2 Samuel 15:13-37
New American Standard Bible
David Flees Jerusalem
13 Then a messenger came to David, saying, “(A)The hearts of the people of Israel are [a]with Absalom.” 14 So David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem, “(B)Arise and let’s flee, for otherwise none of us will escape from Absalom. Go quickly, or he will hurry and overtake us, and bring disaster on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword.” 15 Then the king’s servants said to the king, “Behold, your servants will do whatever my lord the king chooses.” 16 So the king left, and all his household [b]with him; but (C)the king left ten concubines behind to take care of the house. 17 The king left, and all the people [c]with him, and they stopped at the last house. 18 Now all of his servants passed by beside him, and (D)all the Cherethites, all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, (E)six hundred men who had come [d]with him from Gath, passed by before the king.
19 Then the king said to (F)Ittai the Gittite, “Why should you go with us too? Return and stay with [e]your king, since you are a foreigner and an exile as well; return to your own place. 20 You came only yesterday, so should I make you wander with us today, while (G)I go wherever I go? Return and take your brothers back; (H)mercy and [f]truth be with you.” 21 But Ittai answered the king and said, “As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, (I)wherever my lord the king may be, whether for death or for life, there assuredly shall your servant be!” 22 Then David said to Ittai, “Go and cross over the brook Kidron.” So Ittai the Gittite crossed over with all his men and all the [g]little ones who were with him. 23 While all the country was weeping with a loud voice, all the people were crossing over. The king was also crossing over (J)the brook Kidron, and all the people were crossing over toward (K)the way of the wilderness.
24 Now behold, (L)Zadok also came, and all the Levites with him, (M)carrying the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and (N)Abiathar came up until all the people had finished crossing over from the city. 25 And the king said to Zadok, “Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the sight of the Lord, then (O)He will bring me back and show me both it and (P)His habitation. 26 But if He says this: ‘(Q)I have no delight in you,’ then here I am, (R)let Him do to me as seems good [h]to Him.” 27 The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not (S)a seer? Return to the city in peace, and your (T)two sons with you, your son Ahimaaz and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. 28 See, I am going to wait (U)at the river crossing places of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” 29 So Zadok and Abiathar returned the ark of God to Jerusalem and remained there.
30 And David was going up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, and (V)his head was covered, and he was walking (W)barefoot. Then all the people who were with him each covered his own head, and they were going up, weeping as they went. 31 Now someone informed David, saying, “(X)Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “Lord, please (Y)make the advice of Ahithophel foolish.”
32 It happened as David was coming to the summit, where God was worshiped, that behold, Hushai the (Z)Archite met him with his [i]coat torn, and [j]dust on his head. 33 And David said to him, “If you go over with me, then you will become (AA)a burden to me. 34 But if you return to the city and (AB)say to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king; even as I was your father’s servant in time past, so now I will also be your servant,’ then you can foil the advice of Ahithophel for me. 35 Are Zadok and Abiathar the priests not with you there? So it shall be that (AC)whatever you hear from the king’s house, you shall report to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. 36 Behold (AD)their two sons are there with them, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son; and (AE)by them you shall send me everything that you hear.” 37 So Hushai, (AF)David’s friend, came into the city, and (AG)Absalom came into Jerusalem.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Samuel 15:13 Lit after
- 2 Samuel 15:16 Lit at his feet
- 2 Samuel 15:17 Lit at his feet
- 2 Samuel 15:18 Lit at his feet
- 2 Samuel 15:19 Lit the king
- 2 Samuel 15:20 Or faithfulness
- 2 Samuel 15:22 I.e., children; here, families of the men
- 2 Samuel 15:26 Lit in His sight
- 2 Samuel 15:32 Or tunic
- 2 Samuel 15:32 Lit earth
2 Samuel 15:13-37
Living Bible
13 A messenger soon arrived in Jerusalem to tell King David, “All Israel has joined Absalom in a conspiracy against you!”
14 “Then we must flee at once or it will be too late!” was David’s instant response to his men. “If we get out of the city before he arrives, both we and the city of Jerusalem will be saved.”
15 “We are with you,” his aides replied. “Do as you think best.”
16 So the king and his household set out at once. He left no one behind except ten of his young wives to keep the palace in order. 17-18 David paused at the edge of the city to let his troops move past him to lead the way—six hundred Gittites who had come with him from Gath, and the Cherethites and Pelethites.
19-20 But suddenly the king turned to Ittai, the captain of the six hundred Gittites, and said to him, “What are you doing here? Go on back with your men to Jerusalem, to your king, for you are a guest in Israel, a foreigner in exile. It seems but yesterday that you arrived, and now today should I force you to wander with us, who knows where? Go on back and take your troops with you, and may the Lord be merciful to you.”
21 But Ittai replied, “I vow by God and by your own life that wherever you go, I will go, no matter what happens—whether it means life or death.”
22 So David replied, “All right, come with us.” Then Ittai and his six hundred men and their families went along.
23 There was deep sadness throughout the city as the king and his retinue passed by, crossed Kidron Brook, and went out into the country. 24 Abiathar and Zadok and the Levites took the Ark of the Covenant of God and set it down beside the road until everyone had passed. 25-26 Then, following David’s instructions, Zadok took the Ark back into the city. “If the Lord sees fit,” David said, “he will bring me back to see the Ark and the Tabernacle again. But if he is through with me, well, let him do what seems best to him.”
27 Then the king told Zadok, “Look, here is my plan. Return quietly to the city with your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan. 28 I will stop at the ford of the Jordan River and wait there for a message from you. Let me know what happens in Jerusalem before I disappear into the wilderness.”
29 So Zadok and Abiathar carried the Ark of God back into the city and stayed there.
30 David walked up the road that led to the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went. His head was covered and his feet were bare as a sign of mourning. And the people who were with him covered their heads and wept as they climbed the mountain. 31 When someone told David that Ahithophel, his advisor, was backing Absalom, David prayed, “O Lord, please make Ahithophel give Absalom foolish advice!” 32 As they reached the spot at the top of the Mount of Olives where people worshiped God, David found Hushai the Archite waiting for him with torn clothing and earth upon his head.
33-34 But David told him, “If you go with me, you will only be a burden; return to Jerusalem and tell Absalom, ‘I will counsel you as I did your father.’ Then you can frustrate and counter Ahithophel’s advice. 35-36 Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, are there. Tell them the plans that are being made to capture me, and they will send their sons Ahimaaz and Jonathan to find me and tell me what is going on.”
37 So David’s friend Hushai returned to the city, getting there just as Absalom arrived.
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The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.