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2 Samuel 15-16
Contemporary English Version
2 Samuel 15-16
Contemporary English Version
Absalom Rebels against David
15 Some time later, Absalom got himself a chariot with horses to pull it, and he had 50 men run in front. 2 He would get up early each morning and wait by the side of the road that led to the city gate.[a] Anyone who had a complaint to bring to King David would have to go that way, and Absalom would ask each of them, “Where are you from?”
If they said, “I'm from a tribe in the north,” 3 Absalom would say, “You deserve to win your case. It's too bad the king doesn't have anyone to hear complaints like yours. 4 I wish someone would make me the judge around here! I would be fair to everyone.”
5 Whenever anyone came to Absalom and started bowing down, he would reach out and hug and kiss them. 6 That's how he treated everyone from Israel who brought a complaint to the king. Soon everyone in Israel liked Absalom better than they liked David.
7 Four years[b] later, Absalom said to David, “Please, let me go to Hebron. I have to keep a promise that I made to the Lord, 8 when I was living with the Arameans in Geshur. I promised that if the Lord would bring me back to live in Jerusalem, I would worship him in Hebron.”[c]
9 David gave his permission, and Absalom went to Hebron. 10-12 He took 200 men from Jerusalem with him, but they had no idea what he was going to do. Absalom offered sacrifices in Hebron and sent someone to Gilo to tell David's advisor Ahithophel to come.
More and more people were joining Absalom and supporting his plot. Meanwhile, Absalom had secretly sent some messengers to the northern tribes of Israel. The messengers told everyone, “When you hear the sound of the trumpets, you must shout, ‘Absalom now rules as king in Hebron!’ ”
David Has To Leave Jerusalem
13 A messenger came and told David, “Everyone in Israel is on Absalom's side!”
14 David's officials were in Jerusalem with him, and he told them, “Let's get out of here! We'll have to leave soon, or none of us will escape from Absalom. Hurry! If he moves fast, he could catch us while we're still here. Then he will kill us and everyone else in the city.”
15 The officials said, “Your Majesty, we'll do whatever you say.”
16-17 David left behind ten of his wives[d] to take care of the palace, but the rest of his family and his officials and soldiers went with him.
They stopped at the last house at the edge of the city. 18 Then David stood there and watched while his regular troops and his bodyguards[e] marched past. The last group was the 600 soldiers who had followed him from Gath.[f] Their commander was Ittai.
19 David spoke to Ittai and said, “You're a foreigner from the town of Gath. You don't have to leave with us. Go back and join the new king! 20 You haven't been with me very long, so why should you have to follow me, when I don't even know where I'm going? Take your soldiers and go back. I pray that the Lord will be[g] kind and faithful to you.”
21 Ittai answered, “Your Majesty, just as surely as you and the Lord live, I will go where you go, no matter if it costs me my life.”
22 “Then come on!” David said.
So Ittai and all his men and their families walked on past David.
David Sends the Sacred Chest Back to Jerusalem
23 The people of Jerusalem were crying and moaning as David and everyone with him passed by. He led them across Kidron Valley[h] and along the road toward the desert.
24 Zadok and Abiathar the priests were there along with several men from the tribe of Levi who were carrying the sacred chest. They set the chest down, and left it there until David and his followers had gone out of the city.
25 Then David said:
Zadok, take the sacred chest back to Jerusalem. If the Lord is pleased with me, he will bring me back and let me see it and his tent again. 26 But if he says he isn't pleased with me, then let him do what he knows is best.
27 Zadok, you are a good judge of things,[i] so return to the city and don't cause any trouble. Take your son Ahimaaz with you. Abiathar and his son Jonathan will also go back. 28 I'll wait at the river crossing in the desert until I hear from you.
29 Zadok and Abiathar took the sacred chest back into Jerusalem and stayed there. 30 David went on up the slope of the Mount of Olives. He was barefoot and crying, and he covered his head to show his sorrow. Everyone with him was crying, and they covered their heads too.
