2 Samuel 15

Chapter 15

Absalom’s Rebellion

1 After this, Absalom bought a chariot and horses, and he hired fifty bodyguards to run ahead of him.2 He got up early every morning and went out to the gate of the city. When people brought a case to the king for judgment, Absalom would ask where in Israel they were from, and they would tell him their tribe.3 Then Absalom would say, “You’ve really got a strong case here! It’s too bad the king doesn’t have anyone to hear it.

4 I wish I were the judge. Then everyone could bring their cases to me for judgment, and I would give them justice!”
5 When people tried to bow before him, Absalom wouldn’t let them. Instead, he took them by the hand and kissed them.

6 Absalom did this with everyone who came to the king for judgment, and so he stole the hearts of all the people of Israel.
7 After four years,t Absalom said to the king, “Let me go to Hebron to offer a sacrifice to the LORD and fulfill a vow I made to him.

8 For while your servant was at Geshur in Aram, I promised to sacrifice to the LORD in Hebront if he would bring me back to Jerusalem.”

9 “All right,” the king told him. “Go and fulfill your vow.”

So Absalom went to Hebron.10 But while he was there, he sent secret messengers to all the tribes of Israel to stir up a rebellion against the king. “As soon as you hear the ram’s horn,” his message read, “you are to say, ‘Absalom has been crowned king in Hebron.’”11 He took 200 men from Jerusalem with him as guests, but they knew nothing of his intentions.

12 While Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel, one of David’s counselors who lived in Giloh. Soon many others also joined Absalom, and the conspiracy gained momentum.

David Escapes from Jerusalem

13 A messenger soon arrived in Jerusalem to tell David, “All Israel has joined Absalom in a conspiracy against you!”

14 “Then we must flee at once, or it will be too late!” David urged his men. “Hurry! If we get out of the city before Absalom arrives, both we and the city of Jerusalem will be spared from disaster.”

15 “We are with you,” his advisers replied. “Do what you think is best.”
16 So the king and all his household set out at once. He left no one behind except ten of his concubines to look after the palace.17 The king and all his people set out on foot, pausing at the last house

18 to let all the king’s men move past to lead the way. There were 600 men from Gath who had come with David, along with the king’s bodyguard.t
19 Then the king turned and said to Ittai, a leader of the men from Gath, “Why are you coming with us? Go on back to King Absalom, for you are a guest in Israel, a foreigner in exile.

20 You arrived only recently, and should I force you today to wander with us? I don’t even know where we will go. Go on back and take your kinsmen with you, and may the LORD show you his unfailing love and faithfulness.t”

21 But Ittai said to the king, “I vow by the LORD and by your own life that I will go wherever my lord the king goes, no matter what happens—whether it means life or death.”

22 David replied, “All right, come with us.” So Ittai and all his men and their families went along.

23 Everyone cried loudly as the king and his followers passed by. They crossed the Kidron Valley and then went out toward the wilderness.

24 Zadok and all the Levites also came along, carrying the Ark of the Covenant of God. They set down the Ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrificest until everyone had passed out of the city.
25 Then the king instructed Zadok to take the Ark of God back into the city. “If the LORD sees fit,” David said, “he will bring me back to see the Ark and the Tabernaclet again.

26 But if he is through with me, then let him do what seems best to him.”
27 The king also told Zadok the priest, “Look,t here is my plan. You and Abiathart should return quietly to the city with your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan.28 I will stop at the shallows of the Jordan Rivert and wait there for a report from you.”

29 So Zadok and Abiathar took the Ark of God back to the city and stayed there.
30 David walked up the road 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 hill.

31 When someone told David that his adviser Ahithophel was now backing Absalom, David prayed, “O LORD, let Ahithophel give Absalom foolish advice!”
32 When David reached the summit of the Mount of Olives where people worshiped God, Hushai the Arkite was waiting there for him. Hushai had torn his clothing and put dirt on his head as a sign of mourning.33 But David told him, “If you go with me, you will only be a burden.34 Return to Jerusalem and tell Absalom, ‘I will now be your adviser, O king, just as I was your father’s adviser in the past.’ Then you can frustrate and counter Ahithophel’s advice.35 Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, will be there. Tell them about the plans being made in the king’s palace,

36 and they will send their sons Ahimaaz and Jonathan to tell me what is going on.”

37 So David’s friend Hushai returned to Jerusalem, getting there just as Absalom arrived.

2 SAMUEL 15

Absalom Rebels //against David

1 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.t 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 yearst 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.”t
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 wivest 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 bodyguardst marched past. The last group was the 600 soldiers who had followed him from Gath.t 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 bet 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 Valleyt 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, t 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

33 David told him:
If you come with me, you might slow us down.t

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.