2 Samuel 15

15 ¹Later, Absalom got himself a chariot and horses, with fifty men to run ahead of him. ²Absalom would rise early and stand beside the road to the gate. Whenever someone with a dispute came to the king for judgment, Absalom would call out, "What city are you from?" The man would answer, "Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel."

³Then Absalom would say to him, "Look, your claims are good and right, but the king has appointed no one to hear you." ⁴Absalom would add, "If only I were appointed judge in the land! Anyone with a dispute or case could come to me, and I'd give him justice." ⁵Whenever anyone approached to bow before him, Absalom reached out, took hold of him, and kissed him. ⁶Absalom did this to every Israelite who came to the king for judgment, and so he stole the hearts of Israel.

⁷After four years, Absalom said to the king, "Please let me go to Hebron to fulfill a vow I made to our Father. ⁸For while living at Geshur in Aram I vowed: 'If our Father brings me back to Jerusalem, I will worship him.'"

⁹The king said to him, "Go in peace." So Absalom got up and went to Hebron.

¹⁰Absalom sent secret messengers through all the tribes of Israel: "When you hear the ram's horn, say, 'Absalom reigns in Hebron!'"

¹¹200 invited men from Jerusalem went with Absalom in all innocence, knowing nothing about the plot. ¹²As Absalom offered the sacrifices, he sent to Giloh for David's counselor Ahithophel the Gilonite. The conspiracy grew strong, and Absalom's following kept increasing.

David Flees From His Son Absalom

¹³A messenger came to David: "Israel's hearts have turned to Absalom."

¹⁴David told all the servants with him in Jerusalem, "Get up! We must run, or none of us will escape Absalom. Hurry, or he will soon catch us, ruin us, and strike the city with the sword."

¹⁵The king's servants answered him, "Whatever my lord the king decides, your servants are ready."

¹⁶So the king left, his whole household following, but left ten concubines to keep the palace. ^a a v16 Concubines were secondary wives with fewer legal rights than a primary wife. ¹⁷The king set out with all the people following him, and they stopped at the last house. ¹⁸All his servants passed by beside him, along with all the Cherethites and Pelethites; and all 600 Gittites who had followed him from Gath marched before the king. ^b b v18 The Cherethites and Pelethites were David's elite personal bodyguard units.

¹⁹The king said to Ittai the Gittite, "Why come with us too? Go back and stay with the new king; you're a foreigner, an exile far from your homeland. ²⁰You came only yesterday. Should I make you wander with us today, when I don't even know where I'm going? Go back, take your brothers with you. May our Father show you covenant love and faithfulness."

²¹Ittai answered the king, "As surely as our Father lives and my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king is, whether life or death, there your servant will be."

²²David told Ittai, "Go, cross over." So Ittai the Gittite crossed over with all his men and all the little ones with him. ²³The whole land wept loudly as all the people crossed over. The king crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people crossed toward the wilderness. ²⁴Zadok was there too, with all the Levites carrying the ark of the covenant of our Father. They set down the ark of our Father, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until all the people had finished leaving the city. ²⁵The king said to Zadok, "Take the ark of our Father back into the city. If our Father is pleased with me, he will bring me back and let me see it and where he lives again. ²⁶But if he says, 'I take no delight in you,' here I am—let him do to me as he sees fit." ²⁷The king also said to Zadok the priest, "Aren't you a seer? Return to the city in peace, and take your two sons with you—Ahimaaz your son and Jonathan son of Abiathar. ²⁸I will wait at the wilderness crossings until word comes from you to inform me." ²⁹So Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of our Father back to Jerusalem and stayed there.

³⁰David went up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he climbed, his head covered and feet bare. All the people with him covered their heads and climbed, weeping as they went. ^c c v30 The betrayed king, weeping as he climbs the Mount of Olives, foreshadows Jesus, who long after crossed this same valley and grieved on this same hill the night a trusted friend betrayed him.

³¹David was told, "Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom." So David prayed, "our Father, turn Ahithophel's counsel into foolishness."

³²When David reached the summit, where worship was offered to our Father, Hushai the Archite was there to meet him, his robe torn and dust on his head. ³³David said to him, "If you come with me, you'll only be a burden to me."

³⁴But if you go back to the city and tell Absalom, 'I will be your servant, my king; as I served your father before, so now I will serve you,' then you can undo Ahithophel's advice for me. ³⁵Zadok and Abiathar the priests are there with you. Tell them everything you hear in the king's house. ³⁶Their two sons are there with them—Zadok's son Ahimaaz and Abiathar's son Jonathan. Send me word through them of all you hear.

³⁷So Hushai, David's friend, came into the city just as Absalom was entering Jerusalem.