31 Someone told David, “Ahithophel is helping Absalom plot against you!”
David said, “Please, Lord, keep Ahithophel's plans from working!”
David Sends Hushai Back as a Spy
32 When David reached the top of the Mount of Olives, he met Hushai the Archite[j] at a place of worship. Hushai's robe was torn, and dust was on his head.[k] 33 David told him:
If you come with me, you might slow us down.[l] 34 Go back into the city and tell Absalom, “Your Majesty, I am your servant. I will serve you now, just as I served your father in the past.”
Hushai, if you do that, you can help me ruin Ahithophel's plans. 35 Zadok and Abiathar the priests will be there with you, and you can tell them everything you hear in the palace. 36 Then they can send their sons Ahimaaz and Jonathan to tell me what you've heard.
37 David's advisor Hushai slipped back into Jerusalem, at just about the same time Absalom was coming in.
Ziba Gives Food to David
16 (A) David had started down the other side of the Mount of Olives, when he was met by Ziba, the chief servant of Mephibosheth.[m] Ziba had two donkeys that were carrying 200 loaves of bread, 100 handfuls of raisins, 100 figs,[n] and some wine.
2 “What's all this?” David asked.
Ziba said, “The donkeys are for your family to ride. The bread and fruit are for the people to eat, and the wine is for them to drink in the desert when they are tired out.”
3 (B) “And where is Mephibosheth?” David asked.
Ziba answered, “He stayed in Jerusalem, because he thinks the people of Israel want him to rule the kingdom of his grandfather Saul.”
4 David then told him, “Everything that used to belong to Mephibosheth is now yours.”
Ziba said, “Your Majesty, I am your humble servant, and I hope you will be pleased with me.”
Shimei Curses David
5 David was near the town of Bahurim when a man came out and started cursing him. The man was Shimei the son of Gera, and he was one of Saul's distant relatives. 6 He threw stones at David, at his soldiers, and at everyone else, including the bodyguards who walked on each side of David.
7 Shimei was yelling at David, “Get out of here, you murderer! You good-for-nothing, 8 the Lord is paying you back for killing so many in Saul's family. You stole his kingdom, but now the Lord has given it to your son Absalom. You're a murderer, and that's why you're in such big trouble!”
9 Abishai said, “Your Majesty, this man is as useless as a dead dog! He shouldn't be allowed to curse you. Let me go over and chop off his head.”
10 David replied, “What will I ever do with you and your brother Joab? If Shimei is cursing me because the Lord has told him to, then who are you to tell him to stop?”
11 Then David said to Abishai and all his soldiers:
My own son is trying to kill me! Why shouldn't this man from the tribe of Benjamin want me dead even more? Let him curse all he wants. Maybe the Lord did tell him to curse me. 12 But if the Lord hears these curses and sees the trouble I'm in, maybe he will have pity on me instead.
13 David and the others went on down the road. Shimei went along the hillside by the road, cursing and throwing rocks and dirt at them. 14 When David and those with him came to the Jordan River, they were tired out. But after they rested, they[o] felt much better.
Hushai Meets Absalom
15 By this time, Absalom, Ahithophel, and the others had reached Jerusalem. 16 David's friend Hushai came to Absalom and said, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”
17 But Absalom asked Hushai, “Is this how you show loyalty to your friend David? Why didn't you go with him?”
18 Hushai answered, “The Lord and the people of Israel have chosen you to be king. I can't leave. I have to stay and serve the one they've chosen. 19 Besides, it seems right for me to serve you, just as I served your father.”
Ahithophel's Advice
20 Absalom turned to Ahithophel and said, “Give us your advice! What should we do?”
21 Ahithophel answered, “Some of your father's wives[p] were left here to take care of the palace. You should have sex with them. Then everyone will find out that you have publicly disgraced your father. This will make you and your followers even more powerful.”
22 (C) Absalom had a tent set up on the flat roof of the palace, and everyone watched as he went into the tent with his father's wives.
23 Ahithophel gave such good advice in those days that both Absalom and David thought it came straight from God.
Footnotes
- 15.2 the city gate: Or “the entrance to the king's palace.”
