Hebron.'"
- The king said to him, "Go in peace."
So he went to Hebron.
- Then Absalom sent secret messengers throughout
the tribes of Israel to say, "As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets,
then say, 'Absalom is king in Hebron.'"
- Two hundred men from Jerusalem had accompanied
Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went quite innocently, knowing
nothing about the matter.
- While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he
also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, to come from Giloh,
his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom's following
kept on increasing.
- A messenger came and told David, "The
hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom."
- Then David said to all his officials who
were with him in Jerusalem, "Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape
from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake
us and bring ruin upon us and put the city to the sword."
- The king's officials answered him, "Your
servants are ready to do whatever our lord the king chooses."
- The king set out, with his entire household
following him; but he left ten concubines to take care of the palace.
- So the king set out, with all the people
following him, and they halted at a place some distance away.
- All his men marched past him, along with
all the Kerethites and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had
accompanied him from Gath marched before the king.
- The king said to Ittai the Gittite, "Why
should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are
a foreigner, an exile from your homeland.
- You came only yesterday. And today shall
I make you wander about with us, when I do not know where I am going? Go back,
and take your countrymen. May kindness and faithfulness be with you."
- But Ittai replied to 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."
- David said to Ittai, "Go ahead, march
on." So Ittai the Gittite marched on with all his men and the families
that were with him.
- The whole countryside wept aloud as all
the people passed by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the
people moved on toward the desert.
- Zadok was there, too, and all the Levites
who were with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set down
the ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until all the people had finished
leaving the city.
- Then the king said to Zadok, "Take
the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the LORD'S eyes, he
will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again.
- But if he says, 'I am not pleased with you,'
then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him."
- The king also said to Zadok the priest,
"Aren't you a seer? Go back to the city in peace, with your son Ahimaaz
and Jonathan son of Abiathar. You and Abiathar take your two sons with you.
- I will wait at the fords in the desert until
word comes from you to inform me."
- So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God
back to Jerusalem and stayed there.
- But David continued up the Mount of Olives,
weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot. All the people
with him covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up.
- Now David had been told, "Ahithophel
is among the conspirators with Absalom." So David prayed, "O LORD,
turn Ahithophel's counsel into foolishness."
- When David arrived at the summit, where
people used to worship God, Hushai the Arkite was there to meet him, his robe
torn and dust on his head.
- David said to him, "If you go with
me, you will be a burden to me.
- But if you return to the city and say to
Absalom, 'I will be your servant, O king; I was your father's servant in the
past, but now I will be your servant,' then you can help me by frustrating
Ahithophel's advice.
- Won't the priests Zadok and Abiathar be
there with you? Tell them anything you hear in the king's palace.
- Their two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and
Jonathan son of Abiathar, are there with them. Send them to me with anything
you hear."
- So David's friend Hushai arrived at Jerusalem
as Absalom was entering the city.
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