- 15.7 Four years: The Hebrew text has “Forty years.”
- 15.8 in Hebron: Some manuscripts of one ancient translation; these words are not in the Hebrew text.
- 15.16,17 wives: See the note at 3.7.
- 15.18 bodyguards: See the note at 8.18.
- 15.18 the 600 … Gath: These were Philistine soldiers who were loyal to David.
- 15.20 I pray … be: One ancient translation; these words are not in the Hebrew text.
- 15.23 Kidron Valley: This was considered the eastern boundary of Jerusalem.
- 15.27 you … things: Or “You are a prophet” or “You are not a prophet.”
- 15.32 Archite: The Archites were part of the tribe of Benjamin (see Joshua 16.2).
- 15.32 Hushai's … head: See the note at 1.2.
- 15.33 you might slow us down: Hushai was probably very old.
- 16.1 chief servant of Mephibosheth: See 9.1-13.
- 16.1 figs: Or “pomegranates,” a bright red fruit that looks like an apple.
- 16.14 they: Hebrew “he.”
- 16.21 wives: See the note at 3.7.
2 Samuel 15-16
New International Version
2 Samuel 15-16
New International Version
Absalom’s Conspiracy
15 In the course of time,(A) Absalom provided himself with a chariot(B) and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him. 2 He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate.(C) 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.” 3 Then Absalom would say to him, “Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you.”(D) 4 And Absalom would add, “If only I were appointed judge in the land!(E) Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that they receive justice.”
5 Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him. 6 Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts(F) of the people of Israel.
7 At the end of four[a] years, Absalom said to the king, “Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the Lord. 8 While your servant was living at Geshur(G) in Aram, I made this vow:(H) ‘If the Lord takes me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the Lord in Hebron.[b]’”
9 The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he went to Hebron.
10 Then Absalom sent secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets,(I) then say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron.’” 11 Two hundred men from Jerusalem had accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went quite innocently, knowing nothing about the matter. 12 While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel(J) the Gilonite, David’s counselor,(K) to come from Giloh,(L) his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom’s following kept on increasing.(M)
David Flees
13 A messenger came and told David, “The hearts of the people of Israel are with Absalom.”
14 Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, “Come! We must flee,(N) or none of us will escape from Absalom.(O) We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin on us and put the city to the sword.”
15 The king’s officials answered him, “Your servants are ready to do whatever our lord the king chooses.”
16 The king set out, with his entire household following him; but he left ten concubines(P) to take care of the palace. 17 So the king set out, with all the people following him, and they halted at the edge of the city. 18 All his men marched past him, along with all the Kerethites(Q) and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had accompanied him from Gath marched before the king.
19 The king said to Ittai(R) the Gittite, “Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner,(S) an exile from your homeland. 20 You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander(T) about with us, when I do not know where I am going? Go back, and take your people with you. May the Lord show you kindness and faithfulness.”[c](U)
21 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.”(V)
22 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.
23 The whole countryside wept aloud(W) as all the people passed by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley,(X) and all the people moved on toward the wilderness.
24 Zadok(Y) was there, too, and all the Levites who were with him were carrying the ark(Z) of the covenant of God. They set down the ark of God, and Abiathar(AA) offered sacrifices until all the people had finished leaving the city.
25 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(AB) again. 26 But if he says, ‘I am not pleased with you,’ then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him.(AC)”
27 The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Do you understand?(AD) Go back to the city with my blessing. Take your son Ahimaaz with you, and also Abiathar’s son Jonathan.(AE) You and Abiathar return with your two sons. 28 I will wait at the fords(AF) in the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” 29 So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem and stayed there.
30 But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping(AG) as he went; his head(AH) was covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up. 31 Now David had been told, “Ahithophel(AI) is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David prayed, “Lord, turn Ahithophel’s counsel into foolishness.”
32 When David arrived at the summit, where people used to worship God, Hushai(AJ) the Arkite(AK) was there to meet him, his robe torn and dust(AL) on his head. 33 David said to him, “If you go with me, you will be a burden(AM) to me. 34 But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, ‘Your Majesty, I will be your servant; I was your father’s servant in the past, but now I will be your servant,’(AN) then you can help me by frustrating(AO) Ahithophel’s advice. 35 Won’t the priests Zadok and Abiathar be there with you? Tell them anything you hear in the king’s palace.(AP) 36 Their two sons, Ahimaaz(AQ) son of Zadok and Jonathan(AR) son of Abiathar, are there with them. Send them to me with anything you hear.”
37 So Hushai,(AS) David’s confidant, arrived at Jerusalem as Absalom(AT) was entering the city.
David and Ziba
16 When David had gone a short distance beyond the summit, there was Ziba,(AU) the steward of Mephibosheth, waiting to meet him. He had a string of donkeys saddled and loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred cakes of raisins, a hundred cakes of figs and a skin of wine.(AV)
2 The king asked Ziba, “Why have you brought these?”
Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread and fruit are for the men to eat, and the wine is to refresh(AW) those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”
3 The king then asked, “Where is your master’s grandson?”(AX)
Ziba(AY) said to him, “He is staying in Jerusalem, because he thinks, ‘Today the Israelites will restore to me my grandfather’s kingdom.’”
4 Then the king said to Ziba, “All that belonged to Mephibosheth(AZ) is now yours.”
“I humbly bow,” Ziba said. “May I find favor in your eyes, my lord the king.”
Shimei Curses David
5 As King David approached Bahurim,(BA) a man from the same clan as Saul’s family came out from there. His name was Shimei(BB) son of Gera, and he cursed(BC) as he came out. 6 He pelted David and all the king’s officials with stones, though all the troops and the special guard were on David’s right and left. 7 As he cursed, Shimei said, “Get out, get out, you murderer, you scoundrel! 8 The Lord has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned.(BD) The Lord has given the kingdom into the hands of your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a murderer!”(BE)
9 Then Abishai(BF) son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog(BG) curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head.”(BH)
10 But the king said, “What does this have to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah?(BI) If he is cursing because the Lord said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who can ask, ‘Why do you do this?’”(BJ)
11 David then said to Abishai and all his officials, “My son,(BK) my own flesh and blood, is trying to kill me. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the Lord has told him to.(BL) 12 It may be that the Lord will look upon my misery(BM) and restore to me his covenant blessing(BN) instead of his curse today.(BO)”
13 So David and his men continued along the road while Shimei was going along the hillside opposite him, cursing as he went and throwing stones at him and showering him with dirt. 14 The king and all the people with him arrived at their destination exhausted.(BP) And there he refreshed himself.
The Advice of Ahithophel and Hushai
15 Meanwhile, Absalom(BQ) and all the men of Israel came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel(BR) was with him. 16 Then Hushai(BS) the Arkite, David’s confidant, went to Absalom and said to him, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”
17 Absalom said to Hushai, “So this is the love you show your friend? If he’s your friend, why didn’t you go with him?”(BT)
18 Hushai said to Absalom, “No, the one chosen by the Lord, by these people, and by all the men of Israel—his I will be, and I will remain with him. 19 Furthermore, whom should I serve? Should I not serve the son? Just as I served your father, so I will serve you.”(BU)
20 Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give us your advice. What should we do?”
21 Ahithophel answered, “Sleep with your father’s concubines whom he left to take care of the palace. Then all Israel will hear that you have made yourself obnoxious to your father, and the hands of everyone with you will be more resolute.” 22 So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he slept with his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.(BV)
23 Now in those days the advice(BW) Ahithophel gave was like that of one who inquires of God. That was how both David(BX) and Absalom regarded all of Ahithophel’s advice.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 15:7 Some Septuagint manuscripts, Syriac and Josephus; Hebrew forty
- 2 Samuel 15:8 Some Septuagint manuscripts; Hebrew does not have in Hebron.
- 2 Samuel 15:20 Septuagint; Hebrew May kindness and faithfulness be with you